Originally Posted by
Wycombe
I remember once seeing a picture of one where the wing had snapped in half on the ground (I think between the engine pods) due to misfuelling.
It was a combination of a maintenance error (leaving a blanking plate in a vent duct) and then failing to recognise the issue when subsequently fuelling the aircraft, with the result that air pressure building up in the tanks literally blew the wing apart. Fortunately there was no fire and nobody was injured. The maintenance crew were court-marshalled, but acquitted.
The B-52G in question flew on for a further seven years following the 1983 incident, courtesy of a replacement wing sourced from another scrapped BUFF.