ARFF Working Group • P.O. Box 1539 • Grapevine, Texas 76051 • (817)409-1100 • (866)475-7363 • [email protected]• www.arffwg.org • Page 1 Saturday 10-31-15 – Egypt says no survivors from Russian plane crash A Russian plane carrying more than 200 passengers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has crashed in central Sinai, killing all of those on board, Egyptian officials have said. The Russian airline Kogalymavia’s Airbus A321 with a tail number of EI-ETJ on an airstrip of Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport. Photograph: Marina Lystseva/Itar-Tass/Corbis The jet, operated by the Russian company Kogalymavia and branded as Metrojet, had initially been reported as being “completely destroyed with all on board likely to have died”, according to a security officer from the search and rescue team. But officers at the scene later said the voices of trapped passengers could be heard from a section of the crashed plane. Destined for St Petersburg, it was carrying 224 people, including 17 children and seven crew members. “The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock. We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside,” an anonymous officer told Reuters. “To Promote the Science and Improve the Methods of Aviation Fire Protection and Prevention” WEEKLY NEWS REPORT
Saturday 10-31-15 – Egypt says no survivors from Russian plane crash A Russian plane carrying more than 200 passengers from the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh has crashed in central Sinai, killing all of those on board, Egyptian officials have said.
The Russian airline Kogalymavia’s Airbus A321 with a tail number of EI-ETJ on an airstrip of Moscow’s Domodedovo international airport. Photograph: Marina Lystseva/Itar-Tass/Corbis The jet, operated by the Russian company Kogalymavia and branded as Metrojet, had initially been reported as being “completely destroyed with all on board likely to have died”, according to a security officer from the search and rescue team.
But officers at the scene later said the voices of trapped passengers could be heard from a section of the crashed plane. Destined for St Petersburg, it was carrying 224 people, including 17 children and seven crew members.
“The plane split into two, a small part on the tail end that burned and a larger part that crashed into a rock. We have extracted at least 100 bodies and the rest are still inside,” an anonymous officer told Reuters.
“To Promote the Science and Improve the Methods of Aviation Fire Protection and Prevention”
“There is another section of the plane with passengers inside that the rescue team is still trying to enter and we hope to find survivors, especially after hearing pained voices of people inside.”
Egypt’s health ministry had dispatched 45 ambulances to the scene to “evacuate the dead and wounded” which had indicated the possibility of survivors.
The crash site was found on Saturday morning in southern Arish, a mountainous area of central Sinai, but poor weather conditions were making it difficult for some rescue crews to reach the scene, the security officer said.
Northern Sinai is home to groups of Islamist militants, many affiliated to Islamic State, but there were no indications the plane was shot down, Egyptian security sources told Reuters.
A statement from the Egyptian prime minister’s office said Sherif Ismail formed a cabinet-level crisis committee to deal with the crash, which was believed to have been caused by a mechanical failure. The prime minister has since departed for the crash site with several cabinet ministers on a private jet, the tourism ministry said.
The plane, which had a tail number of EI-ETJ, lost contact 23 minutes after takeoff while flying at more than 30,000 ft above sea level, according to the plane tracker website Flight Radar. It had begun to make a steep descent at a rate of 6,000 feet per minute shortly before communications were lost. Russia’s aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, said flight 7K9268 had left at 03:51 GMT and was due into St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport at 12:10, it told TASS news agency. The plane had failed to make scheduled contact with Cyprus air traffic control and disappeared from the radar. Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his deepest condolences to the families of victims of the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt, Russian news agencies reported. Putin also ordered government ministries to offer immediate assistance to relatives of those killed. The Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh is a popular destination for Russian tourists and it is believed the majority of those on board were Russians. Distraught friends and family began arriving at St Petersburg airport on Saturday.
“I am meeting my parents,” said 25-year-old Ella Smirnova. “I spoke to them last on the phone when they were already on the plane, and then I heard the news. I will keep hoping until the end that they are alive, but perhaps I will never see them again.”
Friday the 30th of October, 2015 Strong work by the ARFF personnel at Ft. Lauderdale airport yesterday! My friend Jack Kreckie summed it up this way, and I could not agree more…
“You need to revel in what you did. You made a difference ! This is what we prepare for. Lots of pride for the work you did. Enjoy it! These memories are what careers are made of. You changed lives today.” Congratulations on a job well done to Chief Bob Palestrant and his entire crew!!!!
Now, here are the stories to close out this week..
4 killed in plane crash near Russellville, Arkansas By Sarah Chaffin Thursday, October 29th 2015
POPE COUNTY (KATV) — Four people are now confirmed dead after a plane crashed near the Crow Mountain
area in Pope County, authorities confirm to Channel 7 News. The small aircraft left the Russellville Regional Airport shortly after 8:00 Thursday morning, bound for Knoxville, Tennessee. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff approximately two miles east in a residential area off Van Horn Road.
“You can see where they’d come through the trees and hit the side of the hill, but it’s on fire,” a caller told the 911 dispatcher.
The Federal Aviation Administration tells KATV the aircraft was a single engine Beechcraft Bonanza based out of Russellville and was destroyed by fire after it crashed.
The four victims, believed to be adults, were all on board the aircraft. Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones says the victims were all deceased when emergency personnel got to the scene.
“Tragedy has struck Pope County this morning,” Sheriff Jones said in a press conference. “We have to understand that there are families here that have been devastated this morning and we need to keep them in our prayers.”
The victims’ bodies will be sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for positive identification. No one on the ground was injured and there was no personal property damage.
Plane Catches Fire At Fort Lauderdale Int’l Airport FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – Terrifying moments for passengers aboard a flight from South Florida to
Venezuela Thursday when one of the engines on their plane caught fire on the runway at Fort Lauderdale International Airport. According to Greg Meyer from FLL, an engine of the Boeing 767 caught fire as the plane was departing for Caracas.
According to the FAA, Dynamic International Airways 405 apparently caught fire on Taxiway B while taxiing for departure from Runway 28 Right at about 12:45 p.m. An aircraft taxiing behind the Boeing 767 reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft before the fire started. Passengers evacuated via slides onto the taxiway. The flight was headed to Simon Bolivar International Airport in Caracas, Venezuela.
Passengers described a harrowing scene. Some on board the Dynamic Airways flight described hearing a loud bang from the left engine while others simply saw the flames and smoke.
Sharon Segal said she was watching her 7-month-old son when she saw it. “The baby was looking out the window and I say, ‘Fire, fire. The plane is fire!’” she said.
She and her husband grabbed their two kids and even as the plane was still moving, headed for the exit. He left his shoes behind.
Flight 405 was taxing to takeoff to Caracas, Venezuela with 101 people on board.
That’s when the pilot of the plane behind the Dynamic flight notified the tower of a problem.
“Dynamic out of the left engine looks like it’s leaking fuel,” the pilot said.
“Engine on fire,” the tower call said. “Engine on fire. We’re calling rescue right now.”
Passengers said the flight crew responded calmly, deploying the chutes to get everyone to safety but it was
frightening. “It was pretty nerve wracking to know that the door wasn’t opening and something was on fire,” said passenger Andres Gallegos.
Passenger Daniella Magro relied on her older brother.
“I was freaking out,” she said. “I was terrified. I had people in front of me and I started pushing people and he was like, calm down. We’re all gonna get out of here. We’re gonna be all safe.”
The airport was partially reopened at 3:15 p.m. after being shutdown for about three hours. Twitter video and photos taken by passengers around the airport showed the thick black smoke billowing from the left side of the plane as the left engine burned.
Passengers from other planes began to tweet out pictures of the fire.
Firefighters stationed at the airport were quick to put out the flames using thick, white foam. CBS4 was told they responded within two minutes.
Twenty-one people were taken to the hospital according to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles. One suffered burns that were not life-threatening while the rest suffered less serious injuries such as bumps, bruises and sprains. The emergency shut down the airport for three hours and delayed more than 200 flights and led to the cancellation of 43 others.
By nightfall, airport crews moved the damaged plane as passengers wondered when they would get their luggage and items from the plane. Some vented their displeasure over Dynamic Airways handling of the situation.
“I’m not going to travel with them because I don’t trust them anymore,” said Jonathan
Benlolo. Airport officials say FAA investigators will arrive at the airport Friday morning to begin their investigation into how and why this happened.
CBS4 was told that arrangements are being made to get the passengers from the damaged plane to Caracas sometime Friday.
Dynamic Airways, based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is a newly launched discount airline that started daily service over the summer between Fort Lauderdale and Caracas.
Battery Showdown Pits Boeing Against IPhone Over Airplane Safety By: Alan Levin
The smoke alarm first sounded as the United Parcel Service Inc. jumbo jet neared cruising altitude over the Persian Gulf. Within 2 1/2 minutes, a blaze in the cargo hold grew so hot it distorted steel flight controls, making the plane difficult to fly. Acrid smoke poured into the cockpit, blocking the pilots’ view of
instruments. “I got no oxygen,” Captain Doug Lampe said after the fire burned through his emergency supply line. “I can’t breathe.” Lampe got up from his seat and was almost immediately felled by the fumes. The plane crashed 20 minutes later in a ball of fire near Dubai, killing Lampe and his co-pilot. Crash investigators, whose report relayed the final moments in the cockpit as captured by the flight recorders, said a load of flammable lithium batteries was at least partly responsible for the 2010 crash of UPS Flight 6.
