European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday August 30. 1986 the stars and stripes Page 7 Lockheed padded c-5b contract of says by Norman Buck a military writer Washington the air Force has accused the Lockheed corp. Of inflating its production contract for the c-5b cargo plane by As much As $500 million by improperly withholding financial information from the air Force during contract negotiations. The allegation was disclosed thursday by the air Force which said it would now initiate action. To obtain an appropriate Price  Lockheed denied the charges saying there is Nomen to these  the allegation is based on provisions of the Federal truth in neg Otillion act and involves a Complex Are of Law known As defective  the Pentagon said thursday that the Dollar amount in dispute with Lockheed is believed to be the largest Ever encountered in such a Case. The allegation against the Lockheed Georgia co., the subsidiary that builds the giant cargo plane stems from a probe conducted by the defense contract audit Agency in May. That audit which has not been released publicly has been evaluated by the air Force and its Basic findings accepted the service said. According to a Pentagon statement the heart of Case revolves around Lockheed s alleged failure to share with air Force procurement agents the company s bar gaining goals and objectives prior to negotiating a new Union agreement in 1983. Because that information was withheld the Penta gon said the air Force proceeded to negotiate a $7.8 billion contract in december 1982 for 50 c-5bs, using earlier Lockheed estimates for its labor expenses. However the Pentagon said Lockheed subsequently emerged from Union contract negotiations with wage Structure proposals that were far different and Lowe than the direct labor rates included in Lockheed s proposal for the c-5b." the contract that resulted from those negotiations for the first time allowed Lockheed to establish a wage system in which newly hired workers were paid less than established workers doing the same Job. By Law. The Pentagon statement continued. Lock heed should have disclosed its collective bargaining plans to the air Force. Lockheed had established these proposals prior tour negotiations As Early As May 1982, and this information had it been disclosed to our negotiators May have impacted the final negotiated Price it said. The air Force said thursday that the defense audit Agency had projected the defective pricing would total Between $400 million and $500 million through completion of the program in fiscal 1989. The Day we bombed Albuquerque Crew member recalls Occidental drop of nuke Orangevale Calif. A a Crew member of the bomber that dropped a Hydrogen bomb near Albuquerque n.m., said thursday the Accident occurred when the plane hit turbulent air just As an officer was setting a safety pin that secured the bomb for Landing. George Houston 61, radio operator of the b-36 that dropped the 42,000-Pound bomb 29 years ago said that to keep from falling the officer grabbed the mechanism the Bombardier uses to release the bomb. The bomb crashed to Earth without setting off a nuclear blast. For a few moments members of the Crew thought the Man might also have gone Down with the bomb. Houston said. It s one of those things that s terrifying at the time but is funny afterwards Houston said. He compared the sequence of events that caused the 1957 Accident to the closing scene of the 1964 film or. Strange love in which a bomber Pilot releases a stuck h bomb by hand and rides it out of the plane to his death in a nuclear explosion. But in the Accident described by Houston in an associated press interview the navigator was trying to secure not release the bomb. He saved himself from falling and crawled Back from the bomb Bay whiter than any Sheet you Ever  the May 22, 1957, Accident involving a nuclear weapon was first confirmed by the air Force in 1981. But no specifics were released until wednesday when the Albuquerque journal published an account based on military documents obtained through the Freedom of information act. The Accident about 4 Miles from Kinland fab in an uninhabited area South of Albuquerque involved a Hydrogen bomb believed to be More than 10 Megatons. It said Impact of the bomb triggered non nuclear explosives that Are part of the bomb but the nuclear portion did not detonate. Houston blamed the Accident on what he described As an extremely awkward procedure in which an offi cer usually the navigator had to climb around the bomb at the Start and end of each flight hanging literally by his toes to set a Large pin that secured the bomb. Houston said that on the flight in which their six engine strategic air come b-36 was ferrying the bomb from Biggs army Field in Elpaso Texas to Kirkland a photo a worker at the National atomic museum at Kirtland fab n.m., stands by a replica of the Mark 17 Hydrogen bomb that was accidentally dropped in 1957 from a strategic air come bomber. The plane was preparing to land when it hit turbulent air As the navigator was in the bomb Bay setting the pin. He grabbed something to keep from falling and. It was the mechanism the Bombardier uses to release the unit bomb. The bomb Bay doors were closed but it took them with it Houston said. He said the Crew knew instantly we d dropped the bomb because the plane lurched upward due to the lost weight and they did t know whether the navigator had gone Down with the bomb until he emerge from the damaged bomb Bay. Houston said he immediately radioed that they had dropped a Hydrogen bomb. We were met by quite a group of vips when we landed he added. All 13 Crew members were questioned extensively but none was Ever disciplined to his knowledge. He said he did t recall the names of the other Crew members. Minuteman 3 destroyed in week s 2nd failure Vandenburg fab Calif. Up an unarmed minuteman 3 missile was blown up in flight thursday because of problems that developed after launch air Force officials said. It was the second rocket failure in less than a week. The test flight of the minuteman 3 was aborted shortly after its launch at 7 04 . When computer data from the missile indicated a malfunction spokes Man capt. Tom Connell said. The missile was Well into the flight when it was detonated Over he Pacific Conne said. The launch was the 123rd in a series of operational tests at Vandenburg Connell said. A team of air Force and defense department con tract engineers is analysing flight data to isolate the cause of the malfunction. Air Force officials will de cide if any system modifications Are needed. So far 1986 has been the worst year for american space operations since the Dawn of the space program with six rocket failures in 14 major launches. The shuttle challenger was destroyed Jan. 28, an air Force Titan 34d rocket was blown up april 18 and a Nasa Delta rocket was destroyed May 3. Also two research rockets carrying scientific payloads were lost the most recent failure coming last saturday. One shuttle flight was successfully completed in Jan uary As was an Atlas a launch in february. Two sub Marine ballistic missiles were successfully launched off Cap canaveral Fla. And eight ppr Shino m missiles and Iwu my Riib Ilab Utrie Frieu. A weather satellite launch scheduled for sept. 7 at Vandenburg reportedly will be delayed for the 15th time because of potential fuel leaks in an Atlas rocket. On aug. 23, however the air Force successfully completed the 13th test launch of the my peacekeeper missile from Vandenburg. It flew 4,200 Miles to a tar get within the Kwajalein missile test Range in the Pacific. It carried nine unarmed re Cartry vehicles on the 30 minute flight. The minuteman is the strategic air come s solid fuel intercontinental ballistic missile. It has been in Active service in initial and succeeding models since october 1962. Meanwhile in Cape canaveral Fla., the massive seven month sea search for the remains of challenger and its Crew has ended with the return to port of the last three ships participating in the nor Minn the Liberty Star Freedom Star and Independence left she search area entered about 40 Miles Northeast of Here on thursday and steamed into nearby port canaveral. The Overall operation which Cost More than $100 million involved More than 6,000 men and women. 52 aircraft 31 surface ships a nuclear powered submarine two smaller submarines five unmanned Summers Ibl Sand 115 divers