MEC&F Expert Engineers : 08/18/17

Friday, August 18, 2017

Pilot killed after a Air Tractor AT-502B ag plane of Midway Air Service Inc crashed during an aerial application flight near Philipp, Mississippi.





























Date: 16-AUG-2017
Time:

Type:
Air Tractor AT-502B
Owner/operator: Midway Air Service Inc
Registration: N6082B
C/n / msn: 502B-0274
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Substantial
Location: Tallahatchie County, near Philipp, MS - United States of America
Phase: Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature: Agricultural
Departure airport:

Destination airport:

Narrative:
The aircraft impacted farm field terrain during an aerial application flight near Philipp, Mississippi. The agplane sustained substantial damage and the sole pilot onboard received fatal injuries.

Sources:


http://www.asias.faa.gov/pls/apex/f?p=100:95:3045432393339::NO::P95_EVENT_LCL_DATE,P95_LOC_CITY_NAME,P95_REGIST_NBR:16-AUG-17,PHILIPP,N6082B
https://www.google.com/maps/place/33°45'27.0%22N+90°12'15.0%22W/@33.7577418,-90.2019669,17z/data=!3m1!1e3?hl=en
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?nNumberTxt=6082B








Serial Number 502B-0274 Status Valid
Manufacturer Name AIR TRACTOR INC Certificate Issue Date 07/30/2014
Model AT-502B Expiration Date 07/31/2020
Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Single-Engine Type Engine Turbo-prop
Pending Number Change None Dealer No
Date Change Authorized None Mode S Code (base 8 / oct) 51763627
MFR Year 1994 Mode S Code (base 16 / hex) A7E797
Type Registration Corporation Fractional Owner NO


Registered Owner
Name MIDWAY AIR SERVICE INC
Street PO BOX 81

City MINTER CITY State MISSISSIPPI
County LEFLORE Zip Code 38944-0081
Country UNITED STATES

Airworthiness
Engine Manufacturer P&W Classification Restricted
Engine Model PT6A SERIES Category Agriculture and Pest Control
A/W Date 11/29/1994









Midway Air Service Inc

4459 Highway 49 East
Minter City, MS 38944
Phone:

(662) 658-4835


Midway Air Service Inc is a privately held company in Minter City, MS and is a Single Location business.

Categorized under Heating Contractors. Our records show it was established in 2000 and incorporated in MS. Current estimates show this company has an annual revenue of 347510 and employs a staff of approximately 5.

Contact Is this your business? Claim This Profile
Midway Air Service Inc
Phone: (662) 658-4835
Name: Timmy Jones
Job Title: President

Black Hawk Down: 5 crewmen missing after a UH-60 Black Hawk Army chopper crashes at sea near Oahu, HI





5 crewmen missing after Army chopper crashes near Oahu


By AnneClaire Stapleton, Eliott C. McLaughlin and Dakin Andone, CNN

 Thursday, August 17, 2017



Story highlights

  • Wheeler Army Airfield lost contact with UH-60 Black Hawk late Tuesday
  • Helicopters and boats are searching the area; a debris field has been spotted


(CNN)An Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down during a training exercise about 2 miles off the Hawaiian island of Oahu, according to the US Coast Guard. 


Responders are searching for five missing crewmen. 


The aircraft went down Tuesday night off the largely uninhabited Kaena Point on the west side of the island. 


Two Black Hawk air crews were training between Kaena Point and Dillingham Airfield, a few miles east, when communications were lost, the Coast Guard said. 


Three helicopters, a Coast Guard cutter and response boat and the Honolulu Fire Department were among those responding. 


The Coast Guard spotted a debris field near Kaena Point at 11:28 p.m. (5:28 a.m. ET), roughly 80 minutes after personnel at Wheeler Army Airfield in central Oahu lost communications with the helicopter. According to CNN affiliate KHON, it appears that a fuselage and a helmet were found.


"As we pick up debris, we'll bring that back here and we'll assemble that, but investigators will eventually delve into what may or may not have caused this," said Lt. Col. Curt Kellogg, a spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, in a news conference Wednesday.


Weather in the area is partly cloudy with winds of 15 to 25 mph and 2-foot seas.
The UH-60 is an Army utility helicopter used in air assaults, air cavalry and as a medical evacuation unit.



