U.S. Military F-16 Crashes in Arizona, Sparking Fire, pilot's status unknown

ABC NEWS

JUNE 24, 2015

 

A military F-16 crashed in Arizona during a training exercise late Wednesday, sparking a large fire, authorities said.

The incident - which occurred at 8 p.m. local time near Douglas, a town on the U.S.-Mexico border - involved an F-16 with the 162nd Wing, Arizona Air National Guard, Air National Guard officials told ABC News.

The pilot was participating in a night-training exercise at the time of the crash, authorities said. The pilot's status was not known.

No homes or businesses were affected, as the crash occurred in a rural area. According to the Cochise County Sheriff's Office, the fire burned near a major gas line and posed problems for firefighters due to its size.

The crash occurred around 8 p.m. near Leslie Canyon, sparking a huge fire, the Tucson News Now reported. A large number of emergency personnel had responded to the scene, but some firefighters were held back because of the presence of gas liens around the area, the station reported.

A witness told the station that he saw fireball explosions that lit up the night sky like daylight.

U.S. Army personnel from Fort Huachuca were sent to secure the crash site until Air Force officials arrived, Hauchuca spokesman Tanja Linton said.
Douglas sits on the Arizona border with Mexico.

F-16 Airplane crash outside of Douglas! Big explosions and fire pic.twitter.com/CJ3gyYTTMl

— Angel Ortega (@or12tega) June 25, 2015

 

1 worker killed after falling from boom truck retrofitting streetlights in San Jose, California

A man who fell from a boom truck and died, worked for a subcontractor assigned to work on San Jose's streetlights.

Wednesday, June 24, 2015

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA (KGO)

A man who fell from a boom truck and died, worked for a subcontractor assigned to work on San Jose's streetlights.
The man fell around 9:40 a.m. Wednesday as he worked on a boom truck in the area of South Second and Martha streets, about two blocks east of Washington Elementary School, Officer Albert Morales said.

#UPDATE: Investigators still trying to determine what led to this incident. Road closed. #Opterra reps on scene. pic.twitter.com/nvLc4wJ8Zi

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) June 24, 2015

#INFO: #Opterra is contracted by #SanJose to install LED lights as part of the city's streetlight conversion program. pic.twitter.com/FJWxoSTxzT

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) June 24, 2015

Emergency crews pronounced the man dead at the scene a short time later, according to Morales.
"We talked to one witness. They saw what they thought was someone falling from the boom truck, but we don't have anyone that actually saw him fall," said San Jose Police Lt. Paul Spagnoli.

#DETAILS: #CalOSHA to take over investigation upon arrival. Coroner's office en route. #ABM boom truck. #SanJose pic.twitter.com/JpYplLnRxI

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) June 24, 2015

Police say the victim may have been in his 40s.
The fall appears to have been an industrial accident and was referred to Cal/OSHA, or the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, said Morales.
Residents say they often see crews working in this area fixing power lines, clipping trees or working on the lights.
"I see them all the time putting their cones out, their hard hats, they wear their safety belts, they have the cones pretty much far away from the curb, and where the traffic is passing, so that nobody's in danger," said Kathleen Vigil, a nearby resident.

#MORE: Appears to be an industrial ax, per @SanJosePD. Man fell from boom truck, pronounced dead a short time later. pic.twitter.com/AqrB4Fiv9k

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) June 24, 2015

#NOW: S. 2nd @ Martha in #SanJose currently closed to traffic. Multiple police units on scene. Details to come. pic.twitter.com/idIjYoJg7G

— Chris Nguyen ABC7 (@ChrisNguyenTV) June 24, 2015

The worker was employed by facility management company ABM Electrical & Lighting providing electrical and lighting services, according to the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health.
ABM is a subcontractor of OpTerra Energy Services, a San Francisco-based company, which entered a contract with the city last year to retrofit some 18,000 streetlights with LED lighting, according to city spokesman David Vossbrink.
The bulk of the work was completed last month, with a couple hundred conversions left to be completed this summer, according to Vossbrink.
About one-third of the city's total streetlights have been assigned to OpTerra, Vossbrink said.
"We are deeply saddened by this morning's tragedy, and our prayers are with the deceased's family and coworkers," John Gajan, vice president of operations at OpTerra, said in a statement.
"We are coordinating with our subcontractor, ABM, and the City of San Jose to help determine the cause," Gajan said.