Yet, five years later, such shipments continue, including on some passenger flights. Negotiators at the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization in Montreal on Wednesday voted not to
ban lithium batteries as cargo on passenger planes, according to two people familiar with the action who weren’t authorized to speak about it. But they continue to debate other restrictions, which could be announced Friday when the meetings adjourn.
Apple, Boeing
Among the restrictions being considered are ones that would require the batteries to be shipped less than fully charged, or changes to the hazardous cargo reporting and packaging requirements. The discussion pits the rapidly expanding industry that builds power packs to run everything from Apple Inc. iPhones to electrical grids, against giants of the aviation industry, Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE, which warned passenger carriers in July against carrying lithium-battery cargo shipments until new protections can be developed.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration weighed in earlier this month also urging such a ban. But Congress in 2012 passed legislation prohibiting the U.S. government from enacting stricter regulations for lithium cargo than any recommendations set by ICAO.
Accidents, Fires
Shipments of lithium batteries have been linked to two other aircraft accidents in addition to UPS Flight 6, as well as dozens of fire incidents.
The stakes are huge, according to Christophe Pillot, director of AVICENNE ENERGY a Paris-based consultant. Rapid growth in worldwide shipments of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries — projected to average 20 percent annually for the next 10 to 15 years — could be upended if shipments are disrupted by tighter rules, or if a high-profile accident raises public fears, Pillot said. AVICENNE projects rechargeable lithium-ion cell sales will reach almost $16 billion this year.
“The impact on this market will be very important,” he said.
Market Impact
While acknowledging the need for tighter standards, the battery industry has fought halting all air shipments, arguing it would be unnecessary and would harm the sector’s growth, said George Kerchner, executive director of PRBA – The Rechargeable Battery Association.
“We don’t think a ban is the right approach,” Kerchner said. The association favors additional packaging, labeling and training as ways to improve safety.
Pilot unions, meanwhile, say they can’t understand how potentially dangerous shipments are allowed in spite of near-unanimous calls for improved safety by aircraft manufacturers, the FAA and many airlines. “Unfortunately, with the subject of lithium batteries, we’ve handcuffed our regulators from doing their job,” said Captain Michael Moody, chairman of the safety committee at UPS’s Independent Pilots Association.
Since the 2010 accident, UPS has developed more fire-resistant cargo containers and given its pilots better smoke and fire protections in the cockpit, UPS spokesman Mike Mangeot said in an e-mail. While supporting enhanced packaging standards, the company opposes any ban of battery shipments, he said.
Lithium-ion Loophole
The UPS union and the International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations, an umbrella group for unions around the world, say ICAO’s current recommended standards for limiting the size of battery shipments has a loophole allowing large-scale loads on passenger and cargo flights with little notice or oversight. FAA research released last year found that such shipments were capable of exploding in cargo holds, even with existing fire suppression systems.
“There has been adequate information, adequate testing, enough presented for us to know what the risks are to transportation that these batteries pose,” Mark Rogers, chairman of IFALPA’s dangerous goods committee, said. “Certainly we don’t feel that the current transport regulations are adequate to address that risk.” While many large passenger carriers, including United Continental Holdings Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc., said earlier this year they won’t ship the powerpacks as cargo until new safety measures are developed, such shipments are legal and some carriers continue to handle them.
Passenger Carriers
The FAA estimated that 26 million people a year fly to and from the U.S. just on foreign carriers that allow lithium-ion shipments. At least one U.S. passenger carrier also allows the shipments. Alaska Air Group Inc.’s Alaska Airlines accepts lithium-ion shipments on at least some flights, spokeswoman Bobbie Egan said in an e-mail.
Representative Peter DeFazio, the Oregon Democrat who is his party’s highest ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said it is “unconscionable” that the U.S. must accept ICAO’s standards and can’t set its own safety rules. He hopes to strike restrictions on lithium-battery regulations from an FAA policy bill scheduled to be taken up early next year.
Other Limits
In addition to banning lithium shipments, ICAO this week is debating several proposals. In one, batteries couldn’t be shipped with more than 30 percent of a full charge, which would reduce the chances of overheating and fire. Battery manufacturers agree that some limit would make sense, but want the flexibility to ship batteries with a higher charge, Kerchner said.
Negotiators are also looking at ways to close a loophole in earlier ICAO battery packaging requirements. Under 2012 ICAO policy, only the smallest packages are allowed to be shipped on aircraft without being identified as hazardous waste and receiving special care. However, unlimited amounts of those small packages can be shipped together, effectively sidestepping the protections, according to Rogers.
The organization can adopt one or more of the proposals or craft separate recommendations. While most nations adopt ICAO’s standards, countries aren’t bound by the United Nations to do so.
Made in Asia
Most lithium-based batteries are made in Asia and shipped to the rest of the world, AVICENNE’s Pillot said. That means a portion of the industry relies on the rapid delivery provided by aircraft, making that form of transportation critical, he said.
Companies such as Panasonic Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. are among the largest manufacturers of rechargeable lithium cells, reflecting their use in electronics, according to AVICENNE.
Newer areas of battery growth are in vehicles, ranging from electric bikes to buses, and as storage devices for electricity in homes. Tesla Motors Inc., which is building a battery-production facility in Nevada, is expanding from electric cars to batteries for homes.
Even as the batteries have spurred economic growth, safety risks have remained. Not only are they made with flammable materials, but they hold so much energy that they can self-ignite if they fail or are damaged.
U.S. Ban
Shipments of non-rechargeable lithium cells were banned as cargo on passenger flights by the U.S. in 2007 after research showed they couldn’t be extinguished by on-board fire suppression. Non-rechargeable cells use different chemistry than lithium-ion rechargeable batteries.
However, the more agencies like the FAA researched lithium-ion cells, the more concerned they became. While lithium-ion fires are easier to put out, the cells give off gases that can explode in some cases. An explosion in a cargo bin would compromise normal fire protections and might even damage the aircraft, according to the FAA.
After UPS Flight 6 went down, investigators found the Boeing 747-400 had held more than 81,000 lithium cells, some of which weren’t properly declared, according to the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates.
The fire originated in cargo containing “a significant number of lithium type batteries and other combustible materials,” the agency’s report concluded.
Today in History 40 Years ago today: On 30 October 1975 an Inex Adria Douglas DC-9 struck a high ground during an ILS approach to Prague, killing 75 out of 120 occupants.
Location: 8 km (5 mls) NE of Praha-Ruzyne International Airport (PRG) ( Czech Republic)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature: Int’l Non Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Tivat Airport (TIV/LYTV), Montenegro
Destination airport: Praha-Ruzyne International Airport (PRG/LKPR), Czech Republic
Flightnumber: 450
Narrative: Weather at Prague was poor. Fog at Ruzyne Airport reduced the visibility to 1500m. The Inex Adria charter flight from Tivat (TIV) had been cleared for a runway 24 approach. After completing a right inbound turn, the crew descended below MDA and below airport level. The DC-9 entered a gorge over the River Vltava with high ground ahead and on the sides. The pilot selected full power to climb over the high ground. The airplane struck trees and a building and crashed at an elevation 300 ft below runway level. Reportedly ILS and PAR approached were not available at the time of the accident.
FLL at ground stop after plane catches fire Posted: Oct 29, 2015 11:44 AM CDTUpdated: Oct 29, 2015 12:30 PM
CDT FORT LAUDERDALE-HOLLYWOOD INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Fla. (WSVN) — Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is on a ground stop after a Dynamic Airways plane caught fire on the tarmac, Thursday.
The Boeing 767 passenger jet appears to have been taxiing when the left engine caught fire. The aircraft carries between 180 and 290 passengers. “I’m told one of the engines caught fire as the plane was taxiing, getting ready for departure. I don’t know the number of people on board, and I don’t know the condition of the people, but I was told the fire was put out by a fire rescue team on sight,” said FLL spokesperson Greg Meyer.
The FAA released a statement that read, “Dynamic International Airways 405 apparently caught fire on Taxiway B
while taxiing for departure from Runway 28 Right at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, at about 12:45 p.m. An aircraft taxiing behind the Boeing 767 reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft before the fire started. Passengers evacuated via slides onto the taxiway.” SkyforceHD hovered over the scene as several people could be seen walking away from the plane and fire crews hosed the plane down with foam. It appears everyone who was on board made it off. One person was seen sitting on the tarmac and being attended to by good Samaritans and officials.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Fire Rescue, seven people were injured, three of whom were transported to an area hospital, but it is unclear as to the severity of their injuries.
Crews sprayed the left wing of the plane with foam retardant to ensure that the fire was snuffed out completely before they moved in to investigate.
Runway 28 was the first runway shut down as a result of the fire. Airport traffic had previously continued to operate on a second commercial runway. However, shortly after 1 p.m., airport officials placed the hold on all runway operations.
According to Meyer, Dynamic is a fairly new airline that connects Fort Lauderdale, New York, Venezuela and Guyana.
Thursday the 29th of October, 2015 Officials: Plane From Philadelphia Makes Emergency Landing In North Carolina PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — A flight from Philadelphia was diverted to North Carolina Wednesday after reporting some smoke in the cabin, according to an airline spokesperson. The airline says Republic Airlines 4488, operating as American Eagle from Philadelphia International Airport(PHL) to Jacksonville International Airport (JAX), diverted to Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) and landed safely. The plane was towed to the gate and all 65 passengers and four crew members deplaned normally, according to the airline. “Maintenance is reviewing the issue, and we apologize to the passengers for the inconvenience,” read a statement from the airline. The airline says they are working to get the passengers to Jacksonville as quickly as possible.
