Fuel Spill Briefly Closes Main Runway at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport
The main runway at Sarasota Bradenton International Airport was temporarily closed Friday morning after an aircraft accidentally released jet fuel during takeoff, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Airport officials said the incident occurred around 9:45 a.m. when an A-4 Skyhawk fighter jet departed Runway 14 heading southeast. Approximately 20 minutes later, airport crews were alerted to a fuel spill and discovered a large amount of jet fuel dispersed on the pavement near the northwest approach end of the runway.
Mark Stuckey, executive vice president at SRQ, stated that the aircraft is owned by Top Aces, a company that provides combat flight and adversary training for the U.S. military. Stuckey said an estimated 150 gallons of fuel were released during the incident.
Air traffic controllers declared an emergency for the pilot, and the aircraft safely returned and landed at SRQ without further incident. A 300- to 500-foot section of the runway appeared damp and had a noticeable fuel odor, though no standing fuel puddles were observed, according to the DEP report.
Airport fire rescue equipment was dispatched to assist with the cleanup. The runway was officially closed at 10:12 a.m. Officials later determined that only about 3,000 feet of the airport’s 9,500-foot runway had been affected. Departing flights were allowed to resume using an intersection takeoff while cleanup continued.
Cleanup operations were completed, and after inspection, the full runway reopened to all traffic at 10:56 a.m., the DEP reported. No injuries were reported, and airport operations returned to normal shortly thereafter.