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Fatal fall in San Jose, California

June 25, 2015

A man died after falling from the bucket of an aerial lift in San Jose, California, yesterday while trimming trees back from around electricity lines.
The man was working from a lift owned by facilities management company ABM, local reports suggest that there had been a traffic incident beneath the raised platform, which resulted in a fight, but we do not know if it had anything to do with the fatality.
Emergency crews arrived by declared the man dead at the scene. California OSHA is investigating the incident.

The platform involved in the fatality

SINKING OF TANK BARGE NASH, TOWED BY TOWING VESSEL CALVIN

Executive Summary

The tank barges Nash and Kenny were fully loaded with liquid magnesium chloride and being towed by the uninspected towing vessel Calvin from Guerrero Negro, Mexico, to British Columbia, Canada, when the Nash began to list noticeably to its starboard side about 1145 on June 8, 2014. 

Listing and trimming by the stern increased over the next 6 hours, and the US Coast Guard directed the Calvin captain to tow the Nash to a nearby anchorage.

About 1805, the Nash sank stern first in 240 feet of water, about 3 nautical miles west of Point Conception, California. 

About a week after the sinking, a salvage team partially refloated the Nash and towed it to its disposal location about 17 nautical miles from shore. 

Probable Cause

The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the sinking of tank barge Nash was flooding of the aft starboard side void tank.

The mechanism for entry of flooding water to this tank could not be determined because the barge was not salvaged and was not available for examination after it sank.

GP Roofing & Construction LLC, management held in contempt of court for failing to comply with OSHA safety standards. Company ordered to pay more than $195K in penalties

June 24, 2015

GP Roofing & Construction LLC, management held in contempt of court for failing to comply with OSHA safety standards.
Company ordered to pay more than $195K in penalties

Date of action: June 23, 2015

Type of action: Hearing

Names of defendants: Guillermo Perez and Elma Maldonado, president and vice president of GP Roofing & Construction, LLC, based in Palm Coast, Florida.

Allegations: On June 12, 2015, the 11th Circuit ordered the arrest of Perez and Maldonado, officers of GP Roofing, because the company failed to comply with a March 30 civil contempt order. They were taken into custody on June 16, 2015, and appeared before magistrate judge James Klindt, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida in Jacksonville. 

Background: In May 2013, the Department of Labor filed a petition for summary enforcement pursuant to Section 11(b) of the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to enforce nine final orders of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 

Those final orders arose from nine OSHA inspections of GP Roofing worksites in Florida that resulted in citations being issued to the company between Aug. 3, 2011 and Oct. 29, 2012. The citations allege multiple willful, repeat and serious violations of OSHA fall-protection, eye and face protection, safe-ladder, and other standards. On Aug. 7, 2013 the court granted the department's petition, enforcing the final orders of the commission. 

On Sept. 12, 2014 the department filed a Petition for Civil Contempt against GP Roofing, alleging that the company had failed to comply with the court's August 2013 order, based on evidence that the company continued to violate OSHA standards and failed to pay the penalties assessed. On March 30, 2015 the circuit court held the company and its officers in civil contempt; ordered the company to pay the outstanding penalties of $195,170 plus interest and fees; and also required the company to certify that it had corrected the violations. 

The court's contempt order notified Mr. Perez and Ms. Maldonado that any noncompliance with the court's order would result in coercive sanctions, including incarceration. 

Resolution: Perez and Maldonado were held in custody until their June 23, 2015 hearing. At the hearing they were released on signature bonds to make progress on purging the contempt. Conditions of their release included surrendering Perez's passport and limiting their travel to the state of Florida. 

