Oops! USMC aircraft unload bombs near Great Barrier Reef

Please note:

1. inert training bombs, not live munitions
2. jettisoned, not dropped
3. “not far from” rather than “on top of”

That being said, if you’re going to jettison anything with the word “bomb” in it from an American military aircraft then you should probably do it somewhere where the press, environmentalists, and conspiracy theorists won’t have ammunition (pun intended) to attack you.

U.S. military jettisons bombs near Australia’s Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is composed of more than 3,000 individual reefs interspersed with more than 600 topical islands.

(CNN) — Two U.S. military aircraft jettisoned four bombs not far from the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast last week, the U.S. Navy says.

The two Marine planes had to abandon the bombs Tuesday in the national park containing the natural wonder because they were running out of fuel and could not land with the amount of ordnance on board, the Navy said. The two Marine aircraft were launched from a Navy ship, the USS Bonhomme Richard.

Two of the projectiles were explosive bombs that were disarmed before they were dropped. They did not explode, the Navy said.

The other two were inert, or non-explosive bombs, the Navy said.

The pilots chose an area away from the reefs, which contain 400 types of coral. The area was also deep enough to prevent passing ships from running into the bombs, the Navy said.

The reef is home to 1,500 species of fish and 4,000 kinds of mollusks, according to the United Nations’ World Heritage Convention.

It is also a habitat for animals threatened by extinction and is protected as a World Heritage Site.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/21/world/asia/australia-reef-u-s-bombs