MEC&F Expert Engineers : 06/02/15

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

AMTRAK TRAIN CRASHES INTO FORKLIFT THAT HAD STALLED ON THE TRACKS IN KINGS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA






JUNE 2, 2015

KINGS COUNTY, CALIF. (KFSN) 

An Amtrak train crashed into a forklift in Kings County on Tuesday morning.
The Hanford area Highway Patrol says the forklift was crossing the train tracks on Lansing Avenue near 10th Avenue when it stalled. The driver tried to restart it, but was unable to. He then jumped off of it, and the train hit it.

The train was coming from Bakersfield when the crash happened. Nobody on the train was hurt, and the driver of the tractor wasn't either. The passenger train has since continued to Sacramento.


@Amtrak_CA video of train vs forklift on Lansing and 10 1/2 in #Tulare county @ABC30 pic.twitter.com/pqSNj2PF5Y
— Tom (@photogtom) June 2, 2015

Source: http://abc30.com

CAR DRIVER TRIES TO BEAT AN AMTRAK TRAIN WHILE THE ARMS ARE DOWN AND LOSES IN JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA; 2 INJURED







JUNE 2, 2015

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA

A train carrying 171 passengers collided with a car in Riverside, cutting the vehicle in half on Tuesday.

The Jacksonville Fire Rescue Department has confirmed an Amtrak train crashed into a car at College Street and Willow Branch Avenue.

Lt. Elkins with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says the car was split in half and the passenger in the back seat was ejected.

Stacey Peterson holds up rear door %26 fishing rods that were in trunk. Says will serve as reminder for his son @FCN2gopic.twitter.com/F8lS5LThF8
— Shelby Danielsen (@NewsShelby) June 2, 2015

At least two people in the car had minor injuries, according to JFRD.

A spokesperson for Amtrak said no one on the train was injured.

Peterson %26 wife collecting car debris. Says "I will show this to him every day for next year of his life" @FCN2gopic.twitter.com/ynm4HxTncY
— Shelby Danielsen (@NewsShelby) June 2, 2015

The father of the young driver says JSO gave his son a ticket (roughly $300) for trying to cross tracks while arms were down. JSO is still investigating.

Young drivers do very stupid acts like this one.  Perhaps this young idiot will learn a lesson and will not do it again. 

Source: http://www.firstcoastnews.com

2 DEAD IN SONEX SA SMALL PLANE CRASH NEAR WITTMAN REGIONAL AIRPORT IN OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN







JUNE 2, 2015

OSHKOSH, WI

Two people were killed in a plane crash at Oshkosh Corp. Tuesday, authorities have confirmed.

Authorities responded to the crash at 3:21 p.m. The Federal Aviation Association and the National Transportation Safety Board are en route, Joe Nichols, Oshkosh Police Department spokesperson, said.

Oshkosh Corp. Vice President of Communications John Daggett said no employees were hurt in the crash at the company's north plant property.

The plane crashed into several Oshkosh Corp. trucks that were parked, he said.  There was no fire or explosion.

"As a precaution we instituted our standard safety procedures and evacuated the plant to let the first shift go home early," he said.

The plane, a Sonex SA fixed-wing, single-engine aircraft, is registered to John Monnett Jr, founder and president of Sonex Aircraft LLC in Oshkosh. It is a two-passenger airplane sold as a kit.

Authorities have closed the 300 block of 23rd Avenue from Montana to Oregon streets.

Authorities will hold a news conference to discuss the crash at 4:45 p.m.

Oshkosh Northwestern Media will update this story as more information becomes available.
Source: http://www.thenorthwestern.com

RIGGING FAILED: CRANE FELL ON BARGE



This unfortunate incident happened on the 5th of March 2015, when lifting a Terex Crane AC 35 L from a barge by means of a Manitowoc 4100 crawler crane positioning the Crane on the quay and is a prime example of what can go wrong, when no attention is paid to details when lifting a load and applying the rigging.

I would like to congratulate TOTAL with its detailed Incident Report (below) and clarifying what went wrong here. It was also fortunate that nobody got hurt and only material damage was encountered.  

By publishing this report, TOTAL has set an example for the Industry and hopefully this will be followed by others:  DO REPORT INCIDENTS AND ACCIDENTS AND PUBLISH THEM, SO WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES THAT STILL ARE  BEING MADE DAILY.

Take an example to the Airline crashes, which are investigated in detail by the NTSB and published in National Geography's Documentaries: "AIRCRASH INVESTIGATION" . The result being that proper measures are taken by Aircraft manufacturers (Design Changes), Airlines (Proper pilot training and education and maintenance instructions and procedures), Authorities (Rules and Regulations) to avoid these kind of accidents from happening again.  It has made the Airline Industry the safest transport industry in the world. If that was not the case, NOBODY WOULD EVER FLY AGAIN!!

