In 1961 , two 3.8 megaton hydrogen bombs were dropped accidentally on the village of Faro , north of Goldsboro , after a B-52 aircraft broke up in mid air . The two Mark 39 weapons were released after the crew abandoned a B-52 bomber which had suffered mid-flight structural failure . Both bombs went through several steps in the arming sequence , but neither one detonated . One bomb was recovered . Although much of the second bomb was also recovered , a missing piece containing uranium was believed to have sunk deep into the swampy earth and could not be recovered . The piece remains in land that the Air Force eventually purchased in order to prevent any land use or digging . In 2013 , it was revealed that three safety mechanisms on one bomb had failed , leaving just one low-voltage switch preventing detonation
B-52 aircraft broke up in mid air
1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash
Goldsboro, North Carolina