CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS FINED $5,000 FOR GAS LINE DAMAGE AND FOR FAILING TO REPORT THE EXCAVATIONS IN NEW YORK

MARCH 10, 2015

State officials fined two construction firms $2,500 each for damaging natural gas lines in Blauvelt and Dobbs Ferry.

The New York Public Service Commission ordered the fines March 6 against ASF Construction & Excavation Corp. of Tarrytown and Apple Coring & Sawing of Kenilworth, N.J.

ASF's violation occurred at 64 Southlawn Ave. in Dobbs Ferry on July 17 during waterproofing and foundation work. Workers from the company damaged a 2-inch steel low-pressure gas line and the company failed to notify the utility of its dig.  

Apple Coring & Sawing's violation occurred at 576 Route 303 in Blauvelt on June 16 during a water main excavation. Workers damaged a 1-inch plastic high-pressure gas line and the company failed to notify the utility of its dig.

Both companies have 30 days to pay their fines.

Now they know:  Call before you Dig

Source: www.lohud.com

EPOXY CHEMICAL SPILL CLEANUP FROM A RUPTURED DRUM AFTER A CRASH IN ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

MARCH 9, 2015

ALBUQUERQUE, NM (KRQE)

An accident involving a chemical spill reduced southbound I-25 to one lane at Avenida Caesar Chavez for much of the day Monday.

Police say four 55-gallon drums of an epoxy compound ruptured during the crash.

Cleanup was extensive and took several hours due to the type of chemical spilled, according to police. All lanes have since reopened.

6 FIREFIGHTERS INJURED, 4 CANAL HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED IN A FIRE IN SOUTHERN BROOKLYN, NY

MARCH 9, 2015

BROOKLYN, NY

A fire in southern Brooklyn left four homes on a canal badly damaged and six firefighters injured on Monday, the authorities and neighbors said.

The Fire Department said the blaze broke out just before 2:20 p.m. on National Drive in Mill Basin in a row of semidetached houses that back up to a canal. 

 Thick plumes of smoke could be seen rising from the homes as red flames shot from the roof and back of the home where the fire started.

Neighbors said wind coming off the canal helped the fire spread. The waterway allowed a Fire Department Marine Unit to spray water on the house.

The six firefighters were taken to hospitals to be treated for non-life-threatening injuries, the Fire Department said.

Three homes were heavily damaged, and a fourth was partly damaged, the Fire Department said.

The fire started at 2220 National Drive and spread to an attached home, before jumping across a narrow alley to another pair of homes, the Fire Department said. Each home has a bay window, through which the smoldering debris left from the fire was visible.

The Fire Department said four alarms were sounded for the fire, bringing in 175 firefighters from 39 units. The blaze was brought under control shortly before 5 p.m.

The cause of the fire remained under investigation. A fire marshal at the scene late Monday said his team had not been able to enter the buildings.

Shula Lurieli, 52, who lives next door to the home where the fire started, said she was at her daughter’s house when she received a phone call.

“I just heard that there was a fire on National Drive,” she said. “And that it was in my home.”

Her home, at 2222 National Drive, was badly damaged.

Neighbors said the quiet block was barely visible through the smoke.

“It was like a black fog,” said Adine Hamlin, who lives across the street. “You couldn’t see anything.

“All I saw was a young man with his dog, barefooted and sitting outside, and I knew something was wrong,” she continued. “I just asked if he called 911.”

On Monday evening, outside her blackened home, Ms. Lurieli said only her dog was home during the fire and the animal escaped. For the next few days, she said, she would stay at her daughter’s home.

“I don’t what I’m going to do,” she said. “I haven’t been told anything yet.”

