Well, that well's capped

[M1903A1]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

I'm more shocked that no one thought this could happen and to have a viable way to control such a disaster.

My impression has been that they had ways in mind, that had worked before (albeit under different conditions), and figured they'd work here too. Only when they actually tried them did they find that, umm...no they didn't work!

A classic case of "no battle plan ever survives first contact with the enemy".