On 12 December 2006, at 0845, at Technical Area 72, Firing Range 1, a Glock 22 handgun exploded in the hands of a Protective Technology Los Alamos (PTLA) firearms instructor as he fired the handgun.
The firearms instructor was not injured, but felt some soreness in his right hand. He noted that the force of the handgun pushed his right thumb back. The handgun shattered into several pieces; the pieces flew everywhere and eventually landed on the ground. He safed the remaining box of ammunition and then reported the event to his management. As a precaution, the firearms instructor was taken to the Laboratory's occupational medicine facility for evaluation. He was evaluated, released to return to work with no restrictions, and scheduled for a follow-up evaluation the next day.
The instructor was preparing for a training exercise and was the only person on thefiring range at the time of the event. He wore the prescribed personal protective equipment for firearms use (safety glasses, armored vest, head and hearing protection, nomex gloves, a long sleeve shirt, and safety boots.)
The handgun has been secured in the PTLA armory. PTLA management has initiated an internal investigation.
Subsequent preliminary PTLA review indicated that a possible combination of excessive pressure and a bore obstruction contributed to the explosion.
The rounds used during this training event were duty rounds recently removed from service that had been used in a magazine containing a single round by PTLA forces. The single rounds of ammunition designated for initial loading in Glock 22 handguns are used on a daily basis and the one round of ammunition is typically loaded 45 times over a 30-day period. The frequent loading of the rounds continually pounds the ammunition into the chamber, which in turn recesses the bullet further into the casing. Over time and use, the projectile is seated deeper into the cartridge case contributing to an increase inpressure upon firing.
Because the event revealed lessons learned that may be pertinent to the DOE complex, the Institutional Facilities and Central Services Facility Operations Director deemed the event reportable as a management concern.
Background:
The firearms instructor had used the handgun for about five years.He noted that the last time he used the handgun was on 7 December 2006, and had cleaned and secured the handgun that same day. Before the event, the instructor had fired the handgun five times. After the event, the instructor noticed that one bullet remained in the handgun. Other PTLA firearms instructors noted that this is the first time this type of event has occurred with Glock handguns at PTLA.
Cause Description:
Operating Conditions:
Training Exercises Activity Category:
Training Immediate Action(s): As a precaution, the firearms instructor was taken to LANL occupational medicine for evaluation. He was evaluated and released to return to work with no restrictions. He returned for a follow-up evaluation on 13 December 2006.
The handgun has been secured in the PTLA armory.
PTLA management has initiated an internal investigation.
The remaining box of single round loading magazine ammunition has been removed from service and will be properly disposed of.
PTLA will not use defective rounds for training and will dispose of them.
FM Evaluation:
DOE Facility Representative Input:
DOE Program Manager Input:
Further Evaluation is Required:
No Division or Project:
Protection Technology Los Alamos Plant Area: TA72, Firing Range 1
System/Building/Equipment: Glock 22 Handgun Facility
Ka-Boom!!! This will be all over Glock Talk in about 30 seconds if not there already.
so... don't play with your weapon.
ping
maybe if cops spent more time on firearms training this wouldn't happen.
and why would you regularly a glock with a round chambered?
BTTT
That's good.
Don't know why this story brought that line to mind, but it did.
Is the barrel rifled so tightly to the chamber that the bullet impacts/engages the rifling upon slide lockup? If not, repeated chambering of a round usually moves the bullet outwards, thereby increasing the space within the cartridge. Sort of like an inertial bullet puller (fast motion/quick stop). The sudden stop on lockup is much more powerful than the initial movement of the slide starting forward, which is the motion which would cause bullet setback.
Catastrophic Failure of Semiautomatic Handguns [Glock]:
Its interesting how the title of the story implies there is a problem with Glock pistols when, in fact, its common knowledge [or should be] among people who know their weapons that you do not repeatedly chamber the same round over and over or else you risk this very problem [BOOM!].
It appears that the instructor [or whomever the pistol was assigned to] had not fired his weapon in some time -or- did not heed this warning [re-chambering round].
Train! Train! Train!
g_gunter
One answer is to practice with your self-defense ammo, recycling it frequently. I was too cheap to do it, frankly. Considering the alternative might be chasing my slide downrange, well, I'm thinking a reconsideration might be in order.
Color me skeptical.
You are trying to tell me that a round with a muzzle velocity of 1200-2000 fps simply blows a perfectly good gun apart because the round is pushed a miniscule distance further into the casing?
What is stopping the round from leaving the casing?
Is the burn rate of the powder SO FAST that it is overpressuring the ammunition case AND the the metal of the handgun, simply because it is pressed 1/1000th of an inch further into the case? If so, I'm assuming that handguns just blow up all the time with people who load their own rounds.
This doesn't sound right.
Back in my NRA trainer days, our group tried to discourage the use of Glocks on the range. We referred to them as 'Glops'. We had more trouble with Glocks than any other semi-auto pistol.
I've got the perfect way to fix this problem. Buy a SIG Sauer P-226. Problem solved.
I've read of this being an issue for the .40S&W round for some time.
Wheelguns?
Nothing beats a good revolver by your side.
Three things jump off the page at me1) Does everyone everyone dress this way at the range?
He wore the prescribed personal protective equipment for firearms use
(safety glasses, armored vest, head and hearing protection, nomex gloves, a long sleeve shirt, and safety boots.)
2) What does this mean? It sounds very unsafe!
PTLA will not use defective rounds for training and will dispose of them.
and three: the barrel looks like there had been a squibb load with an obstruction
