Nobody hurt when refueling hose falls from military cargo plane onto San Diego County house

Hose falls from Marine plane onto SD County house

SAN DIEGO — A 75-foot refueling hose fell from a large cargo plane that was part of an air show Saturday and landed on a house in a San Diego County neighborhood, according to military officials. No one was injured.

Investigators were trying to determine how the heavy-duty retractable rubber hose became detached from a C-130J Hercules, Maj. Jay Delarosa of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar said.

The house in Carmel Mountain just north of the Marine base sustained roof damage.

Retired navy nurse Cashmere Monroe was in the garage when the hose hit her home, and her 14-year-old daughter was in the house.

“When I heard the noise, I thought the garage door had hit something,” Monroe told the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Monroe went inside and a neighbor knocked on her door and told her to look at the roof. She told the newspaper she immediately smelled fuel fumes when she opened the door.

Fire officials evacuated both Monroe’s house and a neighbor’s house.

There was likely a small amount of jet fuel in the hose, according to Delarosa. The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said no fires were reported.

Hazardous material crews and Marine Corps recovery teams were at the suburban home about 20 miles north of downtown San Diego early Saturday afternoon.

Fire officials estimated the damage at $10,000.

Delarosa didn’t know if the four-engine C-130J was in the process of refueling another aircraft when the hose fell.

The mishap occurred as the annual Miramar Air Show attracted tens of thousands of people to the Miramar base. The incident did not affect the air show, Delarosa said.

The C-130J is a four-engine turboprop aircraft manufactured by Lockheed Martin. The transport planes are a military workhorse used around the world for more than 50 years, although the Marines fly newer versions of them.