AT LEAST 2 KILLED WHEN A BEECHCRAFT BE-55 SMALL PLANE BOUND FOR MANSFIELD, OHIO CRASHES IN VIRGINIA

MAY 19, 2015

SALTVILLE, VA. (AP)

Police say at least two people died when a small airplane crashed into a mountain in southwest Virginia.

State Police Lt. Ed Murphy said Tuesday that there are conflicting reports on whether there were two or three people on the plane. Nobody survived.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the Beechcraft BE-55 was flying about seven miles northeast of Tazewell County Airport in Richlands when air traffic controllers lost contact with it Monday. Murphy said it appears the pilot was trying to avoid an isolated storm when the plane crashed.

It took rescuers 2½ hours to reach the heavily wooded crash site on Flat Top Mountain by foot Tuesday.

The FAA said the aircraft was headed from Spruce Creek Airport near Daytona Beach, Florida, to Ohio’s Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport.

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SMYTH CO., Va. -- An aircraft missing since Monday has been located and there are no survivors, according to Virginia State Police.
The wreckage site is in a remote location of Smyth County, east of Saltville. The plane was found on Flat Top Mountain.
Ed Murphy, a lieutenant with Virginia State Police, said they have conflicting reports about the number of people onboard. They say either two or three people were on the aircraft.
According to the NTSB, the plane is a Beech BE55. Multiple sources have confirmed to WDBJ7's Shayne Dwyer the tail number of the plane as N5816S. The plane was flying from Daytona Beach, Florida, and was headed to Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport in Ohio.
The plane was spotted by a Virginia State Police helicopter around 12:35 p.m. Tuesday. Troopers arrived at the scene of the crash around 3:05 p.m.
The plane lost radio contact around 12:40 p.m. Monday. Based on information from the radar it appears the pilot was attempting to avoid weather pockets, according to state police. While making the maneuver, the plane crashed into the side of Flat Top Mountain. Murphy said search pilots were also having difficulty flying in the weather Monday.
WDBJ7 has learned more about a missing plane in the Smyth County area.
Multiple sources have confirmed to WDBJ7's Shayne Dwyer the tail number of the plane as N5816S. The plane is pictured above in a photo from 2010 at the Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport -- which is where the aircraft was headed according to the FAA -- at a Mansfield Airport Day event according to photographer Randy Broderick.
Multiple sources have confirmed the people at the controls are "extremely experienced pilots."
The aircraft filed an Instrument Flight Rules, otherwise known as IFR, flight from Spruce Creek airport in Port Orange, Fl. to Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport in northern central Ohio for Monday May 19.
N5816S is a 1965 Beechcraft Baron 55 twin engine plane that last changed registration in 2010 according to aviation data website Flightaware.com, and the FAA.
The aircraft is owned by LWF Holdings INC according to online records. LWF Holdings is a registered LLC in Dover Delaware according to Delaware state records.
Requests for comment at LWF Holdings Monday evening were not accepted.
The plane last made radar contact according Flightaware.com at 12:34:31 p.m. with Indianapolis Center. It reported a heading of 122 degrees, which is ESE, a groundspeed of 100 knots/115 mph, and a flight level altitude of 8,300 feet.
The second to last radar contact according to Flightaware.com was made with Indianapolis Center 61 seconds prior to the last, at 12:33:30 p.m. The reported heading is 45 degrees, which is NE, a groundspeed of 155 knots/178 mph, and flight level altitude of 8,900 feet.
In the 61 seconds between the two radar pings the, N5816S changed it's direction from Northeast to Southeast, decreased its airspeed by 55 knots/63 mph, and decreased its altitude by 600 feet according to the data from Flightaware.com
GPS locations and headings are reported to Flightaware.com following the last contact for groundspeed and altitude, although the reporting facility is listed as "Estimated" and "FlightAware Approximate."
According to flightaware.com N5816S filed an almost identical IFR flight plan for Tuesday May 19, around the same time as the one filed the day prior, and departing from and arriving at the same airport.
Flightaware.com data lists Cleveland Center as reporting a departure from Spruce Creek Airport at 8:27:58 a.m.
Position and orientations are listed following the departure but the reporting facility is listed as "Estimated."
The FAA has confirmed the aircraft in question, N5816S, departed Monday.
Officials said in their most recent media update Tuesday afternoon that searchers have still not found any signs of the plane, and are starting at square one.
Search efforts resumed at 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to Virginia State Police.
State police say they are starting at "square one" on Tuesday. They do not yet know if the plane crashed or if it only lost signal since there are no signs of wreckage and an emergency beacon has not been detected.
Authorities are looking primarily in a six-mile radius near the Saltville Rescue Squad. The area is mostly in a forest, and the terrain has had an impact on the search so far. The search area is the same as it was on Monday.
State police are not saying if anyone has heard from the pilot or passengers. Names are not being released at this time.