Army Blimp Breaks Loose, Drifts for Hours over Pa. Posted: Oct 29, 2015 12:31 AM CDT Thursday, October 29, 2015 1:31 AM EDT MUNCY, Pa. (AP) – A slow-moving, unmanned Army surveillance blimp floated over Pennsylvania for hours
causing electrical outages as its tether hit power lines, after it broke loose from its mooring at a Maryland military facility. The 240-foot helium-filled blimp, which had two fighter jets on its tail, came down in at least two pieces Wednesday near Muncy, a small town about 80 miles north of Harrisburg, the state capital. No injuries were reported.
The radar-equipped blimp, fitted with sensitive defense technology, escaped from the military’s Aberdeen Proving Ground around 12:20 p.m. Authorities said it drifted northward, climbing to about 16,000 feet. It covered about 150 miles over about 3½ hours.
“I had no idea what it was. We lost power at work, so I looked outside and saw the blimp,” said Wendy Schafer, who was at her job at a spa and salon in Bloomsburg.
Two F-16s were scrambled from a National Guard base in New Jersey to track the big, white craft as it floated away because aviation officials feared it would endanger air traffic. But there was never any intention of shooting it down, said Navy Capt. Scott Miller, a spokesman for the nation’s air defense command.
The blimp – which cannot be steered remotely – eventually deflated and settled back to Earth on its own, according to Miller. He said there was an auto-deflate device aboard, but it was not deliberately activated, and it is unclear why the craft went limp.
He said it was also unknown how the blimp broke loose, and an investigation was underway.
People gawked in wonder and disbelief as the blimp floated silently over the sparsely populated area, its dangling tether taking out power lines.
Schafer thought a nearby school was conducting an experiment.
“My first thought was Vo-Tech was doing something at the school until my friends tagged on Facebook about the blimp,” she said. “It was crazy.”
Tiffany Slusser Hartkorn saw it fly over her neighborhood on the outskirts of Bloomsburg around 2:15 p.m. and soon disappear from sight.
“I honestly was worried that there were people in it that would be injured. A neighbor down the road is thinking it knocked down a tree branch and power pole by his house that could’ve potentially destroyed his house,” Hartkorn said.
About 27,000 customers in two counties were left without power, according to electric utility PPL, and Bloomsburg University canceled classes because of the outage. Electricity was restored to most people within a few hours.
The craft even knocked out power to the state police barracks at Bloomsburg before settling in a wooded hollow,
where it was swiftly cordoned off while military personnel began arriving to retrieve it, State Police Capt. David Young said. He said trees will probably have to be cut down to get it out. Miller, the spokesman for the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the tail portion broke off and hit the ground about a quarter-mile from the main section.
The craft is known as a Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, and can be used to detect hostile missiles and aircraft. Such blimps have been used extensively in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to provide radar surveillance around U.S. bases and other sensitive sites.
The craft has a squat body, large fins and a rounded protrusion on its belly.
When in use, it is tethered to the ground, unmanned, like a balloon on a string, its cable carrying power up to the blimp and sending data back down to a computer. It can reach as high as 10,000 feet, according to its maker, Raytheon Co.
“My understanding is, from having seen these break loose in Afghanistan on a number of occasions, we could get it to descend and then we’ll recover it and put it back up,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said at the Pentagon as the journey unfolded. “This happens in bad weather.”
Raytheon referred questions to the military. But on its website, the defense contractor said the chances of the tether breaking are very small because it is made of a durable synthetic fiber and has withstood storms of more than 115 mph.
The blimp was operating at the Aberdeen Proving Ground as part of a test of the systems that defend the nation’s capital against airborne attack. The loss of the blimp has not weakened those defenses, Miller said.
Officials: Aircraft nose gear collapses at Hammond, La. airport, no injuries reported HAMMOND, La. —First responders are on site after a twin-engine aircraft’s nose gear collapsed as it landed
Wednesday morning at the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport. Airport officials said the incident happened before 6 a.m. at the airport off Highway 190. No injuries were reported, but it’s unclear how many people were on board.
The airport said there was damage to the plane’s propellers. Witnesses said several fire trucks and police officers were seen investigating the incident.
David Lobue, airport director, said the National Transportation and Safety Board will not get involved in the investigation, but the Federal Aviation Administration is en route. Officials said one runway at the airport is closed.
Additional information is expected from officials at the airport.
U.N. aviation panel rejects ban on air shipments of fire-prone batteries WASHINGTON – A U.N. aviation panel has rejected a ban on rechargeable battery shipments on passenger
airliners, despite evidence they can cause unstoppable, in-flight fires. Two aviation officials told The Associated Press the International Civil Aviation Organization panel voted 10 to 7 against a ban. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak about the vote publicly.
The United States, Russia, Brazil, China and Spain, as well as organizations representing airline pilots and aircraft manufacturers, voted in favor of the ban. The Netherlands, Canada, France, Australia, Italy, United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as an international airline trade association, voted against it.
U.S. government tests show small quantities of overheated batteries can cause explosions that can disable aircraft fire protection systems.
FAA Is Doing Nothing About Continued Boeing Dreamliner Battery Failures By: Christine Negroni
In 2013, the troubled Boeing 787 Dreamliner was grounded for nearly four months because the plane’s lithium-ion batteries caught fire. It’s had at least three more cell failures since the plane was allowed to resume flying. While the
Federal Aviation Administration dismisses these new failures, the fact that these battery malfunctions continue to
happen is a big deal. No other lithium-ion battery in service shows failure rates this high. Failures in these batteries typically come at a rate of one in five million. But the Dreamliner lithium-ions are failing at a shockingly high rate of one in a thousand.
Unreported failures
In October of last year, in an event that no one reported, a Qatar Airways 787 had to make an emergency diversion. The pilots were alerted to a battery issue during flight. Qatar Airways referred questions to the FAA and NTSB, and declined to say how many travelers were on the plane. The Dreamliners can carry 254 passengers.
The FAA, which was notified of the episode by Boeing, commented on the incident via spokeswoman Laura Brown: “The battery design and enclosure performed as intended by limiting and containing the failure.”
Boeing notified the FAA and the NTSB about the emergency landing of Qatar’s 787 under a provision designed to encourage the industry to “share significant safety related information,” NSTB spokesman Peter Knudson said. Neither agency conducted an investigation into the failure of the Qatar Airways battery, but the FAA allowed Boeing to assess the damage and report the results back to the agency.
According to a knowledgeable source, last week a European 787 operator also had a battery release fumes and smoke into the containment box but this person did not identify the airline.
The FAA’s Brown would not confirm any other episodes beyond the one on Qatar Airways. “We don’t consider something an ‘event’ if the containment box performs as designed,” she said.
A history of troubles
Before the Dreamliner’s battery problems began in January 2013, Qatar’s chief executive Akbar Al Baker was critical of Boeing for what he called the 787′s teething problems and unreliability. The new plane was three years late in being delivered to its customers, the first of whom were Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.
The first battery problems were on these airlines in 2013, triggering the grounding of the fleet. The plane was only allowed to fly again after Boeing encased the batteries in a stainless steel box to make sure the power source could meet fire protection standards.
After 787s were fitted with the battery housing, a Japan Airlines 787 undergoing maintenance at Tokyo’s Narita Airport began emitting smoke in January of 2014. Investigators with the Japan Transportation Safety Board said overheating of cells could be expected and they were confident the plane maker’s fix would work as intended.
The JTSB was not notified of the failure on Qatar Airways according to JTSB’s Mamoru Takahashi, who added that Boeing was not obligated to report it. Japan Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Qatar are three of the largest operators of Dreamliners. Since putting 22 of the modified 787s into service, Qatar’s Al Baker has expressed confidence in Boeing and in the battery fix.
Experts are concerned
Jeff Dahn, a physics professor at Dalhousie University and a battery expert, says this issue should not be ignored because it means something is wrong with the cells. “Normally they will do nothing unless they are being mechanically abused or electrically abused. Since they are in the box, they are probably not being mechanically abused, so there is something going on with those cells.”
Another battery expert who asked not to be identified said he, too, was surprised by the frequency of the problem, considering how few of these cells are in service, 16 per airplane on about 300 787s flying. “One out of a thousand sounds high. I would categorize it as a supplier quality control problem first. It has a safety component but they are managing it by the redesign,” he said.
Dahn used the new Tesla electric car models, each of which has 7000 cells, as a point of comparison. “Why would you continue to use lithium-ion cells that are having trouble?” Dahn asked about Boeing. “Look at the Teslas driving around. They not having problems and there’s a gazillion of them.”
Christine Negroni reports on aviation for The New York Times, Air & Space, ABC News, the RunwayGirlNetwork and others. She writes the blog Flying Lessons and tweets at @cnegroni
Editorial: Who’s flying that drone? The MetroWest Daily News, Massachusetts 22:13 Wed, 28 Oct 2015
Anyone who owns a car, motorcycle or plane must register it with authorities so they can be found and held accountable if they crash into someone or something. Soon the operators of drones, more formally known as unmanned aircraft systems, will have to do so too. This is very good news for public safety.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced plans last week to require the owners of recreational drones to register them with the government, just as the owners of commercial drones must do. And he wants to
have the mandate in place by the end of the year. A task force made up of about two dozen people – federal officials, pilots and executives from drone industry trade associations and drone manufacturers among them – has until Nov. 20 to recommend a workable registration process. Good luck to them.
