Ishiro Serizawa: The arrogance of man is thinking that nature is in our control and not the other way around. Let them fight.
Dr. Ichiro Serizawa: In 1954, we awakened something.
Vivienne Graham: Those nuclear tests in the Pacific... Not tests.
Dr. Ichiro Serizawa: They were trying to kill it.
Ford: Why can't you just let her rest?
Joe Brody: Because I sent her down there.
Answer: Because detaching them and reattaching them would have taken time, which they didn't have.
But, after the crash, they remove the warheads and transport them by helicopter and leave the boosters behind, as they only need the warheads.