Pentagon studying nuke incident

WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Air Force is investigating how six powerful nuclear warheads slipped from the military's safety net for more than a day without anyone knowing.

"Clearly this incident was unacceptable on many levels," Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Edward Thomas, told Sunday's Washington Post.

Six bombs inadvertently were transferred Aug. 29 from a bunker on North Dakota's Minot Air Force Base to the wing of a B-52 bomber, which flew them to a Louisiana base where they sat unguarded until the next day, the Post said. Each bomb had the power of up to 10 Hiroshima bombs.

The series of missteps was serious enough to trigger a rare "Bent Spear" nuclear report from the Pentagon to the White House, the Post reported.

One Minot officer has been relieved of his command, several airmen disciplined and a major general assigned to investigate.

A team of scientists appointed by the Pentagon will also study the incident as part of a larger review of the handling nuclear weapons.