Other aircraft tragedies


The crash of the UH-60 is the latest in a series of recent US military aircraft crashes. 


Earlier this month, three Marines were declared dead after their aircraft crashed off the coast of Queensland, Australia. Of the 26 personnel onboard the MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, 23 were rescued. 


The bodies of 1st Lt. Benjamin Cross, Cpl. Nathaniel Ordway and Pfc. Ruben Velasco were not found, according to a Marine Expeditionary Unit spokeswoman.
In July, 15 Marines and one Navy corpsman died after their KC-130T aircraft crashed in Mississippi. The military transport plane was moving personnel and equipment from North Carolina to a Naval Air Facility in El Centro, California. The troops were then to be taken to a base in Yuma, Arizona, for pre-deployment training.


Both crashes prompted the US Marine Corps to order all its aircraft grounded for 24 hours this month so unit commanders could focus "on the fundamentals of safe flight operations, standardization, and combat readiness."


The aircraft were not all grounded at the same time. 


The Army lost another UH-60 Black Hawk in April when it went down on a golf course in Leonardtown, Maryland, during a training exercise. One crew member was killed.



================


Black Hawk helicopter with 5 crew members on board crashes off Hawaii, Coast Guard says

By Travis Fedschun 

 Published August 16, 2017
Fox News


Army helicopter crashes off coast of Oahu

U.S. Coast Guard and military crews are searching for five crew members in the ocean off the coast of Hawaii after the Army Black Hawk helicopter they were flying on crashed in the ocean late Tuesday.

The Coast Guard said it received a call around 10:08 p.m. from personnel at Wheeler Army Airfield saying the base lost communications with one of its UH-60 Black Hawk aircrews.

Capt. David Jenkins said crewmembers from the Honolulu Fire Department found parts of a fuselage and a helmet on a debris field, which officials spotted around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday near Kaena Point off the island of Oahu.

A Coast Guard plane, several boats and a shore patrol with the Honolulu Fire Department are searching for the five crew members.

Two Black Hawk aircrews were reportedly conducting training exercises between Kaena Point and Dillingham Airfield around the time communications were lost, according to the Coast Guard.

It's not clear what may have caused the crash, but the Coast Guard said the weather on scene currently has 11 mph winds and 2-foot seas.

Night training offshore is routine, Lt. Col. Curtis Kellogg, public affairs officer for the Army's 25th Infantry Division, told the Associated Press.

The search began immediately after one aircrew lost visual and video contact with the other helicopter, Kellogg said.

The two helicopters are elements of the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade.

The UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine utility helicopter manufactured for the Army by Sikorsky Aircraft starting in the 1970s.

More than 3,000 Black Hawk aircraft are in service around the world, according to Sikorsky's parent company Lockheed Martin. The U.S. Army owns 2,300 of them.

Kaena Point is northwest of Honolulu.


Date: 15-AUG-2017
Time: ~21:30LT
Type:
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
Owner/operator: US Army
Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities: Fatalities: / Occupants: 5
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: 2 miles W of Kaena Point, Oahu, HI - United States of America
Phase: En route
Nature: Military
Departure airport: Wheeler Army Airfield
Destination airport:

Narrative:
The Black Hawk went missing between Kaena Point and Oahu's Dillingham. A spokesman for the 25th Infantry Division, said two helicopters were taking part in a nighttime training mission and, at 9:30 p.m, the second helicopter lost visual and radio contact with the first one.

The missing helicopter crashed at sea, c2mi offshore. Coast Guard Hercules and Army Black Hawk aircrews spotted debris near Kaena Point, Oahu at 11:28 p.m.

Sources:
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/08/16/black-hawk-helicopter-with-5-crew-members-on-board-crashes-off-hawaii-coast-guard-says.html
http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/five-missing-after-u-s-army-helicopter-goes-down-off-hawaii-1.3548115
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-hawaii-plane-crash-idUSKCN1AW1JD
http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-report-downed-army-helicopter-off-hawaii/story?id=49247820



===============







OAHU, Hawaii – A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter has reportedly crashed with five crew aboard approximately two miles west of Kaena Point, Oahu.


Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment conduct an air assault mission using six UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at Wheeler Army Airfield in Wahiawa, Hawaii, on June 8, 2015.