Perez and Maldonado were also given 30 days to work on paying all outstanding penalties or demonstrating inability to pay and certifying that they have abated the OSHA violations cited in prior inspections. The final hearing is scheduled for Aug. 26, 2015.

Quote: "This enforcement action demonstrates that OSHA can and will take action to ensure that standards are followed and that companies like GP Roofing that ignore multiple court orders requiring correction of violations and payment of penalties will be held accountable," said Kurt Petermeyer, the regional administrator for OSHA in Atlanta. 

Courts: 11th Circuit Court of Appeals; Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division

Docket Number 11th Circuit): 13-12113-E 

Docket Numbers (Middle District of Florida, Jacksonville Division): 3:15-mc-00015-MMH-JRK
(Maldonado) and 3:15-mc-00016-TJC-JRK (Perez)

BOEM Selects National Academies to Form Environmental Committee on Offshore Energy Resources

_{Strawberry anemone. Photo by}

_{Greg Sanders, BOEM}

 JUNE 24, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced today an agreement to have the National Academies establish a new standing committee on environmental science and assessment for offshore energy and mineral resources. 

The committee will provide independent information on issues relevant to BOEM’s environmental studies and assessment activities and support discussions on relevant issues. The committee’s services will be provided under a three-year contract with the National Research Council (NRC), the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). 

“BOEM is thrilled to enter this partnership with the National Academies,” said BOEM Director Abigail Ross Hopper. “The Academies’ scientific credentials and the quality of experts affiliated with the organization make it a perfect choice to provide guidance to the bureau on scientific matters.” 

The NRC issued a call for nominations on June 23, 2015, seeking a broad pool of applicants for the standing committee. Nominations will be accepted by the NRC until July 15, 2015. The NRC expects to announce the committee membership later in the summer, followed by an announcement of its plans for the first meeting in the fall of 2015. 

The NRC will appoint approximately 15 experts out of a broad pool of qualified experts from academia, the private sector and other organizations with expertise in the scientific disciplines relevant to BOEM’s environmental assessment and studies programs. 

Committee member expertise will encompass both natural and social sciences, and relevant disciplines within those broad areas as warranted, such as ecology and population biology, physical and chemical oceanography and marine archaeology.

The committee members will provide their expertise and advice without compensation and are not required to be members of the National Academies. The committee will meet several times a year, and may conduct workshops, studies or peer review documents relevant to BOEM’s environmental programs. 

The work will be purely advisory in nature, and will be limited to relevant independent and objective advice. It will not include recommendations on what policy or management decisions should be made. 

“BOEM and the NRC have a rich and successful history in developing collaborative work dating back to the late 1970s,” said BOEM Chief Environmental Officer Dr. William Y. Brown. “The expanded partnership with the NRC and its role in reviewing BOEM’s research priorities is a quantum leap forward in the bureau’s ability to advance as an organization whose decisions are rooted in the best that science can offer,” Brown concluded. 

Topics and activities the committee or sub-committees may explore include: strategic approaches to environmental monitoring to assess ecosystem health and mitigation effectiveness; stakeholder discussions on controversial issues; reviews of proposed BOEM studies; high level reviews and expert advice on gaps and priorities for research; technical input related to BOEM’s environmental programs; enhancing understanding of innovation in science and technology; and if warranted, NRC studies on specific topics. 

BOEM’s Environmental Studies Program, which was authorized by the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Land Act, develops, funds, and manages rigorous scientific research to inform policy decisions regarding the development of energy and mineral resources on the OCS. 

The studies contribute to environmental reviews and the development of measures to protect sensitive resources from the potential impacts of ocean energy or non-energy mineral development. More information about BOEM’s environmental activities is available at Environmental Studies Program and Environmental Assessment.

The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. (Effective July 1, 2015, the Institute of Medicine will become the National Academy of Medicine.) 

They are private, independent nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter signed by President Lincoln and granted to the NAS in 1863. The National Research Council is the principal operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

- BOEM -

BOEM promotes energy independence, environmental protection and economic development through responsible, science-based management of offshore conventional and renewable energy and marine mineral resources.