An F-16 Fighting Falcon jet prepares for an approach at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., in 2019. One of fighter jets dropped a 300-gallon fuel tank Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, while flying over a residential part of Florida near the base. (Joshua Hoskins/U.S. Air Force)
An F-16 fighter jet dropped a 300-gallon fuel tank Tuesday while flying over a residential part of Niceville, Fla., near its home base at Eglin Air Force Base, service officials said.
No one was injured and no property damage was reported in the incident that occurred at about 11 a.m., an Eglin spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear why the fuel tank dropped during the flight, and the Air Force was investigating the incident, according to the statement.
The Fighting Falcon that dropped the tank was assigned to Eglin’s 96th Test Wing, according to the base. That unit specializes in testing and evaluating the latest weapons and other technology for the Air Force, including systems for F-16, F-15 and A-10 jets. Its pilots routinely fly in the area where the incident occurred, which was about two miles from Eglin’s gates, according to the service.
Niceville City Manager David Deitch told Mid Bay News, a local news website, that it was lucky the tank dropped without causing major harm.
“Only by the grace of God, it landed between two houses,” he said.
Those houses are just a 1/4 mile from Edge Elementary School, which was closed at the time of the incident. Students, who were on winter break, returned to school Wednesday as scheduled, according to the Okaloosa County School District.
Eglin officials said Wednesday that they intended to fly a small drone over the area where the fuel tank fell “to thoroughly survey the impact zone.” They said authorities had already begun cleaning up the area and working to ensure the tank could be removed safely.
The Air Force has flown F-16s since the 1970s, and they have proven critical to U.S. combat operations since, including in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Fighting Falcon is also used across the United States in a homeland defense role. The fighter jet can carry about 7,000 pounds of fuel internally and can add another 5,000 pounds of fuel in two external fuel tanks, which typically mount to the jet’s wings or its upper fuselage, according to the Air Force.