Philadelphia law firm unsuccessful in keeping National Transportation Safety Board from posting plane crash findings, loses wrongful death suit: Grumman American AA-5, N6511L, fatal accident occurred March 13, 2005 in Chesapeake, Ohio

PHILADELPHIA – A Philadelphia law firm seeking injunctive relief and a temporary restraining order against the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has had its requests denied by a Philadelphia federal judge.

The Wolk Law Firm filed the complaint on May 4 on behalf of its clients Rebecca Hetzer Young, Anise Gothard Nash and Elizabeth Lampe, who are currently involved in a pending and separate wrongful death case in the Greene County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio, Young v. Elano Corp.

Young, Nash and Lampe represent the surviving family members of three individuals killed in a Grumman AA-5 aircraft crash at Ohio’s Lawrence County Air Park on March 3, 2005.

The crash claimed the lives of the plane’s pilot Michael Young, plus passengers Ginny Young and Charles Lampe, and is the event serving as the basis for the Young v. Elano Corp. litigation.

The complaint brought by The Wolk Law Firm sought a 30-day enjoinment towards the NTSB from publishing its “Probable Cause Determination” regarding the 2005 crash on its website, www.ntsb.gov beginning May 4, feeling it would be “irreparably harmful” to the plaintiffs and the case of Young, Nash and Lampe, effectively denying them their right to a fair trial.

The 30-day enjoinment time limit, the plaintiffs said, would last for the duration of their clients’ wrongful death trial in Ohio.

According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs contacted the NTSB to remove the “Probable Cause Determination” when it was first published on April 7, and allegedly received a refusal to remove the information from the government agency one week later.

The plaintiff allege the NTSB’s “brief” investigation into the 2005 crash was unsatisfactory and arrived at incorrect conclusions with respect to the reasons for the crash by allegedly inviting the engine manufacturer to participate in the investigation, ignoring physical evidence and eyewitness accounts of engine malfunction and inferring toxicology conclusions without referring to proper evidence.

Court records indicate the motion for a temporary restraining order was thrown out by Eastern District Court Judge Lawrence F. Stengel on May 6 following a telephone conference with all parties involved. As a result of the temporary restraining order motion being denied, the plaintiffs dismissed their litigation five days later.

Meanwhile, the wrongful death trial in the crash that claimed the lives of Michael Young, Ginny Young and Charles Lampe has concluded.

The trial resulted in a defense verdict. Jurors found the defendants were not negligent, did not negligently design a muffler and did not negligently fail to warn about dangers associated with the muffler.

The plaintiff was represented by John Joseph Gagliano of The Wolk Law Firm in Philadelphia.

The defendant was represented by Thomas F. Johnson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, also in Philadelphia.

U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Pennsylvania case 2:15-cv-02459

Source:  http://pennrecord.com

http://registry.faa.gov/N6511L 

NTSB Identification: NYC05FA058
The docket is stored in the Docket Management System (DMS). Please contact Records Management Division
Accident occurred Sunday, March 13, 2005 in Chesapeake, OH
Probable Cause Approval Date: 04/25/2006
Aircraft: Grumman American AA-5, registration: N6511L
Injuries: 3 Fatal.

NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.

Witnesses observed the airplane approach to the runway; however, it appeared to be high, and as it passed over the runway, it executed a go-around. The airplane continued around the traffic pattern, and returned to land a second time. The second landing attempt appeared to be fast, and the intended touchdown point was "far down the runway." The pilot then applied power, and the airplane became airborne, with a nose high attitude. The airplane continued in a nose high attitude, and cleared the 30-foot high trees located at the end of the runway. The tail of the airplane then began to wobble, the right wing dropped, and the airplane descended to the ground about 1/4 mile from the airport. A postcrash fire consumed a majority of the main wreckage. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any abnormalities with the airframe or engine.

The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident as follows:
The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during the aborted landing, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

HISTORY OF FLIGHT

On March 13, 2005, at 1506 eastern standard time, a Grumman American AA-5, 6511L was destroyed when it impacted terrain, shortly after takeoff from the Lawrence County Airpark (HTW), Chesapeake, Ohio. The certificated private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

A witness, who was at the airport, stated that he observed the accident airplane approach runway 26. The airplane appeared to be high, and as it passed over the runway, it executed a go-around. The airplane continued around the pattern, and returned to approach runway 26 a second time. The second landing attempt appeared to be fast, and the intended touchdown point was "far down the runway." The witness looked away from the airplane, and seconds later, he heard the engine power being applied. The witness then observed the airplane become airborne, with a nose high attitude, and clear the trees located at the end of the runway. The airplane continued in a nose high attitude and the tail began to wobble, followed by the right wing dropping. The airplane then descended behind the tree line out of the witnesses view. 

A second witness, who was monitoring the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency at HTW with a handheld radio, also observed the accident airplane approach runway 26. The airplane appeared to be fast, and as it passed the mid-point of the runway, it was still 25-30 feet above the ground. The airplane passed out of the witness's sight; however, the witness then heard the pilot in the accident airplane transmit, "…Guys we're going to crash…" 

A third witness heard an airplane rev its engine, and looked up to observe the accident airplane in a steep climb. The airplane then made a right hand bank, before stalling, and subsequently descending nose first to the ground.

The accident occurred during the hours of darkness, at 38 degrees, 25.11 minutes north longitude, 82 degrees, 30.17 minutes west latitude, at an elevation of 561 feet. 

PILOT INFORMATION

The pilot held a private pilot certificate for single-engine land airplanes. His most recent application for a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on January 11, 2004. The pilot reported that he had accumulated about 250 hours of total flight experience on the medical application.

METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION

The weather reported at an airport 4 miles south of HTW, at 1451, included calm winds, clear skies, and 10 statute miles of visibility. The temperature was 37 degrees Fahrenheit, and the dew point 27 degrees Fahrenheit.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Approximately 30-foot tall trees were located about 200 feet from the departure end of runway 26.

WRECKAGE INFORMATION

The wreckage site was located in a field, consisting of soft terrain, about 1/4 statute mile from HTW, on an approximate magnetic heading of 280 degrees. The accident site was disturbed prior to the arrival of Safety Board personnel on March 14, 2004, due to emergency rescue procedures. In addition, the area had been doused with water and firefighting agents to contain the postcrash fire.

Next to the impact crater was a section of the right wing, the right flap, and the right wing tip.

The main fuselage was located about 65 feet from the impact crater, oriented on about a 260-degree magnetic heading, and was consumed by the postcrash fire. All crew and passenger seats were destroyed and separated from their attachment points. 

All major control surfaces of the airplane were accounted for at the accident scene.

The engine was separated from the main fuselage. The propeller remained attached to the engine. Both propeller blades were twisted, and exhibited chord-wise scratches and leading edge nicks.

The left wing remained attached to the main fuselage and was consumed by the postcrash fire. 

The postcrash fire also consumed the empennage.

Flight control continuity was established from the cockpit area to all of the flight control surface locations. The rudder and stabilator control stops were examined, and did not reveal any abnormalities.

