Titan II Missile Complex 374-7 Damascus, Arkansas, September 18 1980 6.25 pm: ‘This would be missile leak number 10 so far in Arkansas.’ American Experience: Command & Control, PBS 2017
24 January 1961: 19 years before the Damascus accident, a B-52 bomber carrying two powerful hydrogen bombs took off on a routine mission over North Carolina … The B-52 began to break apart mid-air … The only thing that prevented a full-scale detonation of a powerful hydrogen bomb in North Carolina was a single safety switch. ibid. nuclear dude
The number of nuclear weapons accidents was increasing. ibid.
But a few years ago the department of energy released a declassified document that said there had been more than a thousand accidents and incidents involving our nuclear weapons. ibid.
‘He [Jake Richard Hughes] was on an ATV and he hit a fence post.’ The Fifth Estate: Dead End: An Investigation Gone Wrong, CBC 2019
It’s been six and a half years since Jakes Hughes’ dramatic death after an ATV accident. What happened that day has become the subject of an investigation involving four police forces, a seemingly unending mystery. ibid.
The ATV headed into the woods; moments later, Taylor [driver?] came running out in a panic. ibid.
New Jersey 7.25 pm May 6th 1937: Delayed by storms, the airship Hindenburg was finally preparing to land. Passengers peered down looking for familiar faces as the ship turned for the final descent. Water ballast was released to bring her into trim. Engines were reversed from Idle Ahead to Idle Astern … Was it an accident or sabotage? In Search of s5e21 … The Hindenburg Mystery
She also had a minor car crash … Grace had vowed not to drive again after her previous crash but she took the wheel and followed the route that one of her movie characters had driven more than 25 years earlier. Grace of Monaco: Hollywood Princess, Channel 5 2020
Something goes wrong. They suddenly lose speed. The Elizabethan has crashed through a fence. Manchester Utd: Munich Air Crash, Channel 5 2013
Harry Gregg pulls out one passenger after another both living and dead. ibid.
21 people are dead ... Manchester United, one of the world’s greatest football teams, is effectively wiped out. ibid.
Paris France July 25 2000: Aircraft impact with Terrain Air France Flight 4590. Crash Files: Concorde, caption
Reports from the control tower were that the Concorde was on fire before it left the ground. ibid.
There had been 57 cases of tyre blow-outs on the Concorde. ibid.
A hotel with a notorious past is the site of another bizarre case. It’s one of the most obsessively followed true crime cases of the century. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Hotel Cecil I: Lost in Los Angeles, television news, Netflix 2021
The Cecil is a very deceiving hotel. There’s a lot of beauty to it. But it was the complete opposite of beauty. ibid. Man
We’ve got missing persons, suicides, overdoses … ibid. woman
With Elisa Lam, you’re talking about a 21-year-old college student that just completely disappears. ibid. dude
Her laptop had been left behind, her prescription medications, other items of value … ibid.
The LAPD has released bizarre surveillance footage [elevator] of 21-year-old Elisa Lam. ibid. television news
It’s [video] been intentionally knocked out … They determine the video has essentially been slowed down 33 to 35 per cent … The edits could have possibly been done by the hotel before it was supplied to the police. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel II: Secrets of the Cecil, web sleuth
There is a ladder on the roof to get to the tanks. On top of the tank there’s a little hatch. And when I went to look that’s when I saw her. ibid. hotel maintenance man
Jack Unterweger begins to research a story about how the police deal with prostitution in downtown Los Angeles … Jack Unterweger is actually a convicted killer. A pimp. A rapist. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel III: Down the Rabbit Hole, woman
There appeared to be no evidence of external or internal injuries that could have led to her death. ibid. dude
If you reduce the plot of Dark Water down to its basic elements, it’s almost the story of Elisa Lam. ibid.
She had at least four prescription medications … Elisa stopped taking her medications. Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel IV: The Hard Truth, woman
You would also then have to come up a ladder with a body. ibid. dude
The death of 21-year-old Canadian tourist Elisa Lam has been ruled an accident due to drowning. ibid. newswoman
She looked like she could be having hallucinations. ibid. woman
This is a tragedy about a woman who was suffering. ibid.
Chernobyl ***** 2019 starring Jared Harris & Stellan Skarsgaard & Emily Watson & Paul Ritter & Jessie Buckley & Adam Nagaitis & Con O’Neill & Adrian Rawlins & Sam Troughton & Robert Emms & David Dencik & Mark Lewis Jones & Alan Williams et al
There is no core. It exploded. Chernobyl I: 1.23.45, plant worker in control room, Sky Atlantic 2019
Explosion in the main building between the third and forth blocks. ibid. emergency call
Call in the day shift. We have to keep water flowing into the core. We need electricians, mechanics, bodies. ibid. Dyatlov in control room
Of course no-one can blame me for this. How can I be responsible? I was sleeping. ibid. Bryukhanov
Yes, comrades. We will all be rewarded for what we do here tonight. ibid. old dude
These are radiation burns. Their clothes are contaminated. Help me. Get it all off. Chernobyl II: Please Remain Calm, doctor local hospital
An RBMK reactor used Uranium 235 as fuel. Every atom of U235 is like a bullet travelling at nearly the speed of light penetrating everything in its path … Winds will carry radioactive particles across the entire continent … Most of these bullets will not stop firing for 100 years. ibid. Legasov, nuclear specialist to Soviet Central Committee
You are dealing with something that has never occurred on this planet before. ibid.
They’re dropping sand and boron on the fire. ibid. nuclear physics lady
The whole world knows. The wind has been blowing toward Germany. ibid. Shcherbina
The meltdown has begun. Chernobyl III: Open Wide, O Earth, Legasov
He’s somebody else now, do you understand? He’s dangerous to you. ibid. nurse to wife of patient
Gorbachev: How many deaths?
Legasov: Thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands. ibid.
Do you know how old I am? I’m 82. I’ve lived here my whole life, right here in that house, this place. What do I care about safe? Chernobyl IV: The Happiness of All Mankind, old woman
Under no circumstances can men go up there [roof]. ibid. Legasov
As much vodka as you want. Plus a thousand roubles. ibid. animal control squad soldier
Someone has to start telling the truth. Chernobyl V: Vichnaya Pamyat, Ulana
I understand my duty to the state. But you gave us assurances. Reactors would be made safe. It’s been months. No changes have been made; no changes discussed. ibid. Legasov to Charkov
Legasov: I went willingly to an open reactor. So I’ve already given my life. Isn’t that enough?
Ulana: No, I’m sorry but it is not. ibid.
We are already on dangerous ground now because of our secrets and our lies. They are practically what define us. ibid.
Valery Legasov took his own life at the age of 51 on April 26 1988 exactly two years after the explosion at Chernobyl. The audio tapes of Legasov’s memoirs were circulated among the Soviet scientific community. His suicide made it impossible for them to be ignored. ibid. captions
We lived in a myth that we kept strengthening. And we found that life rather comfortable. We did not fully comprehend what kind of society we were living in. And that created a monster. The Real Chernobyl, scientist, Sky News 2019
On April 26 1986 there was an explosion in Reactor #4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. ibid.
I couldn’t comprehend such high levels of radiation. ibid. scientist
The colour of their faces was brown or blue. ibid. fire-fighter, of first responders
In Chernobyl a huge clean-up operation was underway. ibid.