A small explosion triggered by a short circuit caused an F-15 fighter jet to drop an auxiliary fuel tank over Ishikawa Prefecture in October, the head of the Air Self-Defense Force said Friday.
The accident was caused after a nut used to fasten the wiring used to open and close the valve regulating the fuel flow from the tank to the engines in the fuselage became loose, leading to the exposure of bare wire.
This eventually caused it to short out, igniting fuel vapors from the tank and blowing it off the fuselage, said Gen. Shigeru Iwasaki, chief of staff of the ASDF.
How the nut became loose is not known, he added.
The fuel tank, which was 6.6 meters long, 0.8 meter in diameter and weighed 155 kg, fell at around 8:45 a.m. on Oct. 7 some 4 km north-northeast of the Komatsu air base, along with parts of a mock air-to-air missile that also was apparently damaged by the explosion. No injuries were reported.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp
http://www.japantimes.co.jp
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