JP-5 Fuel spill; Surf City, NC

Surf City, NC | 2009-Aug-27

Initial Notification: At 1530 hours on 8/27/09 Sector North Carolina notified the NOAA SSC that at approximately 1500 hours a fuel tank containg 400 gallons of JP-5 fell off a Navy aircraft as it flying along the coastline just offshore of Surf City, NC. The fuel tank ruptured upon impact after hitting the water. USCG reported a visable surface sheen and that the jet fuel was washing ashore. According to the USCG, the floating fuel tank was located approximatley one mile offshore of Surf City. With air temperatures in the low 90's combined with ocean water temperatures in the mid-80's, it expected that the jet fuel will dissipate rather quickly. No human health or environmental impacts have bee reported or are expected. USCG requested a verbal trajectory, weather and tides from NOAA.