Just out of curiosity, where would a pilot look to do this (obviously not over a densely populated area) body of water/grassland/forest? Any idea what the ramifications to that area are? Is the fuel just left to evaporate or does an organized clean up need to occur?
It evaporates pretty rapidly.
The fuel jettison system tends to vaporize the fuel.
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/5/5/7/1457755.jpg
http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/1/9/7/1386791.jpg
I was on a DC-10 (United, I think) taking off from O’Hare about 20 years ago when a fan blade in the left engine broke, punched its way through the engine cowling, and ricocheted off the nearest passenger window. The pilot shut down the engine, reassured us that the DC-10 could fly safely on the remaining two engines, and proceeded to spend the next 45 minutes dumping enough fuel into the Great Lakes to enable us to land back at O’Hare safely. Any concerns I might have had about the environment evaporated immediately; all I cared about was getting back on the ground safely.
It was this incident that started my fear of flying, and I quit entirely two years ago. I’m not into near-death experiences.
I’ve dumped fuel a few times. . .once over downtown St Louis. Dumped fuel when over 5,000’.
When fuel hits the airstream, POOF, it becomes a mist and quickly dissipates.
No fuel reaches the ground. . .not in a form that those on the ground can smell or experience.
