Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Los Angeles airport incident: Delta plane dumps fuel on school playground

Two elementary schools report noxious fumes and skin irritation as Boeing makes emergency landing at LAX

Alex Woodward
New York
Tuesday 14 January 2020 17:07 GMT
Comments
Los Angeles airport incident: Video appears to show Delta plane that dumped fuel on school playground

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Firefighters and paramedics treated 17 children and nine adults for minor injuries after a plane dumped fuel on the way to Los Angeles International Airport.

Two elementary schools in Los Angeles and Cudahy, California reported noxious fumes and children suffering from skin irritation, shortly after a Delta Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the airport.

Crews including 70 firefighters and paramedics responded to reports at 93rd Street Elementary and Park Avenue Elementary.

The fire department has confirmed that the substance was jet fuel.

Paramedics didn't transport anyone from the schools to local hospitals. A total of 23 people were treated at the scenes. There also are no evacuation orders in place for the immediate area.

Delta's Shanghai-bound Boeing 777 took off from Los Angeles but returned to the airport after reporting an engine issue.

A company statement doesn't mention that its fuel had landed on an elementary school.

It dumped fuel during its return and landed safely back at LAX. An "emergency fuel release" was intended to reduce the plane's landing weight.

The Los Angeles Unified School District says that the schools immediately called paramedics as children and staff on the playgrounds and outside the classrooms reported being sprayed by or inhaling fumes.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in