This ambitious timeline is a clear and welcome statement that federal officials recognize the growing threat posed by the proliferation of recreational drones operated by people who don’t know the first thing about airspace. And it can’t come soon enough. The market for consumer drones has been exploding. This year is expected to be the biggest yet for the nascent industry, with U.S. sales growing 63 percent above 2014. That means an additional 700,000 drones in the hands of people who may not know basic safety rules, such as the ban on flying above 400 feet or within five miles of an airport.
Scary close encounters have increased even more than sales, doubling since last year. Hundreds of close calls with drones have been reported by airplane pilots this year, including some fighting wildfires. Just last week, a Southwest Airlines pilot reported a drone way too close for comfort as he was landing at Los Angeles International Airport. So far, no major collisions have occurred. But we ought not tempt fate any longer by ignoring the potential danger.
The task force has a short time to grapple with some substantial issues, from where and how to register drones (online or at the point of sale?) to whether small, toy drones ought to be exempt. It also must ponder how registration will translate into accountability without technology that allows drones to be identified remotely. A license plate or tail number large enough for someone to read from 500 feet isn’t practical for an object as small as the typical drone.
Whatever the task force recommends on registration, it should include a plan for educating drone buyers about safe flying. We believe that most drone operators wouldn’t knowingly endanger airplane passengers or the crew of an air tanker. Giving out information as part of the mandatory registration process could go a long way toward ensuring that there’s understanding as well as accountability.
FAA zeroes in on Allegiant jets’ unsecured tail bolts; one expert says risk is ‘catastrophic’
• Mechanics’ findings follow checks spurred by aborted takeoff
• Federal agency has ‘intensified focus’ on flight operations, repairs
• Allegiant flies from Fresno to Las Vegas and the Phoenix area BY ALAN LEVIN AND MARY SCHLANGESTEIN
When two Allegiant Air pilots couldn’t control their plane and scrubbed a takeoff from Las Vegas in August, the carrier discovered that a critical piece of equipment in the tail had come loose.
Allegiant ordered inspections of its other Boeing MD-80s to ensure that all similar connections were secured. Eight days later, Allegiant said in response to questions from Bloomberg that all its aircraft “were found to be in working order.”
By that time, mechanics had already come across two other jets with bolts in similar locations that weren’t properly locked in place, according to company repair logs obtained by Bloomberg. Later that month, they discovered another unsecured bolt on a third plane. While Allegiant says the fasteners weren’t on the same component that failed in Las Vegas, the Federal Aviation Administration says it is aware of the findings and has stepped up oversight of the airline.
The news comes in the wake of two high-profile emergencies in Las Vegas involving Fresno-bound Allegiant jets that had engine fires, a problem unrelated to the bolts.
Allegiant flies from Fresno to Las Vegas and the Phoenix area.
The aborted Aug. 17 takeoff occurred after a device that moves one of the jet’s two elevators – panels on the tail used to climb and descend – was disconnected, according to Allegiant. The maintenance logs from the follow-up checks show that two planes each were found to have an unsecured elevator bolt, while the third jet had an unsecured bolt on another key part – an aileron, which is on the wing and is used in turns.
Because the findings on the three other planes didn’t specifically involve the so-called elevator boost actuator at issue in Las Vegas, they weren’t considered part of the inspection results, Allegiant spokeswoman Kimberly Schaefer said last week in response to questions from Bloomberg about the maintenance logs.
“During the fleetwide inspection of the elevator boost actuators, Allegiant mechanics made additional repairs to other aircraft, as they do each and every day,” Schaefer said by email. “As these repairs were outside the scope of the fleet campaign in question, they were logged per normal procedure.”
FAA rules require the reporting of all maintenance actions – including fixing mistakes such as poorly attached bolts – but they don’t have to be disclosed immediately. Those actions are entered into a database shared quarterly with the agency.
John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said the multiple instances of unsecured bolts and their locations on the aircraft were so serious they “should result in a focused FAA audit.”
“This is not a coffeemaker that we’re talking about here,” Goglia said in a telephone interview. “This is a primary flight control on the airplane. Anything less than perfect work on this system can have catastrophic results.”
Allegiant, a unit of Allegiant Travel Co., specializes in flights to vacation destinations centered on Las Vegas and Orlando, Fla. Flight 436 on Aug. 17 was supposed to fly to Peoria, Ill., from Las Vegas, carrying 158 passengers and six crew members.
THIS IS A PRIMARY FLIGHT CONTROL ON THE AIRPLANE. ANYTHING LESS THAN PERFECT WORK ON THIS SYSTEM CAN HAVE CATASTROPHIC RESULTS. John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board
WHILE WE RESPECT THE CREDENTIALS OF MR. GOGLIA, HE DOES NOT HAVE ANY SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE ABOUT OUR COMPANY OR THE DETAILS OF OUR OPERATION. Allegiant’s response As the MD-80 rumbled down a Las Vegas runway, the front of the plane began to rise off the ground prematurely, defying the pilots’ attempts to keep the nose down, according to an FAA report. They abruptly halted the takeoff roll at 138 mph, according to the report.
Allegiant’s inspections of its MD-80s found two other planes with elevator bolts that weren’t properly connected, the maintenance records show. On Aug. 27, a mechanic working on another MD-80 discovered an unsecured bolt on an aileron, a maintenance log shows.
Those assemblies are considered so crucial that mechanics are supposed to insert pins to ensure the nuts used to fasten the bolts can’t come undone.
“Any failure to properly secure any part of a flight control is a major problem,” said Goglia, the ex-NTSB member who is also a former aircraft mechanic. “More than one occurrence clearly indicates a maintenance organization that is not functioning properly.”
Allegiant responded: “While we respect the credentials of Mr. Goglia, he does not have any specific knowledge about our company or the details of our operation.”
AAR Corp.’s AAR Aircraft Services does large-scale maintenance on Allegiant’s MD-80s in Oklahoma City. Mechanics from Allegiant and AAR work on the areas of the aircraft where the wrongly secured bolts were found, Schaefer said.
“Since hearing of the Aug. 17 incident, AAR has been working with Allegiant and the FAA to investigate,” AAR spokeswoman Kathleen Cantillon said by email. “AAR has a 60-year history and culture of safety and compliance.”
Work on flight-control systems is considered critical because errors can lead to accidents, Goglia said. The NTSB concluded that an improperly installed elevator bolt caused an Emery Worldwide Inc. cargo jet to lose control and slam into the ground in the Sacramento area in 2000, killing all three people on board.
The FAA said its intensified focus on Allegiant was also prompted by a separate July incident in Fargo, N.D. in which a pilot reported a low-fuel emergency. Allegiant said it’s working with the FAA in examining that episode.
Earlier this year, the FAA put Allegiant under heightened surveillance as pilots neared a potential strike, a step the agency sometimes takes during possible labor actions or when a carrier is struggling financially. Allegiant won a court order in April blocking the walkout, and in May said the FAA had ended the additional scrutiny.
Today in History 62 Years ago today: On 29 October 1953 a British Commonwealth Pacific Airways Douglas DC-6 crashed near Half Moon Bay, CA, killing all 19 occupants.
Date: Thursday 29 October 1953
Type: Douglas DC-6
Operator: British Commonwealth Pacific Airways
Registration: VH-BPE
C/n / msn: 43125/131
First flight: 1948
Engines: 4 Pratt & Whitney R-2800-CA15
Crew: Fatalities: 8 / Occupants: 8
Passengers: Fatalities: 11 / Occupants: 11
Total: Fatalities: 19 / Occupants: 19
Airplane damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location: 12 km (7.5 mls) SE of Half Moon Bay, CA ( United States of America)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Honolulu International Airport, HI (HNL/PHNL), United States of America
Destination airport: San Francisco International Airport, CA (SFO/KSFO), United States of America
Narrative: British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines Flight 304/44 was scheduled between Sydney (SYD), Australia, and San Francisco (SFO) with intermediate stops at Nadi (NAN), Fiji, Canton Island (CIS), and Honolulu (HNL). The flight to Honolulu was without incident. The crew filed an IFR flight plan with ARTC (Air Route Traffic Control) which indicated a rhumb line course was to be flown to San Francisco with Sacramento the alternate airport. The estimated flying time of the flight was nine hours and 25 minutes. Flight 304/44 departed Honolulu at 22:59, October 28, 1953. As the flight proceeded toward San Francisco hourly routine position reports were made to OFACS (Overseas Foreign Aeronautical Communication Station). At 05:55, the flight reported: “VHBPE Position 32.39N 134,40W. Time 1350 (0550). Altitude 11,500. Track 064 degrees. Ground speed 225 knots. Estimating over SFO at 1640Z (0840). Estimating arrival at Blocks 1650Z (0850).” In answer to a request from the flight, San Francisco ARTC, at 0807, cleared it to descend in accordance with Visual Flight Rules and to maintain at least 500 feet on top of clouds. The flight reported that it was starting descent at 08:15 and at that time was given the San Francisco 08:00 weather: “Measured ceiling 1.200 feet. broken. visibility nine statute miles. temperature 54. dew point 50, wind west 12 knots and altimeter 30.13.” As the aircraft approached the coast, ARTC cleared the flight as follows: “ATC clears VHBPE to the San Francisco ILS Outer Marker via the Half Moon Bay Fan Marker direct to the San Francisco Outer Marker. Maintain at least 500 feet above all clouds. Contact San Francisco Approach Control after passing Half Moon Bay Fan Marker. Cloud tops reported in the Bay area l.700 feet.” This message was acknowledged and repeated back. The last communication from the flight heard by OFACS was at 08:23 when the aircraft reported approximately 60 miles west of the coast. At 08:39, the flight called San Francisco Approach Control, identified itself as “Air Pacific Echo” and advised that it
was over Half Moon Bay, 500 on top. Approach Control acknowledged and gave the following clearance: “Cleared for an ILS approach to the airport, runway 28, wind west 15; cross the outer marker initial at least 500 on top, report when inbound; ceiling 1.200, visibility nine. altimeter 30.14.” Approximately three minutes later, the flight made a report which was acknowledged by the controller as “Air Pacific Easy, Roger, southeast, turning inbound”; the controller then added. “Check passing the ILS outer marker inbound.” His actual position however was southwest of the airport – not southeast. It is therefore probable that the captain after reporting over Half Moon Bay either saw the terrain momentarily through an unreported break in the overcast or because of a radio navigational error became convinced that his position was farther northeast, and started to let down over what he believed was the proper area for this descent. The DC-6 initially struck and topped several large redwood trees, continued across a narrow ravine and crashed against the side of a steeply rising slope approximately one-half mile beyond the first tree struck. The elevation of this tree at the point of contact was 2902 feet MSL.
American pianist William Kapell was killed in the crash; he was returning from a tour in Australia.
PROBABLE CAUSE: “The failure of the crew to follow prescribed procedures for an instrument approach.”
Wednesday the 28th of October, 2015
Passenger jet smashes headlong into an airport walkway leaving the cockpit a wreck
• The aircraft, operated by Interjet, was being towed from hangar to
terminal
• But the passenger plane ended up crashing into transportation tunnel
• Staff with clipboards can be seen surveying the damage, mostly to nose This is the moment a plane ploughed into a passenger walkway at an airport in Mexico.
The Interjet aircraft was being towed from its hangar to take up position at the terminal when it crashed into the passenger transporter.
Staff wearing high visibility jackets can be seen surveying the damage at Mexico City International Airport.
The cockpit of the plane suffered the most damage as the nose was dragged underneath the walkway causing damage to the top.
It is not known if anyone was injured in the incident, although it is believed there were no passengers on board the aircraft. The images have been shared on social media, as well as a whole host of media outlets in
Mexico. The airline is believed to have continued its operations out of the airport as normal on Sunday, reports El Universal. Interjet is a Mexican low-cost airline operating scheduled flights to Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, North America and South America out of Mexico City International Airport and Lic. Adolfo López Mateos International Airport in Toluca. The airline has 57 planes in its fleet, flying to a combined total of 47 destinations.
Interjet started operations on December 1, 2005, with one Airbus A320 aircraft.
MailOnline Travel has contacted Interjet and Mexico City International Airport for comment and is awaiting a response. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3290148/Oops-Passenger-jet-smashes-headlong-airport-walkway-leaving-cockpit-wreck.html#ixzz3prsp4ml1 Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
15 believed dead after helicopter crash near Tripoli, Libya By Ken Hanly 10 hours ago in World
Tripoli – The Libya Observer a news outlet that supports the General National Congress(GNC) based in Tripoli reports that 15 people including civilians, military commanders, and sick people were killed in the crash near Al-Maya coast, 27km west of Tripoli.
The municipal council of Al-Zawiya said that seven bodies had been already recovered, including that of Sohaib Al-Ramah a Commander of the Al-Zawiya Martyr’s Brigade allied with the GNC government. Hussein Abu Diya
Commander of the Western Military Region for the GNC forces was also killed. A search was being carried on for more bodies. The helicopter apparently also carried cash from banks in the area as well.
Rescue crews claim to have found debris that showed signs of anti-aircraft fire. A spokesperson for General Staff of the GNC forces, Ali Al-Shaiekhi claimed that the helicopter had been shot down by what is called the Tribes Army, a militia in the area with links to General Haftar the commander of forces in the internationally-recognized House of Representatives(HoR) government in the east. He has some support among militia in the west although a number of militia that formerly fought against GNC forces in the west have negotiated cease fires. However, there have been several clashes recently with the Tribes Army near Tripoli. The group controls the Wirshiffana region near Tripoli. Residents of nearby Al-Zawiya have had to travel by helicopter or boat rather than travel by land through the area. Heavy clashes broke out between Al-Zawiya brigades and the Tribes Army militants in Al-Maya after the crash.
The helicopter was unarmed. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack. Representatives of the HoR Libyan Army have denied any responsibility for the incident. However, the Tribes Army could very well have obtained the anti-aircraft equipment from the east assuming the helicopter was actually shot down.
The GNC Ministry of Defence declared a state of emergency after the helicopter downing and issued a statement that they would take the necessary measures to punish those responsible for the attack. The General Staff of the Libyan (GNC) Army declared the Wirshiffana region where the Tribes Army operates as a military zone. Civilians were advised to avoid the area. The problems have arisen after an agreement between the Tribes Army and several Misrata militias that handed over control of the highway to Tripoli to the former group.
Meanwhile, talks between the two rival governments on the Libya Political Agreement(LPA) and formation of a Government of National Accord(GNA) are on hold. Leon originally planned to restart dialogue talks today, October 27, but no one seems yet ready. Leon has been in Cairo talking with Egyptian, and Arab League officials in an attempt to gain support for his final draft of the LPA which has yet to be approved by either of the two rival parliaments. At the same time, the president of the HoR is also in Egypt meeting with officials to try and gain support for rejection of the LPA. Both Egypt and the Arab League have supported commander of the HoR armed forces Khalifa Haftar in spite of the fact that he rejects the LPA. The earliest talks are expected now is on Thursday but no announcement has been made yet. The UN is busy sponsoring a conference for Libyan media in Madrid, Spain.
Helicopter crash kills 48-year-old man from Calgary Transportation Safety Board to begin investigation today Police have confirmed a man killed in a helicopter crash last night was from
Calgary. The helicopter crashed in the Kinley, Sask. area, 55 kilometres west of Saskatoon.
The accident happened around 7:45 p.m. last night in an open field.
The 48-year-old man was flying to Saskatoon, and was the only person in the helicopter.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada will start its investigation today. The cause of the crash has not been determined.
Eyewitness report Dave Park and his wife were watching TV when they heard the helicopter. They said they thought it might have hit their Quonset, but it landed in their field.
Several emergency response crews were on the scene.
This is the second fatal helicopter crash to happen in the province in the past five days.
Two people were killed when a helicopter crashed on an island north of the Paynton Ferry Crossing last Thursday.
In that incident, a 55-year-old male pilot from Campbell River, B.C., and a 30-year-old male passenger from Prince Albert, Sask., were the only two people on the helicopter when it crashed. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The chopper was contracted by the provincial electric utility SaskPower to access and repair power poles.
BA jet makes emergency landing just hours after wheel collapse terror A BRITISH Airways flight has been forced to make an emergency landing just hours after another jet’s wheels collapsed.
The plane was heading for London with 108 passengers on – but it was quickly diverted to Belfast International Airport after taking off.
Police, fire crews and ambulances all rushed to the airport as the plane announced it was “holding after takeoff”.
The Airbus A319 had travelled just 14 miles from George Best Belfast City Airport when it declared the emergency.
Witness Mary Pettet said: “There must have been two rapid response ambulances and four or five fire engines.
“Everyone was blue lighting it as fast as they could.”
A spokeswoman for British Airways said the diversion was a “precautionary measure” in response to a “technical issue”.
The spokeswoman said: “The safety of our customers and crew is always a priority.”
“The flight landed normally after diverting shortly after take-off as a precaution following a technical issue.”
It is the second incident in just as many days for British Airways after one of the airline’s planes skidded along a runway when its wheels collapsed. The plane’s wing also broke off during the incident at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.
Terrified passenger Warren Mann said: “When it came into land, it felt like the touchdown was a bit harder than normal – then it felt like a piece of something had fallen off.
“Oxygen masks came down and the plane was at an angle as we touched down.
“We could smell something burn and fire crews were soon at the plane to deal with the engine.
“We could see sparks as the left wing and the engines were scraped across the runway.
“The wing seemed completely broken off.”
Today in History 66 Years ago today: On 28 October 1949 an Air France Lockheed Constellation struck a mountain on São Miguel Island, Azores killing all 48 occupants.
Airplane fate: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: Redondo Mountain, São Miguel Island, Azores ( Portugal)
Crash site elevation: 900 m (2953 feet) amsl
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature: International Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Paris-Orly Airport (ORY/LFPO), France
Destination airport: Santa Maria-Vila do Porto Airport, Azores (SMA/LPAZ), Portugal
Narrative: Lockheed Constellation F-BAZN departed Paris-Orly at 20:05 for a flight to New York with an intermediate stop at Santa Maria, Azores. At 01:41 the crew reported 150nm from Santa Maria with an ETA of 02:45. The ETA was later changed to 02:55. At 02:51 the flight reported flying at 3000 feet with the airfield in sight. After acknowledging landing instructions, nothing more was heard from the flight. The Constellation had struck the Redondo Mountain at an elevation of 900m. Famous violinist Ginette Neveu and famous boxer Marcel Cerdan were killed in the crash.
