ARFFWG | ARFF Working Group -

Here are the news stories (and small lecture) for today..

Of note, check out the London Heathrow incident, that Airbus appears to have had damage to both engines, fire in the number two and loss of cowling on the number one! It’ll be interesting to see what that investigation reveals….

Also, take note of the “Memorial Day weekend” article!!!

Be safe out there this weekend!

Tom

This weekend you will have the opportunity to remember American military personnel who gave their lives in the name of freedom. How you choose to spend this time is a personal choice only you can make.

Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service. It was first observed on May 30, 1868, when flowers were placed on Union and Confederate Soldiers graves in Arlington National Cemetery. Ever since, Americans have set aside a day in May to observe Memorial Day and pay tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our great nation.

In December of 2000, the “National Moment of Remembrance” Resolution was passed, reminding Americans of the true purpose of this day of reflection. The resolution asks all Americans “to voluntarily and informally observe in their own way a moment of remembrance and respect, pausing from whatever they are doing for a moment of silence or listening to Taps” at 3:00 p.m. local time. This Monday, as we reflect on the achievements and sacrifices of all who have served, I encourage you to remember and honor all those who have lost their lives defending this nation’s ideals of freedom and democracy, not for just a moment, but rather throughout the entire day. We owe them all a debt of gratitude for preserving the blessings of liberty that we claim as our birthright.

To all United States military personnel and their families, thank you for your contributions, dedication and service to the United States of America. May God bless you all!

A British Airways (BA) plane had to return to Heathrow Airport to make an emergency landing after black smoke was seen coming from an engine.

Both runways were closed as passengers and crew used emergency chutes.

BA said the Heathrow to Oslo service turned back after a technical fault at 08:43 BST. Witnesses reported seeing flames coming from the engine.

The southern and northern runways have since reopened but BA have cancelled all short haul flights until 16:00 BST.

Emergency services were standing by while the plane was evacuated.

London Ambulance Service said three people had been treated for minor injuries.

BA said the Airbus A319 was carrying 75 passengers and a “full investigation” would be conducted into the incident.

The Metropolitan Police attended the emergency and tweeted: “Police at Heathrow assisted in the response to the emergency landing. It is not being treated as a terrorist incident at this time.”

Witness John Coghlan told the BBC he saw a “black smoke trail” from the engine of a British Airways Airbus A319.

He said: “[It was a] safe landing and passengers evacuated by chutes on runway.”

Jez Stamp, from Farnham in Surrey, who was on a plane waiting to take off to Jordan, said: “I could see smoke on the right engine.

“We just saw it come to a halt and fire engines were already there waiting for it and they immediately started hosing the plane down.”

Earlier, London Fire Brigade tweeted: “One crew from Heathrow fire station is assisting Heathrow Airport’s fire service with an aircraft fire.

“We believe the fire is now out.”

Explosion fears

Rob Brownell, 33, saw the plane from Imperial Wharf Station in central London and told the BBC flames were “clearly visible”.

He said: “There was this almighty rumbling overhead – I looked up and saw the plane on fire. There were flames coming not just from the engine but lapping the wing.

“My initial thought was ‘my God this thing is going to blow up’. The wings are full of fuel so I couldn’t see how there could not be an explosion.

“It left a black smoke trail in the sky and there was a smell of aviation fuel afterwards.”

Normand Boivin, Heathrow chief operating officer, said: “Heathrow is now fully operational and the airport is returning to normal.

“I would like to pay tribute to BA’s pilots and Heathrow’s fire and airside teams… for their quick and professional response to today’s incident.”

Mark Freeman, the airport’s duty manager, said: “Incidents like this are extremely rare but the team trains constantly to ensure we are prepared when they occur.”

‘Professional job’

According to the website planefinder.net, the plane turned over Potter’s Bar and Billericay before returning to Heathrow.

Captain Mark Searle, chairman of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (BALPA) said: “This was a professional job done by professional people.

“As pilots we spend our whole career training to manage incidents such as this in order to avoid an incident becoming a disaster.

“BALPA representatives will be assisting the pilots involved in this incident and providing whatever support they need.”

Earlier, the airport said 23 flights had been diverted, including two to Manston Airport in Kent, as a result of the incident and advised travellers to contact their airlines to see if their flight had been affected.

The incident is being investigated by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22655866

An Air Via Airbus A-320 has gone off a runway at the airport in Varna, Bulgaria. 

Reports state that the airplane went off the runway after landing in a heavy rainstorm.

At least two elderly women have been injured with broken limbs. No other information is available at this time.

RUSK COUNTY, TX (KLTV) -

The Rusk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a plane that crashed near East Texas Regional Airport in Gregg County Thursday evening.

Sgt. David Roberts with the Rusk County Sheriff’s Office tells KLTV 7 that the plane went down around 6:30 in a field near County Road 2156D.

The pilot was the only person on board, and authorities say that he was talking with emergency crews on scene. It’s unclear if the pilot was transported to the hospital. His name has not yet been released.

Authorities say that the plane was a small “crop duster” aircraft, and only damaged trees when it crashed. No buildings or homes were affected.

The Federal Aviation Administration has been called to the scene, and is expected to begin its investigation on Thursday evening.

TRUCKEE, CA – The pilot of a small plane is said to be alive after a plane crash east of Truckee Thursday afternoon.

According to Truckee Fire, the single-engine plane went down shortly after 3PM about ten miles east of Truckee, northeast of Martis Peak near Murphy Meadows.

