An F-16 from the 96th Test Wing dropped a fuel tank on a Florida neighborhood Jan 7 near Eglin AFB. It’s unknown right now whether it fell off, or was jettisoned, but it was pure luck that nobody on the ground was injured or killed.
The external tank fell in the town of Niceville, close to an elementary school that was closed at the time. Shredded wreckage was all over people’s yards. Residents reported a very strong smell too, so the tank was definitely not empty when it fell.
The fuel tank almost crashed into a house
The fuel tank actually landed in someone’s driveway, just feet from their home.
“Only by the grace of God, it landed between two houses,” said Niceville City Manager David Deitch.
“There’s a lot of people standing around, wringing their hands about what they are going to do – as far as hazmat and so forth,” said resident Kenneth Lowe to MidBayNews.com, who lives at the scene.
Investigation is underway
An Air Force Safety Investigation Board is currently trying to determine why it happened. A drone was flown over the scene to survey the area. No property damage has been reported, according to Eglin AFB.
The wreckage has since been removed from the scene. A spill response team from Eglin is currently leading the clean-up, which will take several weeks.
“Our environmental management team is working diligently to clean up the affected areas,” said Col. Michelle Sterling, 96th CEG commander. “We are communicating our efforts with the homeowners and want to assure the community we are engaged in clean up procedures.”
