Reserve maintainers respond quickly to C-5 fuel spill

  • Published
  • By Derek Kaufman
  • 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
Fast response by maintenance crews during the off-loading of jet fuel from a base C-5A Galaxy averted a major fuel spill here today, officials said.

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base firefighters responded to the 445th Airlift Wing parking ramp about 1:10 p.m. when a malfunction during the off-loading of fuel into an adjacent fuel truck resulted in a spill of close to 50 gallons of fuel beneath the aircraft. An equal amount of fuel was contained inside the belly of the aircraft, which maintenance crews are preparing to remove. There was no fire and no one was injured.

The 445th Airlift Wing maintenance team of traditional Reservists and Air Reserve Technicians had initiated the off-load of fuel to lighten the load of the massive C-5 to prepare it to be raised onto aircraft jacks to inspect the operation of landing gear. The jacking procedure limits total fuel load to about 60,000 pounds. All was functioning normally and an estimated 20,000 pounds of fuel had been off-loaded into the fuel truck when a problem was first identified.

"That's when the team heard two loud pops," said Chief Master Sgt. Frank Valensi, quality assurance superintendent for the 445th Maintenance Group. "Immediately they ceased the defueling operation, observed a fuel leak and spill beneath the aircraft."

"It was a textbook response. The technicians reacted superbly. They executed their emergency procedures and shut everything down exactly the way they were trained," Valensi said. "The fire department was called immediately and the fuel truck was disengaged from the aircraft. When the fire department responded, we determined we had a Class 3 fuel spill and at that point the base firefighters took charge of the scene and the cleanup."

Aircraft maintenance crews are trained and equipped to handle small spills but immediately notify the fire department. Base firefighters contained the spill to the area beneath the aircraft with large HAZMET absorbent pads and specialized HAZMET pools, said Chief Jacob King, assistant chief of operations for the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Fire Department.  A contractor for 88th Air Base Wing Environmental Management will remove the fuel soaked pads for proper disposal.

Chief King acknowledged three neighboring fire companies dispatched equipment to the base, in response to the Wright-Patterson Fire Department's mutual aid call. Fairborn, Huber Heights and Bethel Township assisted with a total of four vehicles. King called the mutual support agreements "invaluable."

"Often we're called to provide mutual support to other area fire departments," King said. "This time they were able to render aid to us."

The cause of the leak has not yet been determined and will be investigated by base officials.