•✈️ What: An F-16 fuel pod fell onto Gene Lowe’s property, spilling jet fuel and causing significant damage.
•📍 Where: Lowe’s property near Turkey Creek in Niceville, Florida.
Last week took a wild turn for Gene Lowe when a fuel pod from an F-16 fighter jet stationed at Eglin Air Force Base dropped onto his property and spilled jet fuel everywhere.
Eglin Police and Fire Teams swarmed Lowe’s home, which sits at the crest of a small hill above Turkey Creek. Teams began to clean the area, which continued to smell of jet fuel.
According to Lowe, Eglin would remove the fuel pod three days after it fell from the sky. The cleanup crews also tore down trees and removed patio furniture and shrubberies.
In total, Lowe says, Eglin employees removed two dumpsters of debris off his property due to the drop. As of Friday, he says there was still a pool of jet fuel near his front door – although government employees had power-washed his house.
Lowe has lived in the house for more than two decades – and now says his most significant concern regarding the place is that he won’t be able to sell it if he wants to.
“I’m curious about what I will have to do in order to sell that property. Do I have to disclose that? Is it going to decrease the property value quite a bit?” he asked.
Lowe says he’s been in contact with several lawyers about the situation.
John Murray of Murray, Morin, and Herman is a board-certified aviation law attorney who’s argued cases stemming from incidents like this one in the past. According to Murray – this is one of the times a person can sue the government because it is one of the case areas that is not protected by the legal doctrine of sovereign immunity. In this case, he says the Federal Tort Claims Act allows non-military members to sue the Federal Government for damages.
Murray says it’s overwhelmingly likely that the federal government would pay for remediation without a victim of a situation like a fuel pod dropping from the heavens onto private property retaining counsel – but if government officials were to hold out on a property owner – the property owner would have to follow a specific process to get the ball rolling on restitution.
First, a property owner must file an administrative claim with the Department of Justice called a Form 95. The Form 95 is sent to the government, which has six months to respond. If the government does not respond in six months, then the affected property owner can sue the Federal government for damages.
The claim would get handled in federal court – and unlike other lawsuits, the property owner would not be entitled to a jury trial – a judge would make a decision in the case.
Should they win the case, the property owner would only be entitled to the cost of cleanup and the lost value or use of the property.
We contacted Eglin Air Force Base Public Affairs for this story but have not received a comment from them. We will update this story if something changes.
More below:
Has this story made a difference for you? Consider making a monthly supporting donation to Mid Bay News so that we can continue to create meaningful local journalism for our community.
Niceville Realtor Cindy Zimmermann has grandkids in Niceville – the former military spouse says it put last week’s events in stark relief for her business. After all, it’s not just the terror-inducing thought of objects falling from the sky; it’s the after effects of the jet fuel seeping into the ground around the drop site that makes her concerned.
“I would certainly feel like a homeowner who was right in that area could have potential problems selling their house,” Zimmermann said, “I’d be very leery purchasing a home [in that area].
In Florida, the law requires sellers to disclose incidents like this to buyers – who might not take kindly to finding out about jet fuel laced into the ground on their property.
People who might apply for loans to take the house and make it a rental property might have difficulty getting a loan, as some banks might require an environmental study before going forward.
Fuel pods are pretty expensive and are rarely jettisoned from military aircraft – especially on training missions. Typically, a plane only jettisons its fuel pods in the case of an in-flight emergency.
Still, it does happen. On July 31, 2024, an F-16 Fighter Jet with the Ohio Air National Guard dropped its fuel tanks after what local news radio WCMU says was “a malfunction that forced a pilot to drop two fuel tanks from 12,000 feet in the air over Iosco county and into Lake Huron.”
The remains of the tanks fell into Lake Huron – and also hit a truck in a parking lot. According to the Air Force’s website, the external fuel tanks on an F-16 carry roughly 6,000 pounds of jet fuel in them.
The radio station noted that the Air National Guard had provided “zero communication” about the incident. A reporter had to call a dozen people before someone could confirm what had happened.
F-16s use JP-8 Jet Fuel to power their flight – something I learned and will never forget after referring to JP-8 as AV-Gas when I initially reported from these scene and was corrected by the legion of JP-8 advocates in the area.
Studies conducted by The Centers for Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registery note ” Studies of military personnel suggest that exposure to JP-8 may affect the nervous system. Studies in laboratory animals suggest that exposure to these jet fuels can also cause damage to the liver, immune system, and the skin.” The fuels are kerosene-based and contain “a mixture of compounds called hydrocarbons.” The report adds that little is known about the effects of JP-8 on humans other than it has affected the nervous system of military personnel.
Stop scrolling social media to find out what’s going on in Niceville. Sign up for our weekly newsletter for the info impacting your daily life!