As many as 56 people, including children were injured after an airliner with an engine problem dumped a mist of fuel in the city of Cudahy and nearby parts of Los Angeles County on Tuesday. The plane further made an emergency landing at the Los Angeles International Airport. According to officials, 56 children and adults suffered suffered skin and lung irritation following the incident. The fuel sprayed out of the plane in two lines and the strong-smelling vapor fell on five elementary schools, but all injuries were minor and no one was taken to hospitals.
All the fuel evaporated very quickly and nothing flammable remained in the air or on the ground. People were treated with soap and water, Fire Inspector Henry Narvaez said.
Shortly after takeoff, Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai “experienced an engine issue requiring the aircraft to return quickly to LAX. The aircraft landed safely after release of fuel, which was required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight,” the company said in a statement. The airline did not release details about the engine problem.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it is investigating.
“There are special fuel-dumping procedures for aircraft operating into and out of any major U.S. airport,” the FAA said in a statement.
“These procedures call for fuel to be dumped over designated unpopulated areas, typically at higher altitudes so the fuel atomizes and disperses before it reaches the ground.”
Jet dumps fuel that lands on schoolkids near Los Angeles
The FlightAware website’s flight track showed the jet took off over the ocean and made an immediate right turn toward land and circled back over Southern California to approach the airport from the east.
Delta said it was in touch with the airport and Fire Department and shared “concerns regarding reported minor injuries to adults and children.”
The Los Angeles Unified School District said its Park Avenue Elementary campus in Cudahy and 93rd Street Elementary had “direct impacts from the fuel.”
Cornell said 31 children and adults were affected at Park Avenue, and 12 at 93rd Street. The rest of those affected were at other schools.
The school district said in a statement that paramedics were immediately called to treat anyone complaining of “skin irritation or breathing problems” and that its environmental health and safety office also responded.
Park Avenue sixth-grader Diego Martinez said he and his classmates were outside for physical education class when they saw the airplane flying low overhead.
“It was very close,” he said.
Shortly afterward, the air filled with the pungent odor of fuel.
“It was very strong, the odor,” the 12-year-old said.
Diego wasn’t doused but some of his friends complained that their skin was itching.
Some teachers at Park Avenue had headaches from the smell, said Antonio Buenabad, area representative for the United Teachers Los Angeles union.
“They were anxious to get home and shower because the stench was very strong,” he said of the teachers.
A high school was also affected, but no one was treated there.
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