Flight drops jet fuel on school playground in California

A Delta plane returning to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after declaring an engine emergency dumped thousands of gallons of fuel over land Tuesday afternoon. An elementary school playground in Southern California was among the locations sprayed with fuel, firefighter officials said. There were an estimated 40 people affected on the ground, but no one was hospitalized.

Officials said 70 firefighters responded to the city of Cudahy near the airport, according to CBS Los Angeles. Children at Park Avenue Elementary School — which is located within the landing path to LAX, some 13 miles east — reported skin irritation and smelled what they said was jet fuel. LA fire officials tweeted a total of 17 children and nine adults had minor injuries at Park Avenue. All were treated on the scene.

Paramedics and hazmat teams also reported to three other schools, including Jordan High School and 93rd Street Elementary, where 12 people were treated.

LA County Fire Department Inspector Henry Narvaez told The Associated Press that fuel had dissipated by the time it reached the ground, but that people there could smell it.

Flight tracking website FlightAware showed Delta Air Lines Flight 89 to Shanghai, China, left LAX and circled back over Southern California before returning to the airport. The airliner said there were 149 customers and 16 crew members on board.

First responders at the scene of an elementary school in Southern California where jet fuel was found. CBS Los Angeles

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the flight declared an emergency shortly after departing from LAX, returned to the airport and landed without incident. “The aircraft landed safely after a release of fuel, which was required as part of normal procedure to reach a safe landing weight. We are in touch with Los Angeles World Airports and the LA County Fire Department and share concerns regarding reported minor injuries to adults and children at a school in the area.”

Delta said: “Shortly after takeoff, Flight 89 from LAX to Shanghai experienced an engine issue requiring the aircraft to return to LAX.”

Los Angeles Unified School District issued a statement saying “students and staff were on the playground at the time and may have been sprayed by fuel or inhaled fumes.” Paramedics were immediately called, officials said, and anyone reporting skin irritation or breathing problems was treated.

“I was so scared,” Marian Torres, an 11-year-old student, told CBS News. “We went inside and then my eyes started itching.”

Some on social media captured what appeared to be the plane dumping fuel as it approached LAX in an attempt to reduce the plane’s weight before it made a successful landing.

What happened to Delta Air Lines Flight 89?

After takeoff, the pilots of the Boeing 777 received a notification of a possible compressor stall affecting its right engine. The pilots radioed air traffic control, declared an emergency and turned around. A compressor stall — or compressor stall warning — is a sign of an engine issue that typically prompts an engine shutdown.

Flight 89 was heading to Shanghai so it was loaded down with fuel and was well over the maximum safe landing weight. The pilots started dumping fuel at approximately 8,000 feet over water but then continued dumping fuel over land as the plane approached LAX.

The danger of landing heavy is that the landing gear could fail, the brakes could catch fire or pilots could not be able to stop in time. The plane landed without incident at LAX.

A former Boeing 777 captain told CBS News that he estimated the pilots would have likely dumped between 15,000-20,000 gallons of fuel. He also said that the pilots should have had time to safely circle and dump fuel over water at a higher altitude, and was surprised it was done at such a low altitude over land.

Kris Van Cleave and Danya Bacchus contributed to this report.