A pilot was injured when his small plane crashed in a field in Rochester Tuesday afternoon.

Incident occurred April 28, 2015 in Rochester, Thurston County, Washington

ROCHESTER, Wash. -- A pilot was injured when his small plane crashed in a field in Rochester Tuesday afternoon.

The Cessna 170B lost engine power as it flew from Spanaway toward Chehalis and went down around noon in a grassy area near 216th Ave SW, according to the Thurston County Sheriff's Office

The 73-year-old pilot tried emergency procedures to restart the engine, but was unsuccessful and had to set down in the field. Officials say the pilot was alert and conscious but suffering from pain.

He was being taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

Original article can be found here: http://www.komonews.com

Ultralight planes appear to be “ultra heavy” based on their crash statistics: Pilot in hospital after ultralight plane crash near Preeceville, Canada

PREECEVILLE, SK S0A, CANADA

REGINA – A pilot remains in hospital on Wednesday morning after a plane crash three kilometres east of Preeceville on highway 49 Tuesday night.

RCMP says the pilot was ejected from the ultra-light air craft and taken to a Regina hospital by STARS Air Ambulance. 

There is no update on the pilots’ condition this morning.

Transport Canada and RCMP are investigating

Date:	28-APR-2015
Time:	07:00 p.m.
Type:	ultralight
Owner/operator:	Private
Registration:
C/n / msn:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities:	0
Airplane damage:	Unknown
Location:	near Preeceville -   Canada
Phase:	En route
Nature:	Private
Departure airport:
Destination airport:

Narrative:
The ultralight plane crashed under unknown circumstances. The pilot was taken to hospital.

Sources:

http://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/wiki.php?id=175753
http://ckom.com/story/pilot-hurt-small-plane-crash-near-preeceville/551477

NTSB Reviews the Benefits of Commercial Vehicle Onboard Video Systems

APRIL 29, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC The National Transportation Safety Board today released a safety report on the benefits of commercial vehicle onboard video systems. These systems record video either continuously or as the result of a triggering event. The report focuses on the benefits offered by these systems for evaluation of both driver and passenger behaviors and collision analysis. Many commercial vehicles, such as school buses and motorcoaches, are equipped with onboard video systems. After a crash, the NTSB uses information from onboard video systems to help determine the probable cause of the crash, to make recommendations to prevent future crashes, and to reduce loss of life and injury when crashes do happen. In addition to reviewing past crashes of vehicles equipped with both continuous and triggered video systems, the report highlights two recent crash investigations in which continuous video systems were installed on commercial vehicles. In one, a 2012 collision involving a truck-tractor semitrailer and a school bus in Port St. Lucie, Florida, the video recording system captured precrash driver and passenger behaviors and vehicle motion; vehicle and occupant motion during the crash; and postcrash events, such as passenger evacuation, short-term injury outcomes, and emergency response. In the other investigation, a 2011 crash involving a motorcoach and a truck-tractor semitrailer in Kearney, Nebraska, the motorcoach video recording system captured critical precrash information but had limitations that prevented the capture of useful crash and postcrash information. The safety report discusses many of the advantages of onboard video systems, in addition to highlighting areas for improvement, such as the need for to be able to see the driver and each occupant seating location, the need to be able to see forward of the vehicle, optimized frame rate, and low-light recording capability. The report also addresses the importance of proper installation and maintenance of all onboard video systems. A Safety Alert emphasizing these recommendations for commercial vehicle onboard video systems and tips for improving the video system utility has also been released http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-alerts/Documents/SA_043.pdf. The report’s recommendations to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seven transportation-related associations, and 15 manufacturers of onboard video systems, address improper camera positions, benefits of onboard video systems that capture events both inside and outside the vehicle, and facilitating research into real-world scenarios to mitigate occupant injuries. To view the report, click on the following link: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Documents/SR1501.pdf

OSHA unveils new "It's The Law" poster

April 29, 2015

Contact: Office of Communications

Phone: 202-693-1999

WASHINGTON – To help ensure that workers have a voice in their workplaces and the protection they deserve, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration today unveiled a new version of its "Job Safety and Health - It's The Law!" poster. The poster informs workers of their rights, and employers of their responsibilities. 

"This poster emphasizes a very important principle when it comes to prevention - that every worker has a voice," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Workers need to know their rights and be able to use their rights, without fear of retaliation, when they believe that their safety or health is at risk."

The newly designed poster informs workers of their right to request an OSHA inspection of their workplaces, receive information and training on job hazards, report a work-related injury or illness, and raise safety and health concerns with their employer or OSHA without being retaliated against. 

