At around CDT on Thursday, September 18, 1980, two airmen from a Propellant Transfer System team were checking the pressure on the oxidizer tank of a USAF Titan II missile at Little Rock AFB's Launch Complex 374-7. Due to time constraints when going into the silo, a ratchet – long weighing – was taken instead of the newly mandated torque wrench. The socket for the oxidizer tank fell off the ratchet and dropped approximately before bouncing off a thrust mount and piercing the missile's skin over the first-stage fuel tank, causing it to leak a cloud of its aerozine 50 fuel. Aerozine 50 is hypergolic with the Titan II's oxidizer, dinitrogen tetroxide; i.e., they spontaneously ignite upon contact with each other. The nitrogen tetroxide is kept in a second tank in the rocket's first-stage, directly above the fuel tank and below the second-stage and its 9-megaton W-53 nuclear warhead. Eventually, the missile combat crew and the PTS team evacuated the launch control center, while military and civilian response teams arrived to tackle the hazardous situation. There was concern for the possible collapse of the now empty first-stage fuel tank, which could cause the rest of the 8-story missile to fall and rupture, allowing the oxidizer to contact the fuel already in the silo.
The explosion
Early in the morning of Friday, September 19, a two-man PTS investigation team consisting of Senior Airman David Lee Livingston and Sergeant Jeff K. Kennedy entered the silo. Because their vapor detectors indicated an explosive atmosphere, the two were ordered to evacuate. The team was then ordered to reenter the silo to turn on an exhaust fan. Senior airmanDavid Livingston reentered the silo to carry out the order and shortly thereafter, at about, the hypergolic fuel exploded – likely due to arcing in the exhaust fan. The initial explosion catapulted the 740-ton silo door away from the silo and ejected the second stage and warhead. Once clear of the silo, the second stage exploded. The W53 warhead landed about from the launch complex's entry gate; its safety features prevented any loss of radioactive material or nuclear detonation.
After the explosion
Livingston died at the hospital, and 21 others in the immediate vicinity of the blast sustained various injuries; Kennedy struggled with respiratory issues from inhaling oxidizer but survived. Livingston was posthumously promoted to sergeant. The entire missile launch complex was destroyed. At daybreak, the Air Force retrieved the warhead, which was returned to the Pantex weapons assembly plant. The launch complex was never repaired. Pieces of debris were taken away from the surrounding the facility, and the site was buried under a mound of gravel, soil, and small concrete debris. The land is now under private ownership. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 18, 2000.
Popular culture
A 1988 television film, Disaster at Silo 7, is based on this event. Season 4, episode 4 of Scorpion is largely based on this event. In September 2013, Eric Schlosser published a book titled . It focused on the explosion, as well as other Broken Arrow incidents during the Cold War. A documentary film titled Command and Control from director Robert Kenner, based on Schlosser's book, was released on January 10, 2017. The film was broadcast by PBS as part of its American Experience series.