Source: www.nytimes

NTSB Issues Second Update on the Delta Flight 1086 Accident at LaGuardia Airport

MARCH 9, 2015

As part of its ongoing investigation into last week’s accident at LaGuardia Airport where Delta Air Lines flight 1086 veered off the runway shortly after touching down, the NTSB today released its second investigative update.  On Thursday, March 5, 2015 at approximately 11:18 A.M., Delta flight 1086, a Boeing MD-88 flying from Atlanta, GA to LaGuardia, NY exited the runway and came to rest with its nose on an embankment. There were 127 passengers (including 2 lap children) and 5 crewmembers on board the flight.  Twenty three passengers received minor injuries, and others were transported to the hospital for evaluation. All passengers have been released from the hospital. Since arriving on scene, the NTSB, with assistance from the FBI, has documented the runway markings and the airplane.  Investigators have determined: The airplane departed the left side of runway 13 about 3,000 feet from the approach end of the runway. The tracks were on a heading of about 10 degrees from the runway heading. About 4,100 feet from the approach end of the runway, the airplanes left wing initially struck the airport’s perimeter fence, which is located on top of the berm, and the airplane tracks turn back parallel with runway 13. About 5,000 feet from the approach end of the runway, the airplane came to rest with its nose over the berm,. The left wing of the airplane destroyed about 940 feet of the perimeter fence. Significant damage to the airplane was noted, including: Damage on the left wing’s leading edge slats, trailing edge flaps, and flight spoilers. The breach of the left wing fuel tank was noted in the area of the outboard end of the outboard trailing edge flap. Damage to the front radome, weather radar and to the underside of the fuselage from the front of the airplane all the way back to the area of the left front passenger door. Damage was also noted in the nose landing gear well and main electronics bay. The tailcone handle in the main cabin was actuated. The autobrake selector switch in the cockpit was found in the “max” position. As part of the investigative process, the following investigative groups have been formed: Operations and Human Performance, Airworthiness, Airports, Flight Data Recorder, Cockpit Voice Recorder, and Maintenance Records.  Below is a summary of some their work, to date. The Maintenance Records group began reviewing the maintenance records on Saturday and that work is ongoing. Delta Air Lines is the original owner of the accident airplane and took delivery of it on December 30, 1987. The aircraft had 71,195.54 flight hours and 54,865 flight cycles at the time of the accident. The last major maintenance visit took place on September 22, 2014 in Jacksonville, Fla.  This visit was part of the airplane’s regularly scheduled maintenance program, and included tests of the auto brake, antiskid and auto spoiler systems. The last overnight service check was completed March 2, 2015 in Tampa, Fla. Investigators with the Airworthiness group will continue to examine and test the antiskid, autobrake and thrust reverser systems today. The Operations and Human Performance groups interviewed the flight crew on Saturday in Atlanta, Ga. The crew stated: They based their decision to land on braking action reports of "good," which they received from air traffic control. That the runway appeared all white when they broke out of the overcast, moments before landing. That the automatic spoilers did not deploy but that the first officer quickly deployed them manually. That the auto brakes were set to ‘max’ but that they did not sense any wheel brake deceleration. The captain reported that he was unable to prevent the airplane from drifting left. An NTSB air traffic control specialist has gather the following information: another Delta Air Lines MD-88 airplane landed on runway 13 about 3 minutes prior to flight 1086 (the FDR has been sent to the NTSB recorder lab and investigators will interview this flight crew in the coming days) and confirmed that air traffic controllers relayed the braking action reports to the flight crew of 1086,which were based on pilot reports from two other flights that landed several minutes prior to flight 1086. Both earlier flights reported the breaking action on the runway as “good”. A preliminary readout of the Flight Data Recorder found: That the autopilot was engaged until the airplane was about 230 feet above the ground. That the airspeed during the final approach was about 140 knots and touchdown occurred at about 133 knots. That the airplane’s heading deviated to the left and it departed the runway shortly after touchdown. That there are degradations in recorded signal quality around the time the airplane departed the runway and extraction and verification of the data is continuing. The quick access data recorder on flight 1086 was also recovered and that recorder is being readout at NTSB headquarters today. An NTSB meteorologist is examining the weather conditions at the time of the accident. The Cockpit Voice Recorder group plans on convening at NTSB headquarters Tuesday, to begin developing the CVR transcript. The investigation is ongoing and any future updates will be issued as events warrant. For the latest, follow the investigation on Twitter at @NTSB or on our website at ntsb.gov.

NTSB Launches Go-Team to Collision in Houston Ship Channel Involving Two Vessels; One Vessel was Transporting Hundreds of Thousands of Gallons of MTBE

MARCH 9, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC

​The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is sending a go-team to investigate today’s accident in the Houston Ship Channel involving the bulk carrier MV Conti Peridot and the tanker Carla Maersk. NTSB Marine Safety Investigator Eric Stolzenberg is leading the team as investigator-in-charge. NTSB Board Member Earl Weener is accompanying the team and will serve as the principal spokesman during the on-scene phase of the investigation. Public Affairs Officer Terry Williams will also be on-scene in Houston, TX to coordinate media-related activities. He can be reached at terry.williams@ntsb.gov or by mobile phone at (202)557-1350. The team is expected to arrive in Houston tomorrow morning.