CAMP PENDLETON : Jet Drops Fuel Tank Onto Marine Base

An empty 325-pound fuel tank being carried by an F/A-18 Hornet en route to the Miramar Naval Air Station fell from the plane Wednesday and landed in a tomato patch in Camp Pendleton, Navy officials said.

The 15-foot-long tank, which can hold about 330 gallons of fuel, landed several miles from a populated area about 2 p.m. It did not explode and caused no damage, Navy spokesman Doug Sayers said.

Sayers said the concern in such incidents is the risk to populated areas; but, in this case, the tank’s fall did not affect even the flight of the F/A-18, which was based at the Point Mugu Naval Air Station in Ventura County.

“The Marines (at Camp Pendleton) called us and said they had found one of our tanks,” Sayers said. “We checked it out, and sure enough, the specifications matched. Our concern is, we don’t want those dropping off in populated areas and, fortunately, that didn’t happen.”