A Care Flight spokesman says a Care Flight helicopter crew found the wreckage, but had to land some distance away because of rocky terrain and hike to the scene to give medical treatment to the pilot. The area is remote enough that a CHP helicopter with hoist capability was used to remove the injured pilot from the scene and take him to the Truckee-Tahoe airport, where Care Flight took him and flew him to Renown in Reno.

Care Flight had two helicopters in the area to provide whatever assistance was necessary.

Initial information is that no one else was on board the plane, and there’s no word on the cause of the crash or condition of the pilot.

The crash comes just a week after a Cessna went down in nearby Sierra County, killing the pilot.

Move The Result Of Three Accidents Involving Airplanes Colliding With Meteorological Evaluation Towers

The NTSB has issued six broad-reaching safety recommendations after three accidents in which airplanes collided with Meteorological Evaluation Towers (METs). In each of the accidents, which occurred between 2005 and 2011, the MET was unmarked and unlighted. All resulted in fatal injuries. In the 2011 case, the permit for the MET had expired more than a year before the accident occurred, but it had not been removed as stipulated by its permit. The Board says that METs are often temporary structures, and at under 200 feet tall, are not required to be marked and lighted by the FAA.

The Board recommends that the FAA amend 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 77 to require that all meteorological evaluation towers be registered, marked, and—where feasible—lighted, and that the agency create and maintain a publicly accessible national database for the required registration of all meteorological evaluation towers.

They further recommend that the American Wind Energy Association revise the Wind Energy Siting Handbook to clearly indicate the hazards that meteorological evaluation towers (MET) pose to low-altitude aviation operations and encourage voluntarily marking them to increase their visibility by reference to Advisory Circular70/7460-1, “Obstruction Marking and Lighting.” The association should also inform members about the circumstances of the airplane accidents that have occurred in connection with the presence of meteorological evaluation towers (MET) and emphasize the importance of understanding the aviation safety hazards associated with METs when erecting them.

The Board says that in the review and approval of applications processes for the construction of METs conducted by the United States Department of the Interior, the United States Department of Defense, and the United States Department of Agriculture, applicants should be provided a copy of, or directed to Advisory Circular 70/7460-1, “Obstruction Marking and Lighting.”

Finally, the board urged 46 States, the District of Columbia, the commonwealths of Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories of America Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands to pass legislation requiring that meteorological evaluation towers be marked and registered in a directory.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov/recsletters/DisplayLetters.aspx?FolderYR=2013

18 Years ago today: On 24 May 1995 a Knight Air Embraer 110P1 Bandeirante crashed near Leeds/Bradford Airport, U.K. following the failure of both artificial horizons; all 12 on board were killed.

Narrative:
Flight NE816 took off from Leeds-Bradford runway 14 at 17:47 LT in stormy weather. Two minutes after take-off the crew reported problems with their artificial horizon. When returning to the airport at 3600 feet the crew had severe problems in maintaining their heading. At 17:51 the aircraft entered a left turn, lost height rapidly and broke up partly before crashing into a farmland. On 15:01.96 the P2 artificial horizon of Bandeirante G-OEAB failed.

PROBABLE CAUSE: “The following causal factors were identified:
i) One or, possibly, both of the aircraft’s artificial horizons malfunctioned and, in the absence of a standby horizon, for which there was no airworthiness requirement, there was no single instrument available for assured attitude reference or simple means of determining which flight instruments had failed.
ii) The commander, who was probably the handling pilot, was initially unable to control the aircraft’s heading without his artificial horizon, and was eventually unable to retain control of the aircraft whilst flying in IMC by reference to other flight instruments.
iii) The aircraft went out of control whilst flying in turbulent instrument meteorological conditions and entered a spiral dive from which the pilot, who was likely to have become spatially disoriented, was unable to recover.” (AAIB)

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. – Federal authorities are investigating why pieces of a 747 cargo plane crashed into the woman’s house Sunday afternoon.

The woman lives on Newton Estate Drive in Clayton County, along a direct flight path to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Another piece of the plane landed at a Walmart on Anvil Block Road, just a couple of miles away.

Channel 2′s Tony Thomas watched as mechanics and inspectors canvassed the right wing of the plane Wednesday night, replacing the 20-foot section that ripped off.

Homeowner Pamela Ware told Thomas she’s thankful she survived after part of that wing hit her house.

“And boom! I was like, ‘Huh?’ Actually, I hit the floor,” Ware said. “If it had landed in here because that is just Sheetrock, it would have… oh boy, I wouldn’t be no good.”

She showed Thomas pictures she took of the chunk that she said put two holes in her roof before bouncing into the yard.

She took Thomas into the attic to see the splintered rafters and holes that were left behind.

Ware was lucky in more ways than one. Authorities said a 20-foot section of the plane crashed into the parking lot in front of a Walmart. No one was hurt.

Federal investigators told Thomas the 747 cargo plane coming from Anchorage was about 5 miles east of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport when a piece of the right wing flap ripped off, breaking into at least two pieces and potentially damaging the aircraft body.

The pilot declared an emergency and landed safely at the airport. Thomas was told by Boeing and China Airlines, inspectors are on site as the jet sits just off Hartsfield’s runways.

Ware has now spent several sleepless nights, wondering who’s going to pay for her repairs and when the next piece might drop.

“I just keep thinking of what could have happened,” Ware said.

Federal investigators now have taken those pieces of the wing flap as part of their investigation. Thomas tried reaching China Airlines several times Wednesday but received no answer.

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/parts-jet-plane-wing-fall-womans-house-walmart-par/nXzhT/