Daily Mail
In 1958, an atom bomb was accidentally dropped by the U.S. air force into a family’s back yard in South Carolina. Apparently, a B-47 bomber was attempting to fix the positioning of Mark 6 Atomic Bomb withing his aircraft when he accidentally pulled the release leaver while looking for something to hold on to. Luckily, only the TNT detonator went off but the impact of the bomb hitting the ground created a 30-foot deep and 50-foot-wide hole in the ground causing damage to the family’s home and car while also killing their chickens.
The bomb had to be placed inside of the aircraft under a strict time limit. However, the crew was struggling to secure the bomb into position and had to improvise by using a sling to place the bomb into the plane. Once the plane was in air, the bomb began to shift, forcing one of the captains of the plain to attempt adjusting the bomb placement manually if possible. The space was tight so the captain removed his parachute and hung onto the planes frame in fear he may fall out. The captain accidentally grabbed the release leaver dropping the bomb onto the bay doors. The bomb became too heavy for the bay doors and broke through, falling onto the home of the Gregg family.
The 7,600-pound, Mark 6, 30-Kiloton atomic bomb fell into their back yard from 15,000 feet. The bombs nuclear core was believed to be removed before transportation of the devise to prevent a nuclear drop on American soil. Still, the local residents recall the tremendous blast that was created from the TNT used to spark the fissionable material within the bomb. This would eject pieces of the earths crust into the air that would soon damage the properties nearby as they fell back to the ground. Initially, the government offered the Gregg family $44,000 for their damages. The Gregg family would decline and later in court receive $54,000 from the government for their damages.