On May 24, 1973, Southern Pacific Transportation Company's freight train 2nd BSM 22, was approaching Benson, Arizona, when 1 of 12 munitions boxcars in the train's consist caught fire. The boxcars were loaded with 500-lb. MK 82 bombs. As the train stopped, the cargo exploded, and the explosions continued for several hours. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the exposure of heat-sensitive bombs in Car 38 to a fire inside the car. The fire most likely originated from sparks off the brakeshoes which ignited the sodium nitrate impregnated floorboards.
Southern Pacific Transportation Co. Freight Train 2nd BSM 22 Munitions Explosion, Benson, Arizona May 24, 1973
1975
42 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch