Planes and Boats and Trains. Wrecks!

[raison de arizona]

[Frater I*I]

Glad my name isn't on that logbook for the Annual...there's a recurrent AD for inspection of the forward wing spar for cracks and damage...

[Kriselda Gray]

Gender reveal parties have turned out to be surprisingly dangerous There's been I think around 10 people killed either at the party or while preparing for it (including at least one expectant father) and other things like forest fires burning about 10,000 acres, cars catching fire and such have happened. It's a really bad fad.

[pipistrelle]

Gender reveal parties have turned out to be surprisingly dangerous There's been I think around 10 people killed either at the party or while preparing for it (including at least one expectant father) and other things like forest fires burning about 10,000 acres, cars catching fire and such have happened. It's a really bad fad.

I hate that everything has to be spectacle and to one up family and neighbors.

[Volkonski]

We knew the gender of new grandson weeks ahead of time. Not that it mattered one little bit.

No need to get vehicle wrecks involved. Safety first.

[neonzx]

I really hope the "gender reveal"party thing ends soon. It's a boy or it's a girl. Here is a cigar. Done.

[MN-Skeptic]

I’m a big fan of gender reveal cupcakes. With chocolate frosting.

[Kriselda Gray]

I really hope the "gender reveal"party thing ends soon. It's a boy or it's a girl. Here is a cigar. Done.

Apparently so does the woman who's credited with starting the trend after finding out how many people have been hurt or worse during them.

[pipistrelle]

I wanted more details. The pilot survived the crash, but died in hospital. I'd be interested in speculation about why the wing(s) failed-load, speed, direction changes, etc.

Also includes a couple other awful consequences of these things, one of which started a 47,000-acre fire.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/04/americas ... index.html

Authorities in Navolato, Sinaloa state, told CNN en Español, CNN’s sister network, that the pilot died in the hospital following the crash.

Alan Francisco Rangel of the Sinaloa Red Cross told CNN that paramedics treated the pilot at the crash site in San Pedro, Navolato and then took him to a local hospital, where he died.

Authorities did not release the pilot’s name, and the cause of the crash is not clear.

[johnpcapitalist]

Gender reveal parties have turned out to be surprisingly dangerous There's been I think around 10 people killed either at the party or while preparing for it (including at least one expectant father) and other things like forest fires burning about 10,000 acres, cars catching fire and such have happened. It's a really bad fad.

I hate that everything has to be spectacle and to one up family and neighbors.

There's another kind of party with a long tradition where it "has to be spectacle and to one up family and neighbors."

Long ago, when I had moved out and was on my way to finalizing my divorce, I dated a woman who was the membership chair of her synagogue. This meant that she was invited to every single bar/bat mitzvah, and we were going to one almost every weekend. They were definitely a lot of fun, but there was a definite element of showing off, with the coolest centerpieces, chocolate fountains for desserts, etc. I've seen more casually planned weddings. However, I'm not aware of any fatalities in connection with that category of events, other than from Dad's heart attack when he gets the bill.

Perhaps the most show-off bat mitzvah in history was a $10 million blowout featuring Aerosmith, 50-Cent and Don Henley of the Eagles. This was thrown in 2010 by Donald Brooks, the CEO of a publicly traded company that made bulletproof vests for police and the military. The company collapsed soon after his daughter's bat mitzvah when the NYPD discovered that 1/4 of the 25,000 bulletproof vests it bought were significantly below spec. As a footnote, Brooks was convicted in 2013 and died in prison not long after.

[Frater I*I]

I wanted more details. The pilot survived the crash, but died in hospital. I'd be interested in speculation about why the wing(s) failed-load, speed, direction changes, etc.

In my earlier post I mentioned there is a recurrent AD [Airworthiness Directive] that requires and inspection of the front wing spar attach bolt areas for cracking, as it is a known issue with this model [and many other] Piper aircraft. This AD seems to have been pencil whipped it's last few Annual inspections...

[pipistrelle]

I wanted more details. The pilot survived the crash, but died in hospital. I'd be interested in speculation about why the wing(s) failed-load, speed, direction changes, etc.

In my earlier post I mentioned there is a recurrent AD [Airworthiness Directive] that requires and inspection of the front wing spar attach bolt areas for cracking, as it is a known issue with this model [and many other] Piper aircraft. This AD seems to have been pencil whipped it's last few Annual inspections...

Thanks for the clarification-didn't realize it was an issue for Pipers. (I was thinking you meant someone skipped inspection or falsified it.)

[pipistrelle]

Gender reveal parties have turned out to be surprisingly dangerous There's been I think around 10 people killed either at the party or while preparing for it (including at least one expectant father) and other things like forest fires burning about 10,000 acres, cars catching fire and such have happened. It's a really bad fad.

I hate that everything has to be spectacle and to one up family and neighbors.

Perhaps the most show-off bat mitzvah in history was a $10 million blowout featuring Aerosmith, 50-Cent and Don Henley of the Eagles. This was thrown in 2010 by Donald Brooks, the CEO of a publicly traded company that made bulletproof vests for police and the military. The company collapsed soon after his daughter's bat mitzvah when the NYPD discovered that 1/4 of the 25,000 bulletproof vests it bought were significantly below spec. As a footnote, Brooks was convicted in 2013 and died in prison not long after.

Off Topic

And in another thread the subject came up of 15,000 people living in storm drains in just one city.

I wish someone would follow up and find out how people feel about the crashed plane and deceased pilot at the gender reveal party. We often find out what happened, but not the reaction to it. Were partygoers and neighbors horrified? Or not.

[RVInit]

Oh my. Here is the condition of the plane after the crash. I don't believe the pilot is visible in the photos, otherwise I wouldn't post.

[chancery]

I wanted more details. The pilot survived the crash, but died in hospital. I'd be interested in speculation about why the wing(s) failed-load, speed, direction changes, etc.

In my earlier post I mentioned there is a recurrent AD [Airworthiness Directive] that requires and inspection of the front wing spar attach bolt areas for cracking, as it is a known issue with this model [and many other] Piper aircraft. This AD seems to have been pencil whipped it's last few Annual inspections...

“pencil whipped”?

[Volkonski]

Pencil whip- to approve any form or document without proper review or knowledge that the task should be approved.

[Frater I*I]

Pencil whip- to approve any form or document without proper review or knowledge that the task should be approved.

[Volkonski]

Grounded ferry off Swedish coast remains adrift, leaking oil

https://www.dw.com/en/grounded-ferry-of ... l-1573-rdf

The passenger ferry Marco Polo, which ran aground in the Baltic Sea off the southern Swedish coast a week ago and caused a major oil spill, has started leaking oil again, the Swedish coast guard said on Sunday.

The extent of the new oil leak could not yet be assessed, it added.

The vessel has also come adrift, leading to the evacuation of some of the remaining crew. Due to strong winds, "the vessel drifted in the afternoon and an evacuation (of the remaining crew members) is being carried out by the maritime and air rescue centre (JRCC)," the coast guard said.

It added that the ship then ran aground again, half a nautical mile from its previous position.

The ferry Marco Polo, operated by TT-Line, first ran aground south of the southern city of Karlshamn on October 22, but was able to continue its journey, only to run aground after another 5 kilometers.

The ship's 75 passengers and some crew were safely evacuated. It has since been stranded near Horvik, about 120 kilometers northeast of Malmo.

Swedish authorities said Thursday that the ship was still stuck and leaking oil, adding that it would likely take days before a salvage operation could begin.

The coastguard said about 25,000 liters of oil and oil spillage had been recovered during the week. According to Swedish authorities, it could take up to a year to fully clean up the spill.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... ship-again

Its beginnings were ill-fated – 333 years on the seabed after sinking minutes into its maiden voyage – but in the years since it was salvaged, the 17th-century Swedish warship Vasa has gone on to become one of Sweden’s most popular tourist attractions.

The vessel, however, now faces a fresh challenge to its survival as its conservators warn it is at risk of collapse if it does not get a new 150m kroner (£11.8m) support structure.



Since it was raised from the protective brackish waters of the Baltic in 1961, it has had an active afterlife and attracted more than 1 million visitors a year.

Magnus Olofsson, the project director at the museum, said the wood of the ship was already starting to fracture. “We have a lot of cracks already and we don’t want to have more,” he said, pointing to a diagonal split on the port side of the bow. “In the end, the ship would collapse.”