We all should aim to a "Safer Transport, Offshore, Shipping, Civil & Lifting Industry" and report in detail what went wrong and why it went wrong, AS THIS IS IN OUR OWN INTEREST!  

Remember the five W's:  WHO, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and  WHAT went wrong? and publish this in detail. I will publish all  reports,  which are sent to me (e-mail: heavyliftspecialist@gmail.com) on this website and strongly recommend you to send me any incident or accident which passes your path (If you wish, I will not reveal your identity).

Do not swipe it under the carpet!!  With todays communication means, like smartphones, unsafe contractors are exposed quickly. The only way you can proof that you are taking Safety seriously, is by publishing what went wrong and what you as a contractor have done in preventing this from happening again!

This incident could have been prevented so easily.  I strongly recommend to the Crane manufacturers, that they provide suitable lifting points on the outriggers of mobile cranes, as this is not the first time this has happened.
See below detailed incident report and learn from it!! 





















SLEAZEBAG RAILROADS ARE GETTING AWAY WITH CLEANUP COSTS: THE U.S., THERE ARE NO FEDERAL OR STATE INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR OIL TRAINS. BILLIONS IN FUND, SAFETY WALL TO PROTECT NEIGHBORHOODS URGED IN OIL TRAIN SAFETY REPORTS






MAY 29, 2015

ALBANY, NEW YORK

A state oil spill cleanup fund, recently boosted from $25 million to $40 million, is still woefully short of what could be needed after a major spill, explosion or fire, and should eventually grow to as much as $2 billion, according to a report on oil train safety issued this week by a county advisory committee to Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.

Issued late Friday, a separate oil safety report by Albany City Mayor Kathy Sheehan also recommended construction of a "sound/safety wall" to protect South End neighborhoods around the Port of Albany, which is the destination each week for hundreds of oil tanker rail cars coming from the Bakken fields of North Dakota.

Commissioned by McCoy a year ago, the 19-page county report also urged the federal government adopt more aggressive crude oil train tank car safety standards and phase-out of older, less-sturdy oil train tankers faster than rules just approved this month. It also calls for the Capital Region to be added to places where crude oil trains must slow down to 40 mph. Both these steps were also suggested by the Sheehan report.

The county report also called for the state to take a comprehensive look at the impact of major oil shipments into and through Albany. Currently, two oil terminals are allowed to handle up to 2.8 billion gallons of crude oil annually after the state Department of Environmental Conservation decided several years ago shipments would have no significant adverse environmental impact.

According to the Sheehan report, construction of a protective wall between the port and surrounding neighborhoods could be "undertaken immediately and will be a show of good faith to the community ... it will reduce dust that comes from the traffic, and will serve to partially protect the community form other air pollutants released from the port."

The county report was authored by Peter Iwanowicz, executive director of Environmental Advocates of New York; Chris Amato, a staff attorney for the environmental group EarthJustice, and Phillip Landrigan, a doctor a Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. Amato also was part of a lawsuit filed against DEC this year over claims the agency did not give enough scrutiny to a planned crude oil heating plant at the Port of Albany; this month, DEC revoked its earlier environmental nod for the project.

"This report echoes the concerns I have expressed to the DEC and the U.S. Department of Transportation on the safety hazards that we face every day," said McCoy in a statement on Friday. "There have been five oil tanker derailments this year in North America. We are fortunate that there has been no loss of life, but we have to be prepared should there be an incident in an urban area like Albany."

In this year's state budget, a 1970s-era oil spill cleanup fund was increased from a maximum of $25 million to $40 million, which the report called "vastly underfunded." The figure ought to be increased to $2 billion and paid for by a fee on crude oil shipments, the report said.

"While the state fund was increased to $40 million, that doesn't even keep pace with inflation since the law was enacted," said Iwanowicz. "If it did, the fund would be more than $100 million — which would still not be enough."

The federal government also should impose national insurance requirements on freight railroads that haul the highly flammable crude oil, the report added.

Canadian federal lawmakers are considering an insurance requirement for crude oil trains in the wake of a fiery July 2013 oil train crash that killed 47 people and incinerated the heart of the small town of Lac Megantic in Quebec. 

The railroad involved in that crash carried only $25 million in insurance, and cleanup and repair bills estimated at more than $1 billion are being borne by taxpayers.

Currently in the U.S., there are no federal or state insurance requirements for such oil trains. The proposed Canadian law would tax oil shipped by rail to create a fund of up to $250 million to cover damage that exceeds railroad insurance, which would be set at $1 billion minimum for large railroads, and phased in to reach up to $250 million for smaller railroads that carry oil over relatively short distances.