---
title: "Boeing 777 Dumps Fuel on California Schoolchildren"
description: "17 children and nine adults are being treated for minor injuries today after a jet approaching LAX dumped a bunch of jet fuel over an elementary school."
date: "2020-01-14"
modified: "2020-01-14"
authors:
  - name: "Victor Tangermann"
    job_title: "Senior Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/boeing-777-dumps-fuel-california-schoolchildren"
categories:
  - "Boeing"
  - "Future Society"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "#airlines"
  - "aircraft"
  - "boeing"
  - "delta"
  - "the digest"
---

# Boeing 777 Dumps Fuel on California Schoolchildren

![17 children and nine adults are being treated for minor injuries today after a jet approaching LAX dumped a bunch of jet fuel over an elementary school.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/boeing-777-dumps-fuel-on-california-schoolchildren.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Andreas Weiland/Victor Tangermann\</em\>*

## A Cruel Joke

Seventeen children and nine adults are being treated for minor injuries today after an aircraft approaching LAX dumped jet fuel over an elementary school playground in Cudahy, California, [*The Los Angeles Times* reports](<https://ktla.com/2020/01/14/lax-bound-aircraft-apparently-drops-fuel-on-elementary-school-in-cudahy-multiple-patients-assessed/>) — a canny metaphor, perhaps, for a next generation being handed a planet ravaged by fossil fuel-induced climate change.

"All minor injuries with no transports to local hospital from school,"[ tweeted](<https://twitter.com/LACoFDPIO/status/1217196889449197568>) the LA County Fire Department Tuesday afternoon. "Refer to school regarding plans for child pick-up."

## "Mechanical Issues"

The leaky plane was identified as a Delta Air Lines Boeing 777 with "mechanical issues," which landed safely at LAX just before noon, [according to *KTLA5*](<https://ktla.com/2020/01/14/lax-bound-aircraft-apparently-drops-fuel-on-elementary-school-in-cudahy-multiple-patients-assessed/>).

A spokesperson for LA City Fire told the *LA Times* that two classes were taking place outside when jet fuel rained down from the sky.

**READ MORE:** [Jet returning to LAX dumps fuel on school playground; paramedics treat 17 children](<https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-01-14/plane-dumps-fuel-on-students-on-school-playground-en-route-to-lax-officials-say>) \[*LA Times*\]

**More on jet fuel:** *[NASA Is Working on Electric Planes Powered by Cryogenic Hydrogen](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/nasa-electric-planes-hydrogen>)*

## Author
I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/vtanger.bsky.social>)