The crash occurred late Tuesday night, according to a release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Joint Rescue Command Center in Honolulu received a call at 10:08 p.m. from personnel at Wheeler Army Airfield saying they had lost contact with one of their UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

A debris field was spotted near Kaena Point by the Coast Guard Hercules and Army Black Hawk aircrews at 11:28 p.m.

A search is now underway for the five missing aircrewmen.

The downed helicopter was one of two conducting training between Kaena Point and Dillingham Airfield when communications were lost.

Responding to the search are an HC-130 Hercules airplane aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point, Coast Guard Cutter Ahi (WPB 87364) and crew, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Honolulu, 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Honolulu, UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter aircrew from Wheeler Army Airfield, and shore patrol and a boatcrew from Honolulu Fire Department.

Lincoln, NE Explosion: No signs of external gas leak that may have caused the explosion of the Jim and Jeanne Jasa home









LINCOLN, NE — A veteran Lincoln fire inspector said Tuesday that a house explosion here was the worst natural gas explosion he had seen in his 32-year career.

Chief Fire Investigator Bill Moody said the explosion in the house in southeast Lincoln caused confirmed damage to 17 other neighborhood houses.

Four surrounding homes have been red-tagged as uninhabitable, at least at for now, he said.

The two residents of the destroyed home, Jim and Jeanne Jasa, both 66, were severely injured in the blast.

Both were listed in critical condition Wednesday in the burn unit at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center in Lincoln.

Lincoln Fire Department Battalion Chief Leo Benes called it “absolutely amazing” that no one else was hurt. Had the explosion occurred just an hour earlier, it could have injured children walking home from a nearby elementary school.

Moody said the cause of the blast has not yet been determined. But city fire inspectors, working with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, have been able to rule out an external gas leak.

The Jasas have a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.

Jim Jasa’s sister, Lorraine Ebke, said her brother is retired from BNSF Railway. Jeanne Jasa is a retired Lincoln Public Schools teacher. The couple are longtime Lincoln residents, but Jim Jasa grew up in the Valparaiso area. Ebke said she was on her way to Lincoln from her home in Colorado.

Mark Patton, who used to work with Jeanne Jasa in the Lincoln school district’s behavioral skills program, said she mostly taught younger elementary students.

He said she had an “amazing talent” with the students and is one of the best teachers with whom he has worked.

“She is a nice human being who was a pleasure to work with and to socialize with as well,” Patton said.

Moody said he expected that investigators would be spending the rest of Tuesday checking out potential causes inside the house.

“There’s tell-tale signs of where the blast originated,” he said, while noting the amount of damage could complicate the task.

Moody said it would have taken a huge volume of natural gas to cause the amount of damage that occurred and said the gas would have had to build up for hours.

Typically, residents would have noticed a gas smell during that time, he said.


Debris from the explosion was found for blocks. Lincoln police said damage was reported at 43 homes, ranging from paintings falling off walls to broken windows to structural damage.

Benes said there was ammunition going off after the initial blast, around 4:30 p.m. There also were some minor explosions that could have been paint cans or a vehicle.

He said he does not think the ammunition contributed to the size of the explosion but said it did delay some first responders. The ammunition could have been dangerous if it had been chambered in a firearm.

Ken Dewey, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln climatology professor who was driving in the neighborhood when the blast occurred, said the scene was like nothing he had ever seen, even investigating the aftermath of tornadoes and happening upon car crashes.

He and others found the Jasas lying on the lawn outside of the house. He said the two seemed to have been blown out of the house.

Lincoln Police Capt. Mike Woolman said officers were helping with the investigation by collecting firearms and ammunition from the scene.

Benes encouraged people in the neighborhood to report damage, even minor damage, to city building and safety inspectors to help document the magnitude of the blast.

But he urged people from outside the area to stay away. Debris in trees and on the ground could pose hazards, and extra traffic would hamper authorities.



================




LINCOLN, NE — Authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the explosion that leveled a house in southeast Lincoln.


Lincoln Police Chief Jeff Bliemeister said Thursday that the focus of the investigation is on the occupants of the home and the property itself.


The investigation includes a continuing search of the damaged home and property, as well as interviews by police and a review of financial records, cellphone data and other digital trails.


“There is no ongoing threat to public safety,” he said.