The poster informs employers of their legal obligation to provide a safe workplace. In addition, it has been updated to include the new reporting obligations for employers, who must now report every fatality and every hospitalization, amputation and loss of an eye. It also informs employers of their responsibilities to train all workers in a language and vocabulary they can understand, comply with OSHA standards, and post citations at or near the place of an alleged violation. 

Over the agency's 44-year history, there have been several versions of the official OSHA poster, with the last update published in 2007.

OSHA's "It's the Law" poster is free and can be downloaded. Employers must display the poster in a conspicuous place where workers can see it. Previous versions of the poster do not need to be replaced. 

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. 

OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

Model Contractors: Colorado utility installers expose workers to possible trench collapse. K.R. Swerdfeger Construction Inc. and Pate Construction Co. Inc. cited for failing to provide cave-in protections; proposed fines top $101K

April 29, 2015

Employer name: K.R. Swerdfeger Construction Inc. and Pate Construction Co. Inc. 


Inspection sites: Pueblo and Penrose, Colorado


Date inspection initiated and what prompted the inspection: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration began its inspections in March under the agency's National Emphasis Program on Trenches. The Swerdfeger inspection in Pueblo was prompted by a complaint and the Pate inspection in Penrose began after an OSHA compliance officer observed an unprotected trench. 


Investigation findings: OSHA cited Swerdfeger for one willful violation, with a penalty of $49,500, for failing to protect workers from cave-ins. OSHA also issued one serious violation, with a penalty of $2,700, for placing workers in a trench more than 4 feet deep without a safe exit. Pate was also cited for one willful violation, with a penalty of $49,000, for failing to protect workers from cave-ins. 


Total proposed penalties: $101,200


Quote: "A trench cave-in happens so quickly a worker has no time to react, and the results are often fatal," said David Nelson, OSHA's area director in Englewood, Colorado. "Shoring trench walls for support is not a new practice in the construction industry, yet both of these employers chose to ignore this commonsense safety system."


Citations: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/PateConst-1050796-0427-15.pdf* and http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/K.R.Swerdfeger-1048029-0427-15.pdf* 


Information: The utility installation employer has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. 


For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.

Coast Guard rescues 2 after sailboat runs aground and capsizes west of Egmont Key, Florida

April 29, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.— The Coast Guard rescued two people after their 38-foot sailboat ran aground and capsized west of Egmont Key, Florida, Wednesday.

At 7:15 a.m. watchstanders at Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg received a report of an aground sailboat taking water over the bow with two people aboard.

At 7:17 a.m. a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from the station was launched. While en-route, watchstanders received a report from a good Samaritan that the sailboat had capsized and a person was in the water.

The RB-M boatcrew arrived on scene at 7:41 a.m., found both people in a life raft, wearing life jackets and without any reported injuries.

The RB-M boatcrew embarked the people and transported them to Tierra Verde Marina, St. Petersburg.

“These people had all of their required safety equipment, they were wearing their life jackets and they had a life raft on board,” said Richard Hutchinson, a search-and-rescue coordinator at Sector St. Petersburg. “These people were prepared for the worst when the worst was upon them.”

Coast Guard medevacs fisherman 37 miles off Manasquan Inlet, NJ

April 2, 2015

PHILADELPHIA — The Coast Guard medevaced a fisherman Wednesday approximately 37 miles east of Manasquan Inlet, New Jersey.

Crew members from the 45-foot fishing boat Vengeance notified watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay on VHF marine radio channel 16 at 9:27 a.m., stating one of their crew members was experiencing seizure-like symptoms.

A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City arrived on scene at 10:10 a.m. and hoisted the 21-year-old man.

The helicopter landed at Monmouth Executive Airport in Wall Township, New Jersey, at 10:46 a.m., and the patient was transferred via ambulance to Jersey Shore Medical Center.

The fishing vessel Vengeance, which embarked on its scallop fishing trip with four people aboard, is homeported in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Crewmembers from the Vengeance pulled up the boat’s fishing rigging for the hoist operation.
The USNS William McLean was on standby ready to assist near the scene, and a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet was also launched.

“This case was an excellent example of the maritime community working together to save a life,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Maxwell Stuckey, an operations specialist at the Sector Delaware Bay command center. 

“We were lucky enough to divert a helicopter conducting search and rescue training with another one of our small boat stations. A Naval Supply ship with a flight deck offered assistance as an alternative if fuel levels became an issue. Those factors made the Coast Guard’s response run smoothly.”

Bunker Fuel Spill in New Zealand’s Tauranga Harbour

By Mike Schuler On April 27, 2015

Photo: Bay of Plenty Regional Council

Update: An update Tuesday morning from the Bay of Plenty Regional Council said that oil has been spotted on Maungatapu, Tauranga covering about 300 meters of the beach following Monday’s bunker fuel spill.