PROBABLE CAUSE: “Failure to carry out either of the approach procedures for Santa Maria airport. False position reports given by crew. Inadequate navigation. Failure to identify Santa Maria Airport, when flying in VFR conditions.”
Tuesday the 27th of October, 2015
Plane crashes in Everglades, pilot has serious injuries A private plane crash landed in the Everglades at the western border of Broward County on Monday, sending its pilot and two passengers to a hospital. It was the first of two planes to crash in South Florida in the afternoon. A Cessna came down on a Key Biscayne golf course Monday. Two people aboard the single-engine aircraft walked away unharmed.
In Florida’s River of Grass, a Piper Chieftain plane crashed west of U.S. 27 and north of Griffin Road around 12:45
p.m. after taking off from Jacksonville. Photographs showed the fuselage was broken, its green-tipped tail collapsed into the marsh. Rescuers stood on the aircraft’s wings to get inside.
The cockpit had to be cut apart to free the legs of the 62-year-old pilot, who had serious injuries. He was flown to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale for treatment, Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue spokesman Mike Jachles said.
The two male passengers were able to escape the wreckage on their own. One man had a head injury and both were driven to the same hospital to be examined, according to Jachles.
The agency did not identify the survivors or release a possible cause for the crash.
Rescuers relied on a television news helicopter to help locate the somewhat remote site that was north of Everglades Holiday Park. Firefighters traveled aboard an airboat, golf cart and firetrucks to the scene that was next to a canal and dirt road.
“I can’t answer for what the pilot’s thinking at that moment, nor would I even venture,” Jachles said. “They were very fortunate for all three of them to survive an impact like this. If you saw the wreckage, one of the engines was detached.”
He said the plane could have sunk in the canal and the levee was likely not wide enough.
“So I think where the plane was and how it landed certainly is a testament to the pilot’s skill to preventing further injury or even death,” he said.
Fortunately for everyone aboard, fuel did not ignite.
“They were all very lucky that there was no fire,” Jachles said. “Every minute counts in a fire, and the pilot was trapped. ”
The plane is a fixed-wing, twin-engine aircraft registered to Spohrer & Dodd Aviation LLC, according to Federal Aviation Administration records.
It can hold up to eight passengers and is a popular corporate plane, used for flights up to 1,000 miles.
The Piper was traveling toward Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport, according to the website FlightAware.com. It was not yet in communication with the Fort Lauderdale airport’s tower before it crashed 16 miles from its destination, airport and FAA officials said.
A woman at Spohrer & Dodd, a law firm in Jacksonville that shares an address with the listed owner, declined comment.
Winds were blowing east-southeast at around 15 mph early Monday afternoon, said Meteorologist Dan Gregoria of the National Weather Service in Miami.
“It was a typical breezy, South Florida day, but no really strong gusts,” Gregoria said.
Nearly two hours later, another plane made an emergency landing, 40 miles southeast of the Everglades at
Crandon Golf at Key Biscayne. Two people aboard a Cessna 150 fixed-wing aircraft walked away from the wreck after their flight ended on the 18th fairway.
“No one was playing 18 when it landed,” said Tommy Chipman, head golf professional and clubhouse manager at Crandon about the unexpected crash that happened at 2:25 p.m.
The pilot had reported engine trouble, the FAA said.
After landing, the Cessna continued traveling over the green until it hit some coconut palm trees, Chipman said.
“Everyone is fine,” Chipman said.
Unfortunately for golfers, the 18th hole was closed for the rest of the day, but Chipman said it would be open Tuesday morning.
The Cessna, registered to a Wilmington, Del., company called Ameri Air Support, had taken off from Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. Its destination was Miami Executive Airport at 12800 SW 145th Ave., until it changed course.
U.S. DOT Bans E-Cigarettes in Aircraft Checked Baggage Passengers may have them in carry-on bags or on person, but may not use them on flights
WASHINGTON– The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
prohibit passengers and crewmembers from carrying battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices (e-cigarettes, e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, personal vaporizers, electronic nicotine delivery systems) in checked baggage and prohibit passengers and crewmembers from charging the devices or batteries on board the aircraft. “We know from recent incidents that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport,” said Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous. Banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent safety measure.”
On Jan. 22, 2015, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a Safety Alert for Operators recommending that air carriers require their passengers to carry e-cigarettes and related devices exclusively in the cabin of the aircraft. Also, on June 9, 2015, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) published an addendum to the 2015-2016 ICAO Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air prohibiting the carriage of e-cigarettes in checked baggage and restricting the charging of these devices while on board the aircraft.
“The importance of the safety of the flying public provides good cause for our issuing an IFR,” said PHMSA Administrator Marie Therese Dominguez. “E-cigarettes in checked bags present a safety risk because they are capable of generating extreme heat, which could lead to a fire on board the aircraft.”
Passengers may continue to carry e-cigarettes for personal use in carry-on baggage or on their person but may not use them on flights. The Department’s current regulatory ban on smoking of tobacco products on passenger flights includes the use of e-cigarettes. Nevertheless, to prevent passenger or crewmember confusion, the department has proposed to amend its existing airline smoking rule to explicitly ban use of e-cigarettes aboard aircraft.
The IFR does not prohibit a passenger from carrying other devices containing batteries for personal use (such as laptop computers, cell phones, cameras, etc.) in checked or carry-on baggage, nor does it restrict a passenger from transporting batteries for personal use in carry-on baggage.
The IFR is effective seven days after publication in The Federal Register. Click here for a copy of the IFR.
The PHMSA develops and enforces regulations for the safe, reliable and environmentally sound operation of the nation’s 2.6 million mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly one million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea and air.
Today in History 50 Years ago today: On 27 October 1965 a British European Vickers Vanguard crashed in fog near London-Heathrow, killing all 36 occupants [first Vanguard fatal accident].
Location: London-Heathrow Airport (LHR) ( United Kingdom)
Phase: Approach (APR)
Nature: Domestic Scheduled Passenger
Departure airport: Edinburgh-Turnhouse Airport (EDI/EGPH), United Kingdom
Destination airport: London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL), United Kingdom
Narrative: Vickers Vanguard G-APEE departed Edinburgh (EDI) at 23:17 hours UTC on October 26 for an domestic flight to London (LHR). The flight was uneventful until Garston VOR, the holding point. At 00:15 the captain decided to attempt a landing on runway 28R. The co-pilot was probably making the ILS approach, monitored on PAR by the air traffic control officer, while the pilot-in-command would be seeking a visual reference to enable him if possible to take over control and land. RVR on this runway was reported as 350 m (1140 feet). At 00:23 the captain informed ATC that he was overshooting. He then decided to make a second attempt, this time on runway 28L for which the RVR was reported as 500 m (1634 feet). Since the ILS was operating on glide path only and not in azimuth, ATC provided a full taIkdown. At half a mile from touchdown the PAR Controller was not entirely satisfied with the positioning of the aircraft in azimuth and was about to give instructions to overshoot when he observed that the pilot had in fact instituted na overshoot procedure. At 00:35 hours the pilot-in-command reported that they overshot because they did not see anything. He then requested to join one of the stacks and hold for a little while. This request was granted. The pilot-in-command decided to wait for half an hour at the Garston holding point. At 00:46 another Vanguard landed successfully on runway 28R. At 01:11, although there had been no improvement in the weather conditions, the pilot-in-command probably stimulated by the other aircraft’s success, asked permission to make another attempt to land on runway 28R. Meanwhile another Vanguard aircraft had overshot on 28R. However, the captain started another monitored ILS final approach on runway 28R at 01:18. At 01:22 the PAR controller passed the information that the aircraft was 3/4 of a mile from touchdown and on the centre line. Twenty-two seconds later the pilot-in-command reported they were overshooting. The copilot rotated the airplane abruptly and the captain raised the flaps. Instead of selecting the flaps to 20 degrees, he selected 5 degrees or fully up. Because the speed was not building up, the copilot relaxed pressure on the elevator. Speed increased to 137 kts and the vertical speed indicator showed a rate of climb of 850 feet/min. The copilot therefore put the aircraft’s nose further down. At four seconds before impact the VSI was probably showing a substantial rate of climb and the altimeter a gain in height, although the airplane was in fact losing height. The copilot was misled into continuing his down pressure on the elevator. The vanguard had by then entered a steep dive. The aircraft hit the runway about 2600 feet from the threshold.
PROBABLE CAUSE: “The cause of the accident was attributed to pilot error due to the following combination of events: 1) low visibility; 2) tiredness; 3) anxiety; 4) disorientation; 5) lack of experience of overshooting in fog; 6) over-reliance on pressure instruments; 7) position error in pressure instruments; 8) lacunae in training; 9) unsatisfactory overshoot procedure; 10) indifferent flap selector mechanism design; 11) wrong flap selection”
Monday the 26th of October, 2015
British Airways plane crash lands after wheel collapse British Airways Comair flight number BA6234 from Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, to Johannesburg in South Africa has crash landed following a wheel collapse. According to emergency services reports, the undercarriage of the Boeing 747 collapsed after
landing. All passengers disembarked safely and were bussed to the airport terminal.
