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A fuel tanker truck overturned at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on Thursday, spilling over 4,000 gallons of fuel onto the tarmac. The tanker truck was carrying 10,000 gallons of jet fuel when it overturned in Cargo Area A, near Runway 13R-31L. Emergency personnel and a HazMat crew arrived on the scene to begin cleanup efforts and prevent further spillage but the cause of the spill remains under investigation.
The New York City Fire Department was called to JFK before 11 a.m. on Dec. 7 after a tanker truck overturned. According to a timeline by Citizen, the FDNY Units began working to coordinate efforts with Port Authority officials, arriving on the scene with HazMat units to mitigate the leak. The units confirmed that the tanker was on its side and leaking fuel onto a roadway and the teams began using foam, sand and other fuel-absorbing agents to stop the leak and clean up the fuel on the tarmac. The firefighters confirmed that 4,000 gallons of fuel had spilled onto the runway but it was covered in foam to prevent it from spreading and the HazMat team worked to find the best way to offload the remaining fuel.
No injuries were reported and authorities and the airport have not released a statement on the incident yet. Within a couple of hours, the situation had de-escalated and EMS and FDNY units were released from the scene. A Port Authority spokesperson told AM New York that the incident happened away from JFK air traffic operations and did not impact the runway or flights. The cause of the spill is being investigated.