A helicopter survey this morning has shown no more oil in the water. It has not yet been determined how much oil was spilled.

“It is important that people don’t try to clean up the oil themselves. This is heavy fuel oil, and is persistent in the environment. We will be cleaning up any oiled areas using the proper equipment, so please do not attempt to do this yourselves or touch the oil,” commented Regional On-Scene Commander Adrian Heays.

“Today we are gathering as much information as possible on where the oil has gone and ensuring we can clean up as much as possible. There are booms under the wharf to contain what is there,” he said.

Previous: Bad weather was hampering clean-up of a bunker fuel spill from a ship in New Zealand’s Tauranga Harbour.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council reports that the heavy fuel oil spill occurred early Monday when a ship was bunkering at the Port of Tauranga. Severe weather, including rain and high winds, was hampering containment and cleanup efforts.

It appeared an oil line on a berthed ship had leaked and oil spilled near berths further along, the Council said. Once the spill was spotted bunkering was stopped, and responders were attempting to get under the wharf to fix the leak. High winds were making booms ineffective in containing the oil.

Because of the weather, authorities have been unable to exactly how much oil has been spilled.

“At this stage we don’t have any idea how much oil was lost. This means there could be oil coming ashore on beaches, and on boats,” said Regional Council On Scene Commander Adrian Heays.

Heays added that the spill occurred on an incoming tide and that the tide was now going out, which could mean the oil would be taken out to sea.
“We have staff working on it, and have notified Maritime New Zealand.”
The Bay of Plenty Regional Council did not identify the vessel involved.

Burning Ferry Evacuated in Mediterranean Sea Off Spain

By Reuters On April 28, 2015

The fire broke out aboard the Sorrento while underway about 20 miles off the coast of Mallorca, April 28, 2015. Photo: Ports de Balears

 

MADRID, April 28 (Reuters) – Emergency services rescued 156 people on Tuesday from a burning ferry crossing the Mediterranean from the island of Mallorca to the Spanish port of Valencia, the ferry operator and government officials said.

The Sorrento ferry, belonging to the Italian company Atlantica di Navigazione although operated by Trasmediterranea-Acciona, sent out distress signals, Spain’s Ministry of Public Works said in a statement.

“The Sorrento carried 156 people on board between passengers and crew. All have been rescued,” operator Acciona said in a statement, adding it did not know the cause of the fire or the state of the boat.

Spanish newspaper websites showed pictures of the ferry belching out clouds of black smoke. The evacuation took place an hour after the ferry left Palma de Mallorca, Acciona said.

Although the captain did not initially want to evacuate the ferry, passengers and crew eventually left the burning vessel in lifeboats, the ministry said.

Spain’s sea rescue service sent four boats and a helicopter to help with the evacuation. The National Guard also sent two boats and a helicopter.

Atlantica di Navigazione confirmed the fire and evacuation of passengers and crew.

The burnt-out ferry could sink in the position where the rescue was carried out at 35 miles off the Mallorcan coast, the Balearic Island port authority said. (Reporting by Sonya Dowsett Editing by Alison Williams)
© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.

Maersk Tigris Held By Iranians Over 10-Year Old Missing Cargo

By Reuters On April 29, 2015

Maersk Tigris, file image (c) Damietta Port Authority/MarineTraffic.com

By Sabina Zawadzki and Jonathan Saul

COPENHAGEN/LONDON, April 29 (Reuters) – Danish shipping company Maersk said on Wednesday the crew of the Maersk Tigris container ship were safe and “in good spirits” after Iranian authorities seized the vessel in the Strait of Hormuz the previous day.

Iranian patrol boats fired warning shots as they intercepted the vessel, stoking tensions in one of the world’s busiest oil shipping lanes and spurring the United States to send military vessels to monitor the situation.

The 65,000-tonne, Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris is managed and crewed by Rickmers Shipmanagement but on hire to Maersk Line, the shipping unit of Maersk, the world’s largest container shipping concern.

Maersk said it was in dialogue with the Danish Foreign Ministry and seeking more information as it still did not know the reason for the diversion of the Maersk Tigris.

Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization said a court had ordered the ship seized after ruling against Maersk Line in a case about debts brought by Pars Talaie, an Iranian company.

Tasnim, an Iranian news agency, quoted a Pars Talaie lawyer as saying the debt involved a cargo that Pars Talaie hired Maersk to take from the Iranian port of Abadan to Dubai more than a decade ago but which had never arrived.

Maersk said it was not the owner of the ship and that it was trying to establish the facts of any legal case. Rickmers said the Maersk Tigris was owned by “various private investors”.

Maersk said the vessel was confronted in international waters while Rickmers said the incident occurred in a widely recognised international shipping lane.

INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING LANE

“The information we had from the (ship’s) master at the time of the approach by the Iranian navy … was that he was at that particular time…in an international shipping lane,” Rickmers spokesman Cor Radings said.

“It is the Strait of Hormuz, which is literally in Iranian waters. But there is an internationally acknowledged shipping corridor in international waters which is used by commercial shipping.”

Radings said there were 24 crew members on the vessel, mostly from eastern Europe and Asia although there was also a British national among them. The crew were “in relatively good condition and safe” onboard the vessel, which was not damaged.

Screenshot via MarineTraffic.com

“We have now been able to communicate with the vessel which we were unable to do for quite a long period after she was taken deeper into Iranian waters. We have no official contact with the Iranians so far or any official documentation or notification.”

Ship tracking data on Reuters showed the vessel was anchored at 0930 GMT on Wednesday not far off Iran’s mainland and close to the major Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.

The incident occurred at a critical juncture in U.S.-Iranian relations, which could thaw should a tentative nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers including Washington be clinched. It also coincides with heightened tension between regional arch-rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia over the escalating civil war in Yemen in which they support opposing sides.

A Maersk statement said: “We are continuing our efforts to obtain more information about (Iran’s) seizure – in international waters – of Maersk Tigris. We are not able at this point to establish or confirm the reason behind the seizure.”

The Danish Foreign Ministry said it was monitoring the situation closely and in contact with Maersk. (Additional reporting by Sam Wilkin in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

M/V Juno Damage Photos when she grounded in the St. Lawrence River after suffering a steering casualty.

By Rob Almeida On April 29, 2015

Image (c) Ryan Wynott

On 20 April, the handysize bulk carrier M/V Juno carrying a cargo of sugar grounded in the St. Lawrence River after suffering a steering casualty.  The grounding caused the vessel to take on water in one of the forward ballast tanks while she backed up shipping traffic on the waterway.
Toronto-based gCaptain follower Ryan Wynott found the Juno at anchor recently and shared the following images with us of the resultant damage to the ship from the incident.

Image (c) Ryan Wynott

Image (c) Ryan Wynott

Image (c) Ryan Wynott

1 Dead, 3 Injured in Confined Space Accident Aboard Cargo Ship at Denmark’s port of Hanstholm

By Mike Schuler On April 29, 2015

MV Corina file photo courtesy MarineTraffic.com/Juergen Braker

One person has died and three others are being treated after losing consciousness aboard a cargo ship that had just docked at Denmark’s port of Hanstholm.

The four people, reported to be crewmembers of the ship, were found unconscious Tuesday evening in a confined area of the Polish-flagged MV Corina, which had just arrived in Hanstholm from Gdansk, Poland with a cargo of wood pellets. A fifth person is believed to have escaped the area.

Authorities suspect that the victims inhaled poisonous gasses, possibly carbon monoxide, from the wood pellet cargo.

The three injured are being treated at local hospitals.

It is unclear from reports if the crewmembers were in the cargo hold itself or in a confined space of the ship adjacent to the cargo hold.

Wood pellet cargoes are known to produce carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, which can lead to a reduction in oxygen levels and the development of a dangerous concentration of carbon monoxide in closed spaces.

Wood pellets are listed in the International Maritime Solid Bulk Cargoes Code (IMSBC Code) as a hazardous “Group B” cargo.

The incident follows a similar accident earlier this month at the Port of Atwerp, where three longshoremen died after entering the cargo hold of a ship that was previously carrying a cargo of coal.

Transportation Safety Board of Canada deploys team to Rimouski, Quebec, to assess fire and sinking of fishing vessel

APRIL 29, 2015

Québec, Quebec

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) is deploying a team of investigators to Rimouski, Quebec, where the fishing vessel Frederik. C-2 caught fire and subsequently sank. 

The TSB will gather information and assess the occurrence.

THE DRIVER OF A MITSUBISHI VEHICLE WAS HOSPITALIZED AFTER CRASHING INTO A DART TRAIN NEAR METROPOLITAN AVENUE IN DALLAS, TEXAS

APRIL 29, 2015

DALLAS, TEXAS

The driver of a Mitsubishi vehicle was hospitalized after crashing into a DART train near Metropolitan Avenue Wednesday afternoon. His condition was unknown.

DART spokesman Mark Ball said the driver tried to cross the tracks before the train but fell short. The Mitsubishi flipped after colliding with the northbound Green Line train at 2:10 p.m.

Metropolitan Avenue intersects with the DART Green Line track between the Hatcher and MLK stations. DART rail service between those stations was briefly halted.

Shuttle bus service began shortly after the accident but was canceled after roughly 20 minutes, according to alerts sent out by DART.

No passengers on the train were injured in the crash. Full Green Line train service has resumed.

Source: http://www.wfaa.com