String of problems preceded 2022 dump of jet's fuel tank near Okinawa, report shows | Jon Mitchell Investigates
On 30 May 2022, a 5-meter-long metal tank was discovered on a beach in Higashi Village, alarming residents with its stench of fuel. Only after its discovery did the US military report that the tank had been jettisoned the previous day by a US Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet flying off Okinawa’s coast. Soon after the admission, service members arrived to retrieve the tank – but the US military provided no further information about the circumstances of the incident.
Source: okinawatimes.co.jp