Tests indicate no change in water quality from drilling in Marcellus Shale

Posted 10:24 AM, July 2, 2015, by Paul Smith

HARRISBURG, Pa. – The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) today released its third report on water quality conditions in select watersheds in the Marcellus shale region of the Susquehanna River Basin.

Prior to 2010, when SRBC began collecting the data through its state-of-the-art Remote Water Quality Monitoring Network (RWQMN), little to no water quality data existed for many smaller streams in northern Pennsylvania and the southern tier of New York. 

SRBC’s first report in 2012 established existing conditions within the first 37 of 59 watersheds that SRBC is monitoring through the RWQMN. This third report provides a more comprehensive report of conditions across the full monitoring network.

“The Commission takes very seriously one of its core functions of monitoring water quality conditions in the streams and rivers of the Susquehanna Basin,” said SRBC Executive Director Andrew Dehoff. 

“This third report provides more information on the data collected as part of the Commission’s effort to evaluate whether or not water quality conditions in streams are reflecting impacts associated with natural gas drilling.”

SRBC’s objective of the RWQMN is to apply best available science to track changes in water quality conditions over time and to allow for timely responses in the case of pollution events. 

Other objectives are to reduce the cost of data collection by using advanced technologies, to enhance water supply protection through source water monitoring, and to be responsive to public concerns.

Each RWQMN station is equipped with sensors that can continuously detect changes in water quality. The water quality parameters are measured at five-minute intervals and transmitted to SRBC headquarters in Harrisburg every two to four hours.

Of the 58 watersheds covered in this report, SRBC has observed:

• with continuous monitoring from 2010-2013, data collected did not indicate any changes in water quality;
• with a few exceptions, the water chemistry at the monitoring stations indicates good water quality; and
• the results of aquatic insect monitoring were not affected by the density of upstream natural gas wells or pads.

As more stations accumulate additional years of continuous data, SRBC staff will be able to detect any longer-term water quality trends in addition to immediate impacts.

ATV driver dies in rollover crash in Dodge County, WI. He was not wearing a helmet

JULY 2, 2015 

TOWNSHIP OF HERMAN, Wis. (AP) -

Authorities say the driver of an all-terrain vehicle has died in a rollover accident in Dodge County.

The Dodge County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that it took a 911 call about an ATV crash around 7:40 p.m. Tuesday in the Township of Herman. The sheriff's office said the ATV was traveling along a hillside on private property when it struck an object, causing the vehicle to roll.

According to the sheriff's office, the male ATV driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities say he wasn't wearing a helmet.

The sheriff's office said the driver's name was being withheld pending notification of family.

The Deadly Roads: Motorcyclist dies after head-on collision with pickup truck