What happened
The flight was delayed several hours from its scheduled departure due to pending cargo loading. At approximately 0245, the captain boarded the aircraft to manage fuel loads and flight plan changes, while the first officer and engineer had already boarded and were resting in the aft upper deck bunks.
During refueling operations, a Tower Air employee positioned near the nose of the aircraft observed sparks and flames on the lower right side of the fuel truck, which was located under the right wing. After signaling the flight deck crew via a beep and finding they were unaware of the emergency, the employee ran up the stairs to alert the crew of the fire.
The refueler reported that after pumping 6,000 gallons of Jet 'A' into the right wing, he observed white to light gray smoke emerging from beneath the truck's cab. He attempted to disconnect the upper deck hoses, but flames appeared near the pump area. He tried to suppress the fire using a handheld extinguisher, but was unsuccessful.
Upon notification of the fire via the ground crew call signal, the captain ordered an evacuation. All flight crew members exited the aircraft through the L1 boarding door. No injuries were reported among the crew.
The investigation
An examination of the fuel truck revealed intense fire damage near the transmission. Investigators located a hole in the fuel line extending from the pump to the hose, situated directly above the area of the most intense heat.
The Metropolitan Dade County Fire Department reported that the engine damage was potentially caused by burning jet fuel released during the fueling process. Due to the severity of the fire damage between the truck's cab and tank, investigators could not definitively determine the original source of the fuel leak.