[John Thomas8]

More, new Amelia Earhart news:

[keith]

The sonar images do vaguely resemble a plane.

But the plane that it resembles looks more like a 60's era swept wing jet than a 30's era Lockheed Electra prop plane

[RTH10260]

Don't tell me they accidentially located the missing Malaysian Airlines 370 plane

[AndyinPA]

Residents’ lives still in limbo a year after East Palestine toxic derailment

Despite assurances many living near the site of the train accident do not believe their homes are free of pollutants and feel officials are not listening

A year on from the East Palestine toxic train derailment, what’s changed? – podcast

Supported by
OSF (America's dirty divide)
About this content
Dharna Noor
Sat 3 Feb 2024 09.00 EST
Last modified on Sat 3 Feb 2024 11.26 EST

It started with the smell: a saccharine, chemical odor. Hilary Flint noticed it as soon as she walked into her home in Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, one day last February.

“It was something like I’d never smelled before,” said Flint, who spoke to the Guardian from her kitchen for a special edition of the Politics Weekly America podcast. “I describe it as sweet bleach.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... pdate-ohio

It started with the smell: a saccharine, chemical odor. Hilary Flint noticed it as soon as she walked into her home in Enon Valley, Pennsylvania, one day last February.

“It was something like I’d never smelled before,” said Flint, who spoke to the Guardian from her kitchen for a special edition of the Politics Weekly America podcast. “I describe it as sweet bleach.”

On 3 February 2023, a train careened off a track four miles away from Flint’s home in East Palestine, Ohio. Authorities soon learned it was carrying thousands of gallons of hazardous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, a carcinogenic petrochemical gas used in plastic production.

Three days later, authorities set fire to the vinyl chloride in an effort to prevent a dangerous explosion, producing a huge black funnel cloud. Residents immediately began complaining of strange odors as well as nausea and headaches.

Now, a year after the derailment, federal and local officials insist East Palestine and the surrounding regions are safe.

“We’re confident that the residents of East Palestine are not at risk from surface water, soil or air from the derailment,” a senior Biden administration official told reporters on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Norfolk Southern, the train’s owner, says it has committed or invested more than $103m for the community to rebuild.

But many locals remain unconvinced that their homes are free of pollutants, and are still struggling to get their lives back on track.

Residents said they had received conflicting information about contamination from the crash, and about their access to aid. And some feel officials aren’t listening to their concerns – both about this disaster and the need to prevent similar ones in the future.

Lots of local coverage of this here this weekend.

[AndyinPA]

Same topic.

https://wapo.st/3SIwPTL Gifted.

Nearly one year after a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, releasing toxic chemicals into the air and soil, the rail operator’s top executive returned to the scene of the accident — and reiterated his promise of change.
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“I want a response from Norfolk Southern that we can look back five years from now, 10 years from now, [and] we can be proud,” Alan Shaw, the company’s chief executive, said in an interview with local reporters in January.

In the nation’s capital, however, Norfolk Southern often has sounded a more defiant note: It has joined some of the nation’s leading freight railroads in a bid to weaken newly proposed safety legislation, threatening to leave millions of Americans nationwide at risk of deadly derailments and dangerous chemical spills.

The target of the lobbying is a bipartisan proposal from Ohio’s two senators: Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a Republican. Unveiled last spring as a direct response to the accident in East Palestine, the Railway Safety Act aims to toughen rail inspections, improve derailment-detection technology and ensure greater safeguards for hazardous materials.

Publicly, Norfolk Southern and its peers have pledged to work with lawmakers on the bill. But the companies have still labored to severely weaken or eliminate some of its core provisions, according to 15 lawmakers, congressional aides, union officials and others, many of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations.

“They will often say the right things, but then through their actions, and especially through their lobbying, move in a different direction,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a recent interview.

Over the past year, the nation’s five largest rail operators together spent roughly $17 million to lobby lawmakers, while donating generously to key members of Congress who oversee transportation issues, according to federal records. Some of the chief beneficiaries of industry cash were Republicans, who initially attacked the Biden administration over its handling of the East Palestine derailment before opposing or slowing down safety legislation.

[Suranis]