jenny@nw
Veteran
Was jet fuel dumped at low altitude?By Lisa Roose-Church
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Two Livingston County men who saw a Northwest Airlines jet dump fuel over Livingston County late Wednesday afternoon were questioning the next day whether some of the 200,000 pounds of fuel actually hit county ground.
However, Elizabeth Cory, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration, said the FAA's radar showed Northwest's Flight 11 was flying at 7,000 feet — well above the required 6,000 feet mark to safely dump fuel.
"At 7,000 feet, I could not pick out things like landing gear or the color of the tail," said Hamburg Township resident Bill Wheeler, who said the plane was much closer to the ground.
Wheeler said he was at Country Elementary School on M-36 in Hamburg Township when he saw the jet flying over. He estimated it was flying at 1,000-2,000 feet.
"I thought, 'Oh my goodness,'" Wheeler said. "He was heading west then he turned southwest and powered up into the sky a little more."
Greg McLaughlin, of Hartland Township, also estimated the jet had to be flying lower, although he would not guess at what altitude. He said he noticed it when he was at Euler Road and Grand River Avenue in Genoa Township.
"I find it hard to believe he was at 7,000 feet," he said. "From my visual, he was below the clouds. ... It looked a lot lower.
"I could see he was dumping and dumping and dumping," McLaughlin added.
At first, McLaughlin said, he was surprised to see a Boeing 747 flying low over the county. Then the jet made a sudden U-turn and he noticed something odd about its vapor stream.
"It was not a typical vapor stream," McLaughlin said. "I lived near Detroit Metro airport for 30 years and I've observed airplanes. I've never seen one with such a vapor stream."
Dean Breest, a spokesman with Northwest Airlines, said its Flight 11 flying from Detroit to Tokyo experienced difficulty retracting one of its five landing gears after take-off and had to return to the airport. Because it did not have time to burn off any of the fuel, it was too heavy, so the jet dumped almost 200,000 pounds of fuel over Washtenaw and Livingston counties.
It is customary after a long-haul international flight that fuel needs to be dumped so it is not too heavy to land. If it is too heavy, the landing gear can be damaged or destroyed.
Robert McCann, press secretary for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said none of the fuel should have reached the ground if it was dumped at 6,000 feet or above.
"Based on the information we have so far, the fuel was dumped at a level that would allow it to dissipate," he explained. "Based on that information, we're not expecting real concerns.
"If it touched (ground,) there would be minimal, if any, environmental impact," McCann said, stressing that it does not appear to be the situation with Flight 11.
If some of the fuel got into the soil or water, contamination could occur. The impact of that contamination and any clean-up would depend on how much fuel got into the soil or water and where.
McCann said the Washtenaw County Health Department has received complaints, which are being investigated. The nature of the complaints were not immediately known Thursday. No complaints had been reported in Livingston County, he said.
Breest did not return a message seeking comment on the environmental concerns. He did, however, issue a statement that said the flight landed normally and the 401 customers deplaned at the terminal. There were 19 crew members aboard.
"No emergency was declared," Breest said in the statement. "The customers are being accommodated on another 747-400 aircraft. Northwest apologizes for any inconvenience that this has caused."
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Two Livingston County men who saw a Northwest Airlines jet dump fuel over Livingston County late Wednesday afternoon were questioning the next day whether some of the 200,000 pounds of fuel actually hit county ground.
However, Elizabeth Cory, a spokeswoman with the Federal Aviation Administration, said the FAA's radar showed Northwest's Flight 11 was flying at 7,000 feet — well above the required 6,000 feet mark to safely dump fuel.
"At 7,000 feet, I could not pick out things like landing gear or the color of the tail," said Hamburg Township resident Bill Wheeler, who said the plane was much closer to the ground.
Wheeler said he was at Country Elementary School on M-36 in Hamburg Township when he saw the jet flying over. He estimated it was flying at 1,000-2,000 feet.
"I thought, 'Oh my goodness,'" Wheeler said. "He was heading west then he turned southwest and powered up into the sky a little more."
Greg McLaughlin, of Hartland Township, also estimated the jet had to be flying lower, although he would not guess at what altitude. He said he noticed it when he was at Euler Road and Grand River Avenue in Genoa Township.
"I find it hard to believe he was at 7,000 feet," he said. "From my visual, he was below the clouds. ... It looked a lot lower.
"I could see he was dumping and dumping and dumping," McLaughlin added.
At first, McLaughlin said, he was surprised to see a Boeing 747 flying low over the county. Then the jet made a sudden U-turn and he noticed something odd about its vapor stream.
"It was not a typical vapor stream," McLaughlin said. "I lived near Detroit Metro airport for 30 years and I've observed airplanes. I've never seen one with such a vapor stream."
Dean Breest, a spokesman with Northwest Airlines, said its Flight 11 flying from Detroit to Tokyo experienced difficulty retracting one of its five landing gears after take-off and had to return to the airport. Because it did not have time to burn off any of the fuel, it was too heavy, so the jet dumped almost 200,000 pounds of fuel over Washtenaw and Livingston counties.
It is customary after a long-haul international flight that fuel needs to be dumped so it is not too heavy to land. If it is too heavy, the landing gear can be damaged or destroyed.
Robert McCann, press secretary for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said none of the fuel should have reached the ground if it was dumped at 6,000 feet or above.
"Based on the information we have so far, the fuel was dumped at a level that would allow it to dissipate," he explained. "Based on that information, we're not expecting real concerns.
"If it touched (ground,) there would be minimal, if any, environmental impact," McCann said, stressing that it does not appear to be the situation with Flight 11.
If some of the fuel got into the soil or water, contamination could occur. The impact of that contamination and any clean-up would depend on how much fuel got into the soil or water and where.
McCann said the Washtenaw County Health Department has received complaints, which are being investigated. The nature of the complaints were not immediately known Thursday. No complaints had been reported in Livingston County, he said.
Breest did not return a message seeking comment on the environmental concerns. He did, however, issue a statement that said the flight landed normally and the 401 customers deplaned at the terminal. There were 19 crew members aboard.
"No emergency was declared," Breest said in the statement. "The customers are being accommodated on another 747-400 aircraft. Northwest apologizes for any inconvenience that this has caused."
