1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash
A B-52G, similar to the one that crashed at Thule Air Base
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| Accident summary | |
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| Date | 21 January 1968 |
| Summary | In-flight fire |
| Site | 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west of Thule Air Base (formerly Pituffik), Greenland 76°31′40″N 69°16′55″W / 76.52778°N 69.28194°WCoordinates: 76°31′40″N 69°16′55″W / 76.52778°N 69.28194°W |
| Passengers | 0 |
| Crew | 7 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 6 |
| Aircraft type | B-52G Stratofortress |
| Operator | 380th Strategic Bomb Wing, Strategic Air Command, United States Airforce |
| Registration | 58-0188 |
| Flight origin | Plattsburgh Air Force Base |
| Destination | Plattsburgh Air Force Base |
 1968 photos of Thule Air Base and surrounds
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Underwater photos from the Star III submarine
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On 21 January 1968, an aircraft accident (sometimes known as the Thule affair or Thule accident (/ˈtuːli/); Danish: Thuleulykken) involving a United States Air Force (USAF) B-52 bomber occurred near Thule Air Base in the Danish territory of Greenland. The aircraft was carrying four hydrogen bombs on a Cold War "Chrome Dome" alert mission over Baffin Bay when a cabin fire forced the crew to abandon the aircraft before they could carry out an emergency landing at Thule Air Base. Six crew members ejected safely, but one who did not have an ejection seat was killed while trying to bail out. The bomber crashed onto sea ice in North Star Bay, Greenland, causing the conventional explosives aboard to detonate and the nuclear payload to rupture and disperse, which resulted in radioactive contamination.
The United States and Denmark launched an intensive clean-up and recovery operation, but the secondary stage of one of the nuclear weapons could not be accounted for after the operation completed. USAF Strategic Air Command "Chrome Dome" operations were discontinued immediately after the accident, which highlighted the safety and political risks of the missions. Safety procedures were reviewed and more stable explosives were developed for use in nuclear weapons.
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