The aircraft was then reportedly towed from the runway towards a hangar.
Traveller24 reports that passenger Warren Mann told them how the pilot informed those on board shortly before landing that the “left landing gear had broken off”.
He added: “This caused the plane to hit the runway at an angle. We could see sparks as the left wing and the engines were scraped across the runway. The wing seemed completely broken off.”
“Flight from PE to Johannesburg had massive landing gear failure and engine caught fire,” wrote Renaldo Gouws, whose friend was on the flight.
“Everyone seems to be fine. They are being rescued from the plane as we speak.”
A spokesman for Comair said; “British Airways’ (operated by Comair) BA6234 a 10:35 departure from Port Elizabeth, with 6 Crew and 94 Passengers on board, was involved in an incident on landing at OR Tambo International Airport just after 12:00 pm today
“We can confirm that all passengers and crew safely disembarked with no reported injuries. Passengers have been taken to the terminal building where staff are on hand.
Photos show the landing gear partially folded outwards with one of the actuators separated from its mounts.
The aircraft was evacuated on the runway. There was no fire.
No injuries after plane catches on fire in Wisconsin
A pilot and passenger escaped injury after their single-engine airplane caught fire on a town of Winneconne airstrip
on Saturday. According to a news release, the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a fire at 3:15 p.m. at 5691 Courtney Plummer Road, which is a private airstrip in the town of Winneconne. A 1975 Piper Pathfinder P28 single-engine plane landed on the airstrip after experiencing engine trouble.
The pilot, a 62-year-old male from Aurora, Illinois, and his 50-year-old female passenger exited the plane without injury before the engine caught on fire because of a mechanical issue, according to the news release.
Courtney Plummer Road was closed for about one hour while members of the Town of Winneconne/Poygan Fire Department extinguished the fire.
Plane catches fire after crash near Elberta, Utah, pilot suffers minor injuries October 24, 2015 4:33 pm • Stacy Johnson Daily Herald A 45-year-old Payson man survived a small plane crash in southwest Utah County Saturday morning, but the plane
According to Sgt. Spencer Cannon with the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, the small plane crashed at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Witnesses called 911 when they saw the plane go down near Elberta.
The pilot, Rick Edward Strong, from Payson, was flying the single-engine, single-seat airplane as part of a a reseeding project, dropping seed from the plane when he heard a stall warning.
Strong told officials that he was only flying a few hundred feet above the ground when the warning sounded. He said that he took emergency measures, including an effort to fly underneath a power line, but was unable to recover.
The plane hit the ground, where it spun 180 degrees and stopped facing the opposite direction Strong had been flying.
“The plane itself caught fire and was almost completely destroyed,” Cannon said.
Strong was able to get out of the plane and sustained only minor injuries.
“He was in pretty good shape given the condition of the plane,” Cannon said.
Crews from Santaquin, Eureka and Goshen, as well as the Utah County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were alerted about the crash. They spoke to officers on the scene and to the pilot and, according to Cannon, were satisfied with the explanations of the circumstances surrounding the crash and did not respond to the scene.
Witness to Worcester plane crash that killed Putnam dentist: ‘It went up a little bit and then spun over’ WORCESTER – A Connecticut man was killed Saturday morning when his single-engine plane crashed into woods
off Coppage Drive after taking off from Worcester Regional Airport.
Gary L. Weller, 66, of 283 Heritage Road, Putnam, Conn. died after his 1996 Mooney M20M plane veered to the right after takeoff and crashed into trees just off of airport property, according to Paul R. Jarvey, a spokesman for District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. He was the sole occupant of the plane.
Dr. Weller had a dental practice in Putnam, Weller Dental Associates. At one time, he practiced dentistry while working as a pilot for Eastern Airlines and US Airways, according to his dental office’s website.
State police said they were notified about 8 a.m. that a single-engine plane had gone off a Worcester Regional Airport runway upon takeoff and had crashed in nearby woods.
The Worcester Fire Department responded to the crash and extricated Dr. Weller from the wreckage. Firefighters and emergency medical personnel attempted life-saving measures at the scene, according to Mr. Jarvey, who said the medical examiner’s office would conduct an autopsy to determine the cause of Dr. Weller’s death.
Reached by telephone, Dr. Weller’s family declined to comment on the fatal crash.
Construction worker Dylon DeBoise, who was working near the airport, said the aircraft got only slightly off the ground before crashing.
“It was very low. It looked like it was right above the trees,” Mr. DeBoise said. “It went up a little bit and then spun over, like almost upside down, and then just went straight down.”
No flight plan was filed and Dr. Weller’s destination was not immediately known, Mr. Jarvey said.
The crash is being investigated by state police detectives assigned to the district attorney’s office, the state police crime scene services unit and collision analysis and reconstruction section, Mass. Aeronautics, the state Department of Environmental Protection, MassPort and Worcester police.
“The National Transportation Safety Board will take over the investigation and determine the cause of the crash,” said Mr. Early, who visited the crash site late Saturday morning.
The airport remained open for business.
Officials: Pilot dies after plane crash in north-central Kansas SALINA – Authorities say a man has died after the small aircraft he was piloting crashed shortly after takeoff in
north-central Kansas. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash happened Sunday evening in Ottawa County north of the Saline-Ottawa county line.
Authorities say the experimental plane had only traveled about 100 to 200 yards before the pilot tried to make a turn to return home and the aircraft lost power. Officials say the pilot, who was the only person on the aircraft, could not make an emergency landing.
The highway patrol on Monday said the pilot, 62-year-old Delwyn Schmidt of Bennington, has died. He had been taken to Salina Regional Medical Center before being transferred to a hospital in Wichita.
An FAA spokesman says the homebuilt plane was destroyed when it crashed.
Two small planes collide mid-air near Jean, Nevada By Eric Hartley and Colton Lochhead Las Vegas Review-Journal
PRIMM — Nevada, California and federal authorities are working to figure out how two small planes collided in mid-air Friday morning near Jean, about 30 miles southwest of Las
Vegas. It happened about 10:15 a.m., according to the Clark County Department of Aviation. One plane, a twin-engine Cessna, was able to land safely at the Henderson Executive Airport. The other, a Piper Arrow, landed in a dry lake bed in California, just southwest of Primm.
No injuries were reported.
The Cessna, carrying two people, taxied off the runway in Henderson without causing any airport delays, aviation department spokeswoman Christine Crews said.
One person was on the Arrow, Crews said. Clark County firefighters found the plane, Crews said, and the pilot was walking and talking.
Both planes took off from the Henderson airport, according to the Clark County Fire Department. Departure times and planned destinations were not available.
Initial reports indicate that the two collided somewhere near Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, just past the California state line.
Pilots in the past have complained about the glare that comes from giant mirrors on the massive solar farm. Authorities did not say whether glare contributed to the collision.
The only visible damage to the Arrow was on the right wing, which had been bent and pulled slightly away from the body of the plane.
But Crews said damage to both aircraft was significant. The Cessna’s came in flight, she said.
Besides media, which were ordered by the California Highway Patrol to stay half a mile back from were the Arrow stopped, the only onlooker at the remote lake bed was Steve Holeman. He comes out regularly to ride his landsailer, a sort of wind-powered go-kart.
“I’ve had that thing up to 56 mph, believe it or not,” he said, showing off a picture of his ride.
Holeman is part of an informal group, the Ivanpah Wind Runners, and regularly updates its Facebook page to let others know the conditions and whether the Bureau of Land Management has blocked off the lake bed for the day. It’s not safe to ride or drive on the lake bed if it’s too soft from recent rain.
The Facebook updates save other landsailing buffs from driving all the way there — some live in Arizona — only to find the gate locked.
Holeman, who lives in Las Vegas, had come out Friday morning just to check the conditions. When he drove up to ask questions about the plane, he said, police were so vague that he wondered whether something more exciting was going on — a drug interdiction, perhaps.
Police left about 2 p.m., leaving the plane alone in the middle of the lake bed.
The Federal Aviation Administration, National Transportation Safety Board, Nevada Highway Patrol and Las Vegas police also are investigating.
Hazmat team investigates fuel spill at private company on St. Pete-Clearwater airport site CLEARWATER, FL (WFLA) – The Pinellas County Hazmat team was called out Sunday afternoon to investigate a fuel tank spill at a private business at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.
The fuel tank spill, which was caused by a leak, was reported about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25.
The business where the spill occurred was Sheltair Aviation, 15851 Fairchild Drive, Clearwater, said Michelle Routh, spokeswoman at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport.
No injuries have been reported, and the spill has been contained.
Emergency crews remain on the scene more than four hours after the incident was reported.
Environmental safety officials have been notified about the incident, Routh said.
