The World - News from May 11, 1989

A former U.S. Navy bomb handler, recalling the horror of losing a nuclear bomb at sea in 1965, said the accident may have been caused by improper preparation for a nuclear weapons loading drill, the San Diego Tribune reported. William Lane, who witnessed an A-4E Skyhawk jet equipped with a hydrogen bomb roll off the aircraft carrier Ticonderoga 24 years ago, said the jet’s pilot apparently could not reach the pre-set controls with his feet to stop the plane from plunging into the Pacific Ocean off Japan. Lane said suspicions also focused on a possible failure of the plane’s hydraulic brakes. Lane, of Santee east of San Diego, said the crew was unofficially asked to forget the incident.