Part of the second fuel tank jettisoned by a U.S. F-16 fighter jet is seen in the town of Fukaura, Aomori Prefecture, on Dec. 2, 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Defense)

       In the wake of a U.S. F-16 fighter jet belonging to the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan dumping two fuel tanks mid-flight, it has been learned that the U.S. military base told the local municipal government on Dec. 1 that the tanks were jettisoned because of an engine trouble warning.

       The fighter jet made an emergency landing at Aomori Airport in the city of Aomori on the evening of Nov. 30, and just before the landing, two fuel tanks were dumped. One of the tanks was found near a house in the Aomori Prefecture town of Fukaura.

       The other tank was initially not found, but the base announced on Dec. 2 that it had been located in a wooded area in the same town. According to the Ministry of Defense, the site was about 900 meters southeast of where the first one was found. As for the tanks, the U.S. military had initially announced that they had been dumped near Mount Iwaki east of Fukaura, and a senior defense ministry official criticized this, saying that "it was outside the margin of error."

       According to the Misawa Municipal Government, the deputy commander of the U.S. air base explained on Dec. 1 that two F-16 fighter jets had taken off from the base for training and were flying west when a warning was displayed on one of the jets.

       The U.S. military manual states that in case of engine trouble and other problems, the fuel tanks are to be disconnected to make the aircraft lighter and then the pilot should head for the nearest airport. It is believed that the fighter jet that showed the warning signs reacted according to the manual.

       The deputy commander also revealed that the pilot said they had visually selected an area where there were no buildings and no people and then jettisoned the tanks. The pilot also reportedly explained that the other jet had circled over the dumped area to make sure there was no fire.

       The Ministry of Defense had requested the U.S. military to suspend F-16 fighter flights until their safety was confirmed, but their flights resumed on Dec. 2 at Misawa Air Base.

       (Japanese original by Yushi Ezawa, Aomori Bureau; and Yoshitake Matsuura, Tokyo City News Department)

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