3. NORAD - False Alarms
North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is a joint organisation between the USA and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty and defense for North America. On the 9th November 1979, a major mistake occurred. A technician loaded a test tape but forgot to switch the button to Test. As a result, a stream of false warnings was broadcast to two 'continuity of government' bunkers as well as command posts worldwide. Eye witnesses to the cock up described a scene of utter panic. To heighten the panic, contact could not be established with the US President during the affair. The planes took to the air and the silos prepared to launch ballistic missiles. Disaster was only averted when surveillance satellites could not detect ICBM activity in the USSR. Also radars within Greenland, Alaska and the UK could not detect missiles and eventually everyone realised a cock up had occurred. Minutes before oblivion for the human race. Two further alerts were caused by communications devices failure in June 1980. The two incidents caused warning message that a nuclear strike had occurred to US Air Force bases around the world. Pacific Air Forces were flying around with nukes on board during these technical cock ups. Strategic Air Command did not, and they took some criticism that they did not take to the skies, but they knew it was a false alarm, thank goodness. Their reconnaissance did not match the false alarm. But it is chilling to think that in particular, the 1979 incident, one individual's mistake could have been taken seriously and it certainly shows that human error has particularly wide ramifications. Imagine if one plane had taken the mistake seriously? There could have been a nuclear strike leading us all into oblivion. Sobering stuff.