ICBMs of Echo Flight at Malmstrom AFB go offline
March 16, 1967 · Echo Flight launch area near Hilger, Montana · Sighting · Secondary sources only
Shortly before 8:45 am on 16 March 1967, all ten Minuteman missiles of Echo Flight at Malmstrom Air Force Base went to No-Go within seconds of each other. Air Force and Boeing investigators traced it to a power transient from a commercial substation that sent electrical noise into the launch facilities. Former officer Robert Salas says that on 24 March his own Oscar Flight lost all ten missiles after guards reported a red-orange light hovering over the site.
Why it matters (3/5)
One of the best-known nuclear-site cases; sources conflict sharply on whether any UFO was involved.
Caveats
The 341st Strategic Missile Wing records released under FOIA in 2001 describe only Echo Flight and dismiss UFO rumors; there is no record of an Oscar Flight problem, and other former officers dispute Salas. Salas has acknowledged that memories conflict on the dates. Skeptoid's Brian Dunning thinks he is honest but mistaken.
Sources
- The Day the UFO Deactivated the Nukes (Skeptoid (Brian Dunning)), criticism
- UFOs and nukes: Robert Salas of Ojai recounts shutdown of nuclear missiles (Ojai Valley News), context