Planes and Boats and Trains. Wrecks!

[RTH10260]

Once thought to be associated with the war in Ukraine

Beijing’s Baltic confession exposes undersea vulnerability
While China claims a blunder, its ship cutting a pipeline and cable last year leaves transparency questions aplenty.

Cynthia Mehboob
Published 14 Aug 2024

China has finally acknowledged that the Hong Kong-flagged ship NewNew Polar Bear was responsible for damaging critical undersea infrastructure in the Baltic Sea. The incident – which Beijing is calling an “accident” – occurred in October 2023 and involved the Chinese ship damaging the 77 kilometre Balticconnector pipeline, an essential energy source for Finland along with an undersea data cable that connects Estonia to Sweden.

The acknowledgement emerged in reporting by the South China Morning Post this week, but it won’t put an end to suspicions about cable sabotage.

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur suggested at the time that the damage to the pipeline and communications cable was likely deliberate. Finnish authorities, who recovered the anchor from the Chinese vessel that had dragged across the pipe and cable, deemed it a “deliberate external act” but were powerless to arrest the ship’s master after the vessel subsequently sailed to Russian ports and then into international waters.

China initially dismissed outright the European accusations that the NewNew Polar Bear was involved. But ten months later, according to the SCMP, Chinese authorities communicated their findings of an internal investigation via a Chinese-language report circulated among European ministries, blaming a strong storm.

China’s admission could be seen as an unusual display of transparency. But SCMP also notes that the report does not serve as official evidence in the ongoing criminal investigations in Estonia and Finland. China’s Ministry of Justice has yet to provide the requested legal assistance, leaving authorities in both countries sceptical about the extent of China’s cooperation.



https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-inter ... nerability

[AndyinPA]

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireSto ... -113245498

BALTIMORE -- Maryland transportation leaders on Thursday approved a contract for rebuilding the Francis Scott Key Bridge several months after the 1.6-mile (2.6-kilometer) steel span collapsed under the impact of a massive container ship that lost power and crashed into one of its supporting columns.

In the immediate aftermath of the deadly March 26 collapse, officials quickly promised to rebuild the bridge — a longstanding Baltimore landmark and vital piece of transportation infrastructure.

They cited a 2028 completion date and estimated the project would cost $1.7 billion and would include significantly more pier protection to better defend against future wayward ships.

At a monthly meeting Thursday morning, the Maryland Transportation Authority board awarded a $73 million contract for the first phase of the project to Kiewit Infrastructure, which calls itself “one of North America’s largest and most respected engineering and construction organizations.”

[Foggy]

They cited a 2028 completion date ...

Wow, four years. I thought it would be quicker than that.

[Volkonski]

They cited a 2028 completion date ...

Wow, four years. I thought it would be quicker than that.

Four years sounds about right. They won't just be duplicating what they had.

Lots of engineering work required up front.

Component suppliers will already have orders from other customers to deliver first.

I am no longer aware of current backlogs for steel but it could be years.

The Hartman Bridge in Baytown TX took 9 years to construct not including the design engineering work.

[northland10]

They cited a 2028 completion date ...

Wow, four years. I thought it would be quicker than that.

I did not expect faster. A large bridge is not a quick build, and even if you only see construction over three years, there are many years before that for design, reviews, budgeting, contracting, rinsing and repeating, etc.

The Saint Anthony Falls Bridge carrying I-35 in Minneapolis took only about a year or so, but it is much shorter, so it does not have to deal with spanning 1.6 miles in a way that won't be hit by a boat.

The new Gordie Howe International Bridge in Detroit/Windsor started construction in 2018 and is scheduled to be complete next year.

[Foggy]

I know, y'all know much more than I do about this stuff. My comment was mostly because, right after the wreck, I made a wildly inaccurate estimate of how long it could take, and I was just acknowledging that I had badly misunderestimated (I wrote a Bushword!), many moons ago. I remember how quickly they were able to rebuild a bridge that came down in a California earthquake, but highway bridges are not seaport bridges.

I do think it's going to be fun to see the new design.