The homeowners, Jim and Jeanne Jasa, both 66, were severely injured in the explosion, which happened about 4:30 p.m. Monday.


As of Thursday morning, they remained in critical condition in medically induced comas at the burn unit at St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center.


Bliemeister said authorities think natural gas was a component of the explosion but are checking to determine whether any other substance or device might have been involved.


So far, he said, there is no evidence of any other type of explosive device or element.


Bill Moody, Lincoln’s chief fire inspector, said the damage caused by the blast is consistent with a natural gas explosion.


Investigative efforts by the Lincoln Bureau of Fire Prevention and natural gas provider Black Hills Energy have ruled out an external natural gas leak.


“There is no information to suggest other homes are in danger of this explosion being replicated and no evidence to show this was the result of negligence on the part of a utility service provider,” Bliemeister said.


Attempts to reach family members for comment were unsuccessful Thursday.


Earlier, Moody said the explosion was the worst he had seen in his 32-year career and that natural gas would have had to build up for hours to cause that magnitude of damage.


Typically, residents would have noticed a gas smell during that time, he said.


Bliemeister said Thursday that the Police Department has now taken the lead in the investigation. Police obtained a search warrant for the home and property on Tuesday.


However, he cautioned that, in many criminal investigations, authorities are trying to determine whether a crime was committed.



The current investigation is looking at all possibilities.


Bliemeister said he expected police to be working at the scene through Thursday and possibly into the weekend. He asked anyone with relevant information to call 402-441-6000.


Authorities have determined that the firearms and ammunition in the home played no part in the event. The firearms were owned legally, Bliemeister said.


Jim Jasa is retired from BNSF Railway and Jeanne Jasa is a retired Lincoln Public Schools teacher. The couple are longtime Lincoln residents.


The Jasas have a son, a daughter and four grandchildren.


Seventeen homes in the area suffered significant damage, Moody said, and five have been “red-tagged” as uninhabitable.


The worst-hit homes were moved off their foundations or had broken floor or ceiling joists. He said it will be up to the homeowners’ insurance companies whether the homes can be repaired or will have to be demolished.

Worker Eva Saenz, 45, with ABC Polymer in Helena, Alabama was crushed to death after she was pulled into a roller at the polymer bulk bag manufacturing plant










HELENA, Ala. — A female employee at ABC Polymer Industries, LLC, in Helena, was killed in a possible industrial accident.

According to Helena Police, the incident happened around 6:40 p.m. Wednesday. The employee was reportedly pulled into an industrial machine and died.

Police and the Shelby County Coroner's Office are investigating the circumstances surrounding the woman's death.

The coroner has yet to identify the victim.




=====



Worker pulled into machine, killed at Helena business

Updated on August 17, 2017

By Carol Robinson


A 45-year-old woman has been identified as the worker killed Wednesday night in an industrial accident in Shelby County.

The Shelby County Coroner's Office identified the victim as Eva Saenz. She lived in Alabaster.

Shelby County 911 received an emergency call from ABC Polymer at 545 Elm Street in Helena at 6:41 p.m., said Helena Police Chief Pete Folmar. Once on the scene, Helena police and firefighters found Saenz had been pulled into an industrial machine.

Fire medics pronounced her dead on the scene. Folmar said no foul play is suspected in her death.

The victim's body has been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for an autopsy. "Our deepest condolences go out to the family of the employee,'' Folmar said in a news release. 



Founded in September 1994 as Alabama Bag Company, ABC Polymer Industries, LLC is a diversified plastics manufacturing company located just outside Birmingham, Alabama. ABC is a fully integrated manufacturer, whose primary products include circular woven polypropylene fabric, polypropylene fiber, polyethylene blown film, fibrillated polypropylene yarn, and reprocessed polypropylene resin. The reprocessing division also handles scrap trading & recycling. In addition, ABC Polymer is an importer/distributor of Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers also known as bulk bags.



