A tanker truck delivering 8,000 gallons of jet fuel overturned yesterday morning on Airport Drive within the Richmond International Airport property in Henrico County.
The accident closed the main entrance to the airport and all lanes of Williamsburg Road between Lewis Road and Airport Drive for most of the day, according to Henrico police.
The driver, who was trapped for about 45 minutes in the vehicle, was extracted in stable condition and taken to VCU Medical Center after the accident shortly after 10 a.m., police said. The truck failed to negotiate a left turn and rolled over twice before coming to a halt about a half-mile west of the airport's main entrance on Williamsburg Road, police and witnesses said.
Emergency crews began pumping fuel from the truck about 4 p.m. A Henrico fire department spokesman said no drinking-water supplies were contaminated by the spill although some of the liquid entered Gillie Creek on the airport property. Initial estimates were that about 1,000 gallons spilled, according to Troy Bell, Capital Region Airport Commission spokesman.
Flights were not delayed, and Bell said access to the terminal was gained from Charles City Road.
The tank itself ruptured, Bell said. "We had a lot of [jet fuel] spill out."
Bell said cleanup work could take weeks.
Airport Drive was reopened northbound -- headed away from the airport -- but the southbound lanes into the airport remained closed late yesterday evening. Williamsburg Road opened to traffic yesterday afternoon.
"I'm not seeing congestion issues out front," Bell said yesterday afternoon. "It wasn't a particularly busy travel day. If this had been a week later, it would have been a different story."
Airport police and fire personnel responded to the accident, as did Henrico police, fire and hazardous-material units.
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