[sugar magnolia]

4 years sounds pretty good considering it's taken them 6 months just to award the bid.

[Volkonski]

Kiewit built the new replacement Goethals Bridge connecting Staten Island and New Jersey. That took 4 1/2 years.

[zekeb]

4 years sounds pretty good considering it's taken them 6 months just to award the bid.

The plans haven't been completely drawn yet. This is supposed to be some sort of a build it as you design it project. As the get further into the project they will agree on the maximum cost.

[Kendra]

https://www.king5.com/article/news/loca ... f08ba0872d

3 dead after small plane crashes into row of townhomes in Oregon
The crash sparked a fire that spread to four of the townhome units, according to fire officials. About 9,000 people lost power for hours due to downed power lines.

[RTH10260]

Plane was on a test flight after maintenance and developed trouble. Pilot was attempting to reach the airport.

[tek]

https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/419247

[RTH10260]

Delta plane tears tail off another jet after collision on Atlanta airport tarmac
There were no injuries reported

Graig Graziosi
1 hour ago

A Delta jet preparing to take-off from an Atlanta airport collided with a smaller jet and tore the aircraft's tail off.

Delta Air Lines Flight 295 was preparing to depart the airport for Tokyo on Tuesday when its wingtip hit the tail of Endeavor Air Flight 5526 bound for Louisiana, according to ABC News, citing the Federal Aviation Administration and Delta.

The collision snapped off the smaller jet's tail.

The planes collided at the intersection of two taxi lanes around 10:10 am local time, according to the FAA.

There were no reported injuries on either plane. The FAA said it will investigate the collision.

The collision reportedly did not cause any major disruptions at the airport.

“There is minimal impact to airport operations,” an airport spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. “Passengers from one of the aircraft are being bussed from the incident to the concourses. The second aircraft taxied under its own power to a concourse where passengers will deplane at their gate.”

Endeavor Air is a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines.

On Tuesday, FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker spoke at an industry press conference and said that some — but not all — airports were installing technologies intended to help prevent runway incidents like the Delta collision, Reuters reports.

“We’ve started to deploy pretty simple off the shelf solution for controllers to get better situational awareness,” Whitaker said saying close calls were down by more than half in the first half of the year. “So there’s progress, but we need to get better. There’s no excuse for that happening.”



https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 10392.html

[RTH10260]

[Dave from down under]

Only damage to the runway

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-16/ ... /104356076

Nice video from a young plane spotter

[Flatpoint High]

.JPG (17.83 KiB) Viewed 753 times

[RTH10260]

[Volkonski]

Dangerous chemical leak spurs evacuation order in Ohio town

https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/24/us/ohio- ... index.html

Students in school buildings and residents in hundreds of neighboring homes were told to evacuate after a dangerous chemical began leaking from a railcar Tuesday near Cincinnati.

Authorities said a pressure release valve on the car was leaking styrene, a toxic and flammable chemical that is used to make plastic and rubber. It can cause headaches, nausea and respiratory issues, and long-term exposure can lead to more serious health problems including organ damage.

Aerial video showed firefighters spraying down the car, which was sitting upright on tracks between a highway and an asphalt plant.

Crews were working to “cool the tank to maintain the temperature,” said Chief Mike Siefke of the Little Miami Joint Fire and Rescue District at a news conference Tuesday evening. Initially, officials were concerned the railcar’s rising temperature could lead to an explosion, but Siefke said that is “not a concern we have right now.”

The leak has stopped and the impacted car has been removed from other railcars, said Brian Stussie, assistant vice president of operations at Genesee & Wyoming railroads.

[AndyinPA]

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna173153

MANTEO, N.C. — Multiple people died after a single-engine plane crashed Saturday afternoon in a wooded area at Wright Brothers National Memorial’s First Flight Airport, the National Park Service said.

The crash occurred at 5 p.m. as, according to eyewitnesses, the airplane was trying to land at the airport, the park service said in a news release.

The airplane caught fire after the crash, the park service said. The Kill Devil Hills Fire Department and other local fire departments put out the fire.

The airport is closed until further notice, the park service said.