NTSB Releases Preliminary Report In Lake Worth, FL Accident Two Fatally Injured When Plane Went Down On Approach To KLNA In South Florida The NTSB has released its preliminary report from an accident which occurred October 13 in which a Piper PA-28-180 went down in a trailer park while on approach to Palm Beach County Park-Lantana Airport (KLNA) in Lantana, Florida. The pilot of the aircraft and one person on the ground were fatally injured in the accident. The mobile home that was impacted by the airplane was severely damaged by the impact and fire, and the person fatally injured on the ground was a 21-year-old woman who was sleeping in the mobile home when the plane went
down. According to the report, the Piper Cherokee (N57312) was consumed by a postimpact fire and destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the flight that departed Kissimmee Gateway Airport, (KISM), Kissimmee, Florida, with an intended destination of KLNA. The airplane was owned by Flyers Inc. and operated by a private individual as a personal flight in accordance with the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Preliminary information from the FAA revealed that the flight originated at KLNA earlier during the day of the accident, and flew to KISM, where fueling records indicated that the airplane was fueled with 20 gallons of 100-low-lead aviation gasoline (top off). The flight departed KISM approximately 7 hours later for an intended landing back at KLNA. The pilot received flight following from air traffic control to KLNA and radioed on the common traffic advisory frequency that he was 3 miles east of the airport and going to enter a mid-field left downwind leg for runway 15. The pilot then radioed that he was turning a left base leg for runway 15 and no other communications were received from the pilot. A radar plot showed the airplane flying through the runway center line and then making an “S”-turn before radar coverage was lost.
A witness observed the airplane flying overhead and watched as it made the “S”-turn, followed by a steep right 180-degree turn and descend into a mobile home park. He then saw smoke and fire where the airplane went down.
The wreckage was examined at the accident site and again at a recovery facility. No readable cockpit instruments were recovered. Aileron control continuity was established from the control chain in the cockpit, via aileron cables that were separated and exhibited broomstraw ends, to their respective aileron bellcranks, which had also separated
from the wings. Rudder control continuity was confirmed from the rudder horn to the rudder bar. Stabilator control continuity was confirmed from the “T” bar to the balance weight. The stabilator trim system was not recovered and presumed destroyed by post impact fire.
The two-blade propeller remained attached to the engine. One blade was bent aft, partially melted and contained leading edge nicks, while the outboard half of the other propeller blade was consumed by fire. The top spark plugs were removed from the engine and the propeller was rotated by hand. Camshaft and crankshaft continuity were confirmed to the rear accessory section and valve train continuity was confirmed to the No. 1 and No. 3 cylinders. Due to impact and thermal damage, valve train continuity to the No. 2 and No. 4 cylinders were confirmed by visual inspection.
According to FAA records, the pilot held a private pilot certificate with a rating for airplane single-engine land, which was issued on May 4, 2012. He also held an FAA third-class medical certificate, issued September 23, 2015. At the time of the medical examination the pilot reported 250 total hours of flight experience.
The four-seat, low-wing, fixed tricycle gear airplane, serial number 28-7405042, was manufactured in 1973. It was powered by a Lycoming O-360, 180-horsepower engine, equipped with a two-blade fixed-pitch Sensenich propeller. Review of maintenance records revealed that the airplane’s most recent annual inspection was completed on May 25, 2015. At that time, the airframe had accumulated about 6,199 total hours of operation and the engine had accumulated 1,320 hours since major overhaul.
The 1753 recorded weather observation at West Palm Beach International Airport (PBI), West Palm Beach, Florida, located approximately 4.5 miles north of the accident location, included wind from 140 degrees, at 13 knots, visibility 10 miles, few clouds at 5000 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet, temperature 28 degrees C, dew point 21 degrees C; barometric altimeter 29.91 inches of mercury.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Airport exercise: A lesson in support, cooperation October 25, 2015 12:15 am
I would like to thank all of our community partners who participated in the Bert Mooney Full-Scale Exercise. The support, teamwork, and coordination made the exercise a success. Additionally, while there were challenges associated with the exercise, all of our emergency management partners were flexible, innovative, and provided the necessary skills and experience to solve a particular problem. Consequently, Butte-Silver Bow can be proud of our first responders and emergency management partners.
I am often asked, “What is Emergency Management?” The textbook answer is, “a framework for which companies, communities, and organizations respond to natural and manmade disasters and acts of terrorism.” The more appropriate answer is a system where all stakeholders, both in the public and private sectors, work together to collaboratively coordinate their response to emergencies and support each other in a time of need.
An example of effective emergency management occurred on Tuesday, October 20, 2015, when the Bert Mooney Airport conducted a full-scale exercise testing our emergency response capabilities for a commercial passenger jet incident. Performing this coordinating and support function for the purpose of enhancing our community’s disaster preparedness and response is a monumental task. This objective would fail miserably if our community didn’t have the support and cooperation of its multiple community partners which are involved in emergency preparedness and response.
In Butte-Silver Bow, collaboration between local government departments, state and federal agencies, private businesses, and volunteer organizations is why our emergency services are successful. Our Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC) provides the foundation of this support and cooperation. The LEPC has a number of critical responsibilities including: conducting emergency operations planning, direction, control, and emergency communication capabilities, providing accurate and timely public information, coordinating local evacuation capabilities, and finally, conducting disaster-related training and exercise programs like the Bert Mooney Full-Scale Exercise that took place on Tuesday.
The Bert Mooney Full-Scale Exercise is a great example of how multi-agency cooperation, coordination, and support can be successful. Agencies participating in the airport exercise included: Bert Mooney Airport, BSB Office of Emergency Management, BSB Dispatch Center, BSB Sheriff Office, BSB Fire Department, Boulevard Fire Department, Racetrack Fire Department, Terra Verde Fire Department, Montana Highway Patrol, Montana Department of Emergency Services, St. James Healthcare, BSB Chief Executive’s Office, BSB Council of Commissioners, BSB Health Department, BSB Coroner, A-1 Ambulance, Montana Hospital Association, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Human Health Services, 15-90 Search and Rescue, and SkyWest Airlines.
Each of the above organizations and departments were responsible for their own roles and responsibilities including everything from emergency response and disseminating public information to establishing and coordinating medical triage, transportation and managing the medical surge at St. James Healthcare. Given the success of the airport exercise, each entity performed its responsibilities admirably.
Of course, as with most training exercises, there were challenges. At our debriefing session, our evaluators observed that most of the minor problems involved communication equipment and improper use of radios. These specific challenges will be fixed with upgraded equipment and additional training.
Once again, I would like to thank all of our community partners who participated in this exercise. Their hard work and dedication to our community is an example I am happy to follow.
– Dan Dennehy, director, Butte-Silver Bow County Office of Emergency Management
Moulage adds realism to airport emergency practice I added a word to my vocabulary following the mass casualty emergency drill Thursday at Southwest Florida International Airport:
“That’s a fancy word for mock injuries,” said Dominque Pischeda. She’s a licensed, but currently nonpracticing EMT who recently moved to Southwest Florida from New Jersey. She’s got a small business, Trauma Readiness Training. You can learn more about that on her Facebook page.
At Thursday’s airport exercise simulating an on-airport airliner crash, Pischeda was among the hundreds who volunteered their services.
In this case, she shared her artistic skills, using makeup and other creations to simulate cuts, bruises, compound fractures, vomit and more.
She called me on Friday, asking for a shout-out to members of Florida Gulf Coast University’s drama club. She’d taught them some moulage tricks so they could assist her in preparing “victims” for the training exercise at the airport.
They were quick studies: Pischeda estimates she and a handful of students applied moulage to more than 170 faux passengers in about 90 minutes.
“There was no chaos,” Pischeda marveled.
Her goal in any moulage effort is make the injuries “as realistic as possible” to aid first responders in making quick and accurate triage assessments.
At Southwest Florida International, federal regulations call for a full-scale, mass casualty training exercise every third year.
Naming everyone who participated is impossible. Lee County Port Authority however, provided this list:
Alva Fire Department, American Red Cross, Bonita Springs Fire Department, Boy Scouts of America, Cape Coral Fire Department, City of Fort Myers Police Department, City of Fort Myers Fire Department.
Lee County EM Clergy Disaster Team, Collier County Emergency Management, County Emergency Response Support Team, District 21 Medical Examiner’s Office, Estero Fire District, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Federal Aviation Administration, Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida Department of Health, Fort Myers Beach Fire
District, Florida Highway Patrol, HMSHost, Iona McGregor Fire District, LaBelle Baptist Church, Lee County Division of Public Safety, Emergency Management and Emergency Medical Services, Lee County Port Authority, Lee County School District, Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Lee County Visitor & Convention Bureau, Lee Memorial Health System.
Lehigh Fire District, NOVA University Southeast, San Carlos Park Fire District, South Trail Fire District, SW Florida Medical Reserve Corp. SWFL Healthcare Coalition, Southwest Airlines, Paradies, The Salvation Army, Tice Fire District, Trauma Readiness Training, Transportation Security Administration-Department of Homeland Security.
Today in History 26 Years ago today: On 26 October 1989 a China Airlines Boeing 737 flew into the side of a mountain when the crew used the wrong climbout procedure from Hualien, Taiwan, all 54 occupants were killed.
Date: Thursday 26 October 1989
Time: 18:55
Type: Boeing 737-209
Operator: China Airlines
Registration: B-180
C/n / msn: 23795/1319
First flight: 1986-12-03 (2 years 11 months)
Engines: 2 Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A
Crew: Fatalities: 7 / Occupants: 7
Passengers: Fatalities: 47 / Occupants: 47
Total: Fatalities: 54 / Occupants: 54
Airplane damage: Damaged beyond repair
Location: 5,5 km (3.4 mls) N of Hualien Airport (HUN) ( Taiwan)