The overhead canopy and right wing aileron were located about 20 feet beyond the main wreckage. 

The engine was recovered from the accident site and examined. The crankshaft was rotated via the propeller. Compression and valve train continuity was confirmed to all cylinders. The top and bottom spark plugs were removed and examined. Their electrodes were intact. The number 1 and 3 cylinder top and bottom sparkplugs were light gray in color, while the number 2 and 4 cylinder top and bottom sparkplugs were oil soaked. Both the left and right magnetos could not be tested due to impact and fire damage.

MEDICAL AND PATHOLOGICAL INFORMATION

The FAA Toxicology and Accident Research Laboratory, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma conducted toxicological testing on the pilot. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Wreckage Release

The airplane wreckage was released on March 17, 2005 to a representative of the owners insurance company.

NO SERIOUS INJURIES WHEN CAR, SCHOOL BUS CRASH IN ADA TOWNSHIP, MICHIGAN. THE CRASH CAUSED A GAS LEAK

MAY 19, 2015

ADA TOWNSHIP, MICH. (WZZM) 

The Kent County Sheriff Department says there were no serious injuries when a car and a school bus crashed Tuesday afternoon at Fulton and Ada Drive.

The crash happened around 3 p.m.

No students were on the bus.

Authorities say there were no serious injuries, and no students aboard a bus, when this car and a school bus collided at Fulton & Ada Drive on May 19, 2015.

A deputy on the scene told WZZM 13 debris from the crash (a tire from the car) struck some natural gas equipment, causing a leak. DTE sent a crew to fix it.

A DTE crew responds to a natural gas leak caused by debris from a May 19, 2015, crash at Fulton & Ada Drive. (Photo: WZZM)

DuPont fined $99,000 for deadly Texas gas leak that killed 4 workers

May 19, 2015

 

(Photo: AP)

DuPont was fined $99,000 for 11 safety violations federal regulators claimed led to the November 2014 deaths of four employees at the company’s La Porte, Texas plant.

Employees were not trained on using the building’s ventilation system and other safety procedures that could have prevented the deaths of the workers who were exposed to extremely high levels of toxic gas methyl mercaptan, the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced."

Four people lost their lives and their families lost loved ones because DuPont did not have proper safety procedures in place," said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michaels. "Had the company assessed the dangers involved, or trained their employees on what to do if the ventilation system stopped working, they might have had a chance."

Dan Turner, a DuPont spokesman, said the company is reviewing the OSHA findings and is cooperating with federal and state authorities as they complete investigations into the November incident.

“Safety is a core value and constant priority at DuPont,” Turner said. “Our response to this tragedy reinforces our absolute focus on safety and enables us to learn from it so that we can find ways to be an even better company.”

The November incident occurred as one worker was overwhelmed when methyl mercaptan, used to make jet fuel and insecticides, was unexpectedly released when a drain was opened on a vent line, according to OSHA. Two co-workers came to the employee’s aid, but were also overcome. A fourth-co-coworker attempted a rescue, but was unsuccessful. All four died in the building by the time the leak was brought under control two hours later.

At dangerous levels, the gas depresses the central nervous system and affects the body’s respiratory center, causing death by respiratory paralysis.
OSHA also identified scores of safety upgrades the company must undertake to prevent future accidents at the plant where 313 employees work in the company’s manufacture crop protection and chemicals businesses. DuPont was cited for one repeat OSHA violation, nine serious OSHA violations and other than serious OSHA violation.

The repeat violation was for the lack of employee training on the building’s ventilation system. In July 2010, DuPont was cited for a similar violation, OSHA reported.

DuPont has 15 business days from the receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to company, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director in Houston South, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

Turner said the company is conducting completely new process hazards analyses in its Lannate insecticide manufacturing unit. The analyses is based on findings from the company’s own investigation. DuPont is also conducting an assessment of the implementation of its Process Safety Management System.

The company had notified the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that the plant’s exhaust and ventilation systems malfunctioned and released small quantities of methyl mercaptan over a six-year period, according to DuPont’s filings with the regulatory agency. However, no one ever alerted OSHA about the levels of toxic gas, additional records revealed.

Explosion at Yamal gas field in Northwest Siberia

May 19, 2015

By Anna Liesowska

Accident involving drilling works sparks massive blaze but thankfully no injuries.

During drilling of a well for the installation of a deep anode bed, builders came across a shallow gas lens. There was a gas explosion.' Picture: Yury Lushin/RIA Novosti

Emergency services responded to an explosion at a gas field in the Yamal Peninsula following an accident during drill works.

The Yamal Peninsula (Russian: полуо́стров Яма́л) is located in Yamal-Nenets autonomous district of northwest Siberia. Russia. It extends roughly 700 km (435 mi) and is bordered principally by the Kara Sea, Baydaratskaya Bay on the west, and by the Gulf of Ob on the east

A total of 12 firefighters were called to the scene at Bovanenkovo on Sunday morning after an operation to dig a well accidentally breached gas reserves.

It happened as workers were taking part in an exercise to lay specialist equipment 100 metres below the ground. Fortunately no-one was injured in the incident, which sent flames shooting 15 metres into the sky.

According to Gazprom Dobycha Nadym, a Gazprom subsidiary which controls work at Bovanenkovo, it was not a working well.

A statement said: 'During drilling of a well for the installation of a deep anode bed, builders came across a shallow gas lens. There was a gas explosion.

'This incident has no relation to the process of gas extraction, or exploration.'

The fire was extinguished by the evening and now the drilling rig is in the process of being cooled down.

It is not the first accident on the Yamal gas fields. In January this year, a fire broke out in the Severo-Gubkinskoye field, with a special military group brought in to help fight the blaze.

Shelling Shell back to its Shell: Hundreds of Brave Concerned Citizens Block Shell Rig Access in Seattle. You Shall Not Pass.

By Reuters On May 18, 2015

 

Activists march and rally at the entrance of Terminal 5 to protest Shell Oil Company’s drilling rig Polar Pioneer which is parked at the Port of Seattle, Washington May 18, 2015. U.S. Coast Guard Photo

By Victoria Cavaliere

SEATTLE, May 18 (Reuters) – About 200 concerned citizens gathered at the Port of Seattle on Monday to block access to a Royal Dutch Shell drilling rig headed for the Arctic this summer to resume exploration for oil and gas reserves.

Holding signs reading “Shell No” and “Seattle Loves the Arctic,” protesters gathered early to prevent workers from reaching the rig, one of two that Shell will store in Seattle before sending to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska.

Environmental groups have planned days of demonstrations over Shell’s plans, saying drilling in the icy Arctic region, where weather changes rapidly, could lead to a catastrophic spill that would be next to impossible to clean up.
They also say drilling would threaten the Arctic’s vast layer of sea ice that helps regulate the global temperature and that they say has already been disappearing as a result of global warming.

“I’m joining in solidarity with the environmental community,” Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant, who was among Monday’s protesters, told KIRO Radio. “Any drilling of oil in the Arctic represents grave danger to all humanity.”

Last week the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, gave conditional approval to Shell’s return to exploration in the Arctic, which was suspended after a mishap-filled 2012 season. Some Alaska lawmakers welcomed the decision because, they said, it would bring money and jobs to the state.
Representatives from Shell could not be immediately reached for comment on the protests.

On Saturday, hundreds of activists in kayaks and small boats fanned out around the port in Elliott Bay. [ID: nL1N0Y70I5]

Shell’s second drilling rig was due to dock at the Port of Seattle in coming days.
“People are so appalled to see this in Seattle,” said Emily Johnston, a spokeswoman for the environmental group 350 Seattle, about a city with a strong liberal reputation.

The city’s planning department ruled last week the port’s leasing of a terminal to Shell was in violation of its city permit.

Despite the opposition, Shell has said it was moving ahead with plans to keep the rigs in Seattle until mid-summer, when the drilling fleet and its crew plans to return to the Arctic. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Lisa Lambert)
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