Fighter jet fuel removed, prevents contamination

By Sgt. Kenneth D. ReedAugust 18, 2015

Fuel clean-up
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Fuel clean-up
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- Following the F-16 crash, Aug. 11, 2015, near Engelmannreuth, Germany, 7th Army JMTC'S maneuver management and claims office contacted the Landrastamt of Neustadt an der Waldenaab county commissioner's office to begin clean-up efforts for the two fuel tanks that were dropped from the aircraft.

"On Thursday at approximately 8 a.m., I received word from the German authorities that the sites were cleared of the fuel tanks and the spill clean-up could begin," said Reinhold Plössner, JMTC's maneuver damage prevention officer.

The fuel tanks, carrying Jet Propellant 8 or JP8, were intentionally dropped by the pilot as a safety measure to reduce the chance of a fire or explosion.

"The weather forecast for the weekend showed signs of heavy rain, so clean-up efforts were coordinated and executed promptly to prevent the fuel from spreading to a larger area," said Plössner.

Friday the county commissioner's office sent a digging company out to assess the affected area. Around 3 p.m., about 25 cubic meters of contaminated soil was removed and taken to the U.S. Army training post near Grafenwoehr.

Bundesanstalt fuer Immobilien Aufgaben will now work with the land owner to assess the property damages for compensation.

The rest of the airplane crash site is still secured by the German military and is still under investigation.

For more information go to www.spangdahlem.af.mil.

Related Links:

7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command

Spangdahlem Air Base