Explosives trigger big blast: Crews detonate bomb dropped at hill

Explosives and emergency-management teams at Hill Air Force Base detonated an unexploded bomb Saturday in a remote area of the base.

The Mark-82 general-purpose bomb was one of two jettisoned Thursday from an F-16 that experienced an in-flight emergency on takeoff. Air Force officials said the pilot followed emergency procedures, which included cutting loose the external fuel tanks and the two unarmed Mk-82s from beneath the fighter plane. He was then able to land safely on base.

The bombs landed in an uninhabited part of the base. One exploded unexpectedly when it hit the ground, causing a power outage that lasted a few hours.

The second bomb, which was destroyed Saturday, buried itself 17 feet underground.

After assessing the situation, base officials decided that destroying the bomb in place was the safest method to resolve the problem and cause minimal environmental damage.

On Saturday, the base's bomb squad used five shape-charged explosives on top of the buried bomb to detonate it.

"Our explosive ordnance disposal teams are the best in the world," Col. Patrick Higby, 75th Air Base Wing commander, said in a statement released following the detonation.

"Today's operation to safely and successfully detonate the bomb in place is a testament to that expertise and professionalism," Higby said.

The base's Roy gate near the 5600 South exits on I-15 has resumed normal operations. The Hill Aerospace Museum will reopen Sunday at its regularly scheduled time. Both were closed during explosive operations.

Technicians at Hill have already recovered the F-16's jettisoned fuel tanks. The tanks released approximately 500 gallons of fuel, some of which evaporated in the air, base officials said.

The soil contaminated by the remaining fuel will be excavated and remediated.

An investigation into the cause of the in-flight emergency is ongoing.

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