==============


Alabama woman, 45, is tragically killed at work after being sucked into an industrial machine and getting caught in the roller at a plastics factory

  • Eva Saenz, 45, died Wednesday at ABC Polymer Industries LLC in Alabama
  • Officials say Saenz was sucked into an industrial machine after getting caught in the roller at the plastics factory
  • The coroner said she was pronounced dead at the scene from blunt force injuries
  • Authorities say no foul play is suspected and an autopsy will be conducted
  • The ABC Polymer factory makes extruded polypropylene products including, bulk bags, synthetic snow, fibrillated yarns, and specific fibers for concrete

By Regina F. Graham For Dailymail.com

  Updated: 21:07 EDT, 17 August 2017



A 45-year-old woman was killed at work after being sucked into an industrial machine and getting caught in the roller at a plastics factory, police say.

Eva Saenz was working at ABC Polymer Industries LLC in Shelby County, Alabama when the tragic accident occurred Wednesday, according to Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans.

'It just appears that she was working next to the rollers and bent down to cut some of the plastic, I believe, with a box cutter and actually got pulled up into the rollers,' Evans said.


Eva Saenz was working at ABC Polymer Industries LLC in Shelby County, Alabama when she was killed after being sucked into an industrial machine and getting caught in the roller at the plastics factory

The coroner said Saenz, who lived in Alabaster, was pronounced dead at the scene from blunt force injuries.

The fire department and police officers both responded to the factory after a 911 call was placed from the company at 6.41pm.

'Upon arrival, responders found a female employee that has been pulled into an industrial machine,' the police department told the Helena Reporter.


The coroner said Saenz, who lived in Alabaster, was pronounced dead at the scene from blunt force injuries. Authorities say no foul play is suspected in her death at the factory and that an autopsy will be conducted

Fire medics determined that the victim was deceased and the Shelby County Coroner's office was notified.'

Authorities say no foul play is suspected in her death and that an autopsy will be conducted.

The ABC Polymer factory makes extruded polypropylene products including, bulk bags, synthetic snow, fibrillated yarns, and specific fibers for concrete.


63-year-old maintenance worker died when he fell 15-20 feet to the bottom of the Androy Hotel elevator shaft in Superior, Wis. as he was attempting to fix a malfunctioning elevator




Police say a 63-year-old maintenance worker died when he fell to the bottom of a hotel elevator shaft in Superior, Wis.

The accident happened Tuesday evening at the Androy Hotel, authorities said. Hotel staff and other witnesses told police and medical staff that the elevator had been malfunctioning, and that the night maintenance worker was trying to fix it. He apparently used a key to open the elevator door and went through the open door, not realizing the elevator cart was above his floor.

Police say the worker fell about 15 to 20 feet to the basement. He died at the scene.

The name of the victim was not immediately released. Police are investigating the death and say government workplace safety officials also will investigate.



============

August 16, 2017 08:37 PM

A 63-year-old man is dead after falling 20 feet down an elevator shaft, according to the Superior Fire Department.

Battalion Chief Scott Gordon said the man fell from the first floor to the basement at the Androy Hotel building on Tower Avenue in Superior. He was unconscious when crews arrived about 5:55 p.m.

Witnesses and hotel staff told authorities he was a maintenance worker attempting to fix a malfunctioning elevator. According to Superior Police Sergeant Rick Hughes, he did not realize the elevator cart was on the floor above him. Hughes said he stepped in the open door, and fell through to the basement.

Medics pronounced the man dead on the scene.

Superior Fire said they cut power to the elevator so they could get to the man. Medical personnel determind he was deceased.

Superior Police said they are classifying it "accidental," and OSHA has been notified and will investigate.

Gordon said the elevator "remains out of service" pending investigation.

The worker's name has not been released, pending family notification.

=============

The 63-year-old man who died Tuesday after falling down an elevator shaft at the Androy Hotel in Superior was a maintenance worker, authorities said Wednesday.


The Superior Police Department said in a news release that it is classifying the death as accidental, and that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has been made aware of the incident and will be conducting an investigation.

The maintenance worker’s name was not released Wednesday, pending notification of the family.

Hotel staff and other witnesses told Superior police investigators that the elevator had been malfunctioning, police reported. The worker was trying to address the problem, police said, opening the door with a key to access the elevator and “not realizing that the elevator cart was above his floor.”

The man proceeded through the open door, falling into the basement about 15 to 20 feet below.

Officers, firefighters and medical staff responded to the hotel at 1213 Tower Avenue at about 6 p.m. Tuesday. The man was assessed by medical personnel and pronounced dead at the scene.

A message left with the owner of the Androy Hotel was not returned as of Wednesday evening.