U.S. bomber mistakenly flies with nuclear weapons

By Kristin Roberts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. bomber mistakenly flew with at least five nuclear warheads over the United States last week, but the Air Force on Wednesday said the flight never threatened public safety.

Still, President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were alerted on Friday morning to the mistake, according to Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

Gates also has received daily updates from Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley on a probe to determine how the mistake occurred.

"It's clearly important enough that the secretary was informed of it and that he has requested daily briefings from Gen. Moseley as to what they are doing to fix the problem and to get to the bottom of the problem," Morrell said.

"I can also tell you that it's important enough that President Bush was notified of it."

The B-52 flew from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on Thursday.

An Air Force spokesman, Lt. Col. Edward Thomas, said the Air Force started an investigation into the incident and a review of all operational procedures.

"All evidence we have seen so far points to an isolated mistake," Thomas said.

"It is important to note that munitions were safe, secure and under military control at all times. The error was discovered by airmen during internal Air Force checks. The weapons were safe and remained in Air Force control and custody at all times," he said.

The U.S. military maintains a policy against discussing any nuclear weapons matters, and both Thomas and Morrell would not say the weapons aboard the B-52 were nuclear.

But one defense official confirmed the missiles were nuclear.

"These reports are deeply disturbing," said Democrat Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee.

"There is no more serious issue than the security and proper handling of nuclear weapons. The American people, our friends, and our potential adversaries must be confident that the highest standards are in place when it comes to our nuclear arsenal," he said.