Incoming! US air base thrown into panic after warning a missile was about to hit is sent to personnel

  • Message meant for 1 person mistakenly sent to all personnel at NATO airbase
  • Message read: 'MISSILE INBOUND. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!'
  • Inadvertent incident occurred at NATO airbase in Spangdahlem, Germany
  • Eight minutes later, another message recalled the missile warning 

By Forrest Hanson For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

For eight panic-stricken moments the airmen of a US airbase in Germany thought that they were under attack when a message was sent warning of an incoming missile attack.

The terse bright red test message was supposed to be sent to one person only, but was instead sent to all wing personnel at NATO's Spangdahlem Air Base, 100 miles west of Frankfurt.

Labeled 'high severity' the warning read: 'MISSILE INBOUND. SEEK SHELTER IMMEDIATELY!'

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Acknowledged: What was supposed to be a test message sent to one person was instead sent to all wing personnel at Spangdahlem Air Base

Acknowledged: What was supposed to be a test message sent to one person was instead sent to all wing personnel at Spangdahlem Air Base

Humor: Social media users had fun with the mistaken announcement at the NATO air base in Germany. One user added an embarrassed smiley face to the original test message 

Humor: Social media users had fun with the mistaken announcement at the NATO air base in Germany. One user added an embarrassed smiley face to the original test message 

Major Bryon McGarry told Stars and Stripes: 'One of the command post controllers was building a template for this specific thing that was posted....And he inadvertently sent it to everybody.'

The message was distributed through the base's AtHoc emergency alert system and appeared on user desktops in a tab that normally shows weather warnings.

Eight minutes later, a blue message recalled the missile warning and cleared up the matter.

It read: 'A missile warning message was sent out inadvertently. PLEASE DISREGARD AND RESUME NORMAL OPERATIONS.'

Correction: Eight minutes later, a blue message recalled the missile warning and cleared up the matter

Correction: Eight minutes later, a blue message recalled the missile warning and cleared up the matter

Entrance to Spangdahlem Air Base
Soldiers patrolling the airbase

Military precision: Spangdahlem Air Base is 100 miles west of Frankfurt, Germany and the US Air Force is the major tenant 

No alarms or sirens were sounded in what could've been a recipe for chaos and the individuals responsible for the error have been counseled, Air Force Times reported.

But eight minutes was not enough time to prevent amused airmen from uploading the gaffe to social media.

One user added an embarrassed smiley face to the original test message.

Another meme invoked the 1983 Matthew Broderick film 'War Games,' which detailed a computer whiz nearly starting a nuclear war by accident, saying: 'Meanwhile at Spangdahlem Air Base...'

Inbound: Another meme invoked the 1983 Matthew Broderick film 'War Games,' which detailed a computer whiz nearly starting a nuclear war by accident, saying: 'Meanwhile at Spangdahlem Air Base...'

Inbound: Another meme invoked the 1983 Matthew Broderick film 'War Games,' which detailed a computer whiz nearly starting a nuclear war by accident, saying: 'Meanwhile at Spangdahlem Air Base...'

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