A Haunting Chapter in Northern Michigan History
On a quiet winter evening, January 7, 1971, the residents of Charlevoix, Michigan, were jolted by a fiery explosion over Little Traverse Bay. A U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) B-52C bomber, conducting a routine radar bomb scoring flight, tragically crashed into Lake Michigan. The disaster claimed the lives of all nine crew members aboard. It also came alarmingly close to the Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant. This incident not only left a scar on the local community but also raised critical questions about Cold War military practices and nuclear safety.
The Crash and Its Context
At 6:33 p.m., after successfully completing three simulated bombings with the Bay Shore Radar Bomb Scoring Site, the B-52C lost contact with ground controllers. Witnesses reported seeing a fireball and hearing a deafening explosion as the aircraft plunged into the icy waters. This happened just five miles from Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant. Flying at an altitude of only 700 feet, the plane had been seconds away from passing directly over the nuclear facility.
Big Rock Point: A Dual Symbol of Peace and Peril
Big Rock Point, Michigan’s first commercial nuclear power plant, began operations in 1963 with the aim of promoting peaceful atomic energy. Yet, its location inadvertently became a focal point for Cold War training. The Air Force’s nearby Bay Shore Radar Bomb Scoring Site routinely guided B-52 bombers along a flight path known as Oil Burner 9, which included simulated bombing runs near the plant.
These low-level training exercises, intended to prepare for potential Soviet threats, became a source of growing unease. The proximity of these flights to the nuclear facility alarmed both the plant’s operators and its insurance providers. Correspondence between the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Defense highlighted the risks. Especially with over 300 monthly flights recorded at altitudes as low as 500 feet.
Fallout and Resolution
The crash brought renewed scrutiny to the practice of low-altitude bombing near sensitive infrastructure. Investigations revealed the precariousness of using Big Rock Point as a waypoint. While high-altitude flights resumed shortly after the accident, low-level runs were suspended, and plans for a revised flight route were expedited. By mid-1971, the Air Force adopted a safer corridor, shifting the bombing exercises further east.
Remembering the Tragedy
The 1971 B-52C crash serves as a sobering reminder of the Cold War’s shadow over Northern Michigan. Though decades have passed, the event remains etched in the memories of those who witnessed it. The sacrifices of the nine crew members and the close call with Big Rock Point underscore the delicate balance between national defense and community safety.
Big Rock Point/Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant Historical Marker
Statehood Era (1815-1860) – Registered in 2006 and erected in 2007 – ID #S701C
Located at Adams Roadside Park, US-31, Charlevoix, Hayes Township – Lat: 45.35890038 / Long: -85.19605636
Consumers Power Company (later Consumers Energy) opened the Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant just west of here in 1962. It was the world´s first high- power density boiling water reactor, and the fifth commercial nuclear power plant in the U.S. The plant began as a research and development facility, with the first goal being to prove that nuclear power was economical. In addition to generating electricity, the reactor produced cobalt 60 that was used to treat an estimated 400,000 cancer patients. In 1991 the American Nuclear Society named the plant a Nuclear Historic Landmark. When it closed in 1997, Big Rock was the longest running nuclear plant in the U.S. Consumers Energy later restored the site to a natural area.
Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Plant
Big Rock Point is named for a large boulder used as a landmark by Native Americans. At least as early as the mid-nineteenth century Odawa (Ottawa) Indians used Big Rock, which they called Kitcheossening, as a gathering place each spring. The Odawa summered at Waganaksing (the area between Harbor Springs and Cross Village), but dispersed into smaller groups and traveled during the winter. Each spring they returned to Big Rock, their canoes loaded with sugar, furs, deer skins, prepared venison, bear’s oil, and bear meat prepared in oil, deer tallow, and sometimes a lot of honey. From there they returned to Waganaksing by crossing the bay in wiigwaas jiimaan (birch bark canoes). In 1999 elders and youth from the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians recreated the crossing.
