WASHINGTON, October 17 (RIA Novosti) - A dummy bomb that was accidentally dropped from a U.S. military plane on October 15 onto the Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas bounced onto a nearby highway, hitting a truck, the base said.

The driver of the truck on Las Vegas Boulevard North was unhurt in the incident.

"The weapon, a 25-pound bomb dummy unit-33, landed near a mobility warehouse on the base before bouncing into the road and striking a civilian vehicle," the Nellis base said on its website.

"We take this incident very seriously. The safety of our airmen and our neighbors here is of the utmost concern to us and we're very, very thankful no one was injured," Brig. Gen. Russell J. Handy, the 57th Wing commander, said.

The BDU-33 training bomb is used to simulate air-to-ground weapons and does not contain explosives. The device has a small smoke charge used to mark the impact point.

Investigators said the incident was probably not due to negligence on the part of the pilot, but was more likely the result of mechanical failure.