Over 60 people were treated for minor injuries after a Delta jet dumped fuel on a bunch of Los Angeles schools during a mid-air emergency.
The incident happened on Tuesday when a Delta flight was forced to dump fuel over a Los Angeles schoolyard and building after it departed from the Los Angeles International Airport.
At least 20 children were treated for minor injuries after being exposed to jet fuel.
According to the Los Angeles County Fire Department, over 60 people were treated from seven schools in the area.
No one was rushed to hospitals.
No evacuation order or major casualties were reported.
The Los Angeles Unified School District confirmed that staff and students from the schools were being treated for skin irritation and breathing problems.
A statement was released by the Los Angeles Unified School District, in which they said, “Students and staff were on the playground at the time and may have been sprayed by fuel or inhaled fumes.”
Fire officials said getting exposed to jet duel shouldn’t have any significant side effects.
Delta Flight 89, the flight that dumped the fuel, was on its way to Shanghai, China, when it experienced an engine issue that required it to return to LAX shortly after it took off.
The plane landed after dumping the fuel.
Dumping fuel is part of a procedure during an emergency landing.
Delta Air released a statement about the incident, where they said, “We are in touch with Los Angeles World Airports and the L.A. County Fire Department and share concerns regarding reported minor injuries to adults and children at a school in the area.”
The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) said they are looking into the reports that school children were being treated for fuel exposure.
Talking about the fuel dump, the FAA said there are special fuel-dumping procedures for aircraft that are operating from major airports in the United States of America.
In a statement the FAA released, they said, “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.”
The FAA also said that the Delta Air Flight 89 did not tell air traffic control that they needed to dump fuel.
According to the FAA, the crew of the plane should have informed the tower of the issue so that the control tower could navigate the airplane to a less populated area.
The Los Angeles International Airport confirmed that they were aware the flight had a mechanical issue.
LAX also knew that the plane was conducting an emergency fuel release before they returned to the airport.
In a statement the Los Angeles International Airport released on Twitter, they said, “We are concerned about reports of impacts on the ground from the fuel release, and are in close communication with Delta and first responders as their investigations continue.”