“Only By The Grace of God,” Fuel Pod Lands in Niceville and Causes No Injuries or Damage.

A fuel pod from a military aircraft dropped from the sky and miraculously missed people, homes and cars Tuesday morning.

“Only by the grace of God, it landed between two houses,” said Niceville City Manager David Deitch.

The incident occurred at a home on Monette St., about 600 meters from Edge Elementary School, and left the shredded wreckage of the fuel pod on the ground feet from a home and a strong smell of jet fuel wafting through the air. 

Eglin Air Force Base confirmed on the scene that no one was hurt, the pod didn’t destroy any property in the impact and they were investigating the incident.

Residents who live next to the site said they heard a loud crash outside of their homes and went outside to determine what happened. Minutes later, they say a small army of first responders from Eglin Air Force Base descended on their home.

Kenneth Lowe lives next to where the fuel pod fell. He said his daughter called him and told him there was an explosion in his yard. He says when he got home, a fuel tank was lying in his property’s driveway.

“There’s a lot of people standing around, wringing their hands about what they are going to do – as far as hazmat and so forth.”

Other neighbors said the jet fuel had also begun to seep onto their property.

Lowe said the incident didn’t make him rethink living where he does, near the line of the Jet Noise Zone designated APZ 2 by the Air Force on their maps of the area.

“No,” he said when asked if this would make him move, “They fly over my house every day.”

This is a developing story, and we will have more updates as we get them.