Japan Press Weekly

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2011 October 5 - 11 [SDF]

SDF F-15 fighter jet drops fuel tank

On October 7, the Air Self-Defense Force’s F-15 fighter jet dropped a 155kg fuel tank in Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture.

The fighter jet was taking part in a mock aerial battle and dropped a part of a mock missile in addition to the fuel tank, according to the Defense Ministry.

The fuel tank, 6.6m in length and 80cm in diameter, was dropped on a sewerage facility 4km from the Air SDF Komatsu base in Ishikawa’s Komatsu City.

A fighter jet unit stationed at the Komatsu base carries out take-off and landing practices day and night. An air zone is designated for their combat training over the Japan Sea.

Japanese Communist Party Nomi City Assembly member Kondo Keiko and JCP Kanan District Committee Chair Nishimura Yuji initiated investigation into the accident right after it occurred and interviewed nearby residents.

A woman living very close to the sewerage facility said, “When I was watching TV in my house, I heard a huge explosion that shook the window. We have kids in our house. It’s so scary to think what might have happened if it had dropped on our house.”

A director at the sewerage facility said, “We have many elementary school students visit here on class outings. Thank God it didn’t happen when they were here.”

JCP district committee chair Nishimura pointed to the possibility of an explosion of the fuel tank. He called on the base to thoroughly investigate the cause of the accident and suspend all flights of F-15 fighter jets until the investigations are completed.