A nuclear-armed B-36 bomber crashed near Albuquerque in 1956, a government report has disclosed. The report suggests the crash site may be contaminated with radioactivity.
The study suggests plutonium, enriched uranium or tritium might be present at the crash site near Kirtland Air Force Base, but the report doesn't say how much, the Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday.The study, which is to be released Thursday by the U.S. Senate Government Operations Committee, says the crash on Jan. 9, 1956 involved a B-36 bomber carrying a nuclear weapon or weapons.
The Air Force provided no information.
The base, which is just south of Albuquerque, has no relevent records, George Pearce, base public information officer, said Wednesday.
The Strategic Air Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Neb., also said it had no information.
The Air Force Historical Research Agency at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., and the Air Force Safety Center at Norton Air Force Base, Calif., declined to comment Wednesday.