Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Catastrophic failure of a plane causes a fire, catastrophic failure of a rocket causes a detonation the size of a small nuke. Rockets do not detonate. They cause rapid burning. The fuel and oxidizer are not well mixed so cannot detonate.
I meant 'they explode" in laymans terms
The terms "nuke" were used which conveys the entirely wrong message. Even if you release the energy of a nuke, if you release it slowly you can even generate electricity from it. What matters is how fast the energy is released and a rocket explosion releases energy relatively slowly.