On Saturday, Jan. 6, after more than two days of continuous JFK arrival into, at times, two runways simultaneously, the air in the Southside section of the Village of Floral Park felt like it could be ignited. The Southside had an extremely strong odor of unburned (dumped) jet fuel mixed with normal jet pollutants. I went for an exercise walk and immediately felt eye, nose and throat irritation and burning. I spoke to a number of residents out that morning who reported the exact same symptoms.

One gentleman confirmed seeing fuel being dumped and another, an airport employee who resides in the village, confirmed the odor was unburned JT4 Aviation fuel. Some airline carriers will illegally dump fuel before landing to meet specific landing weight requirements.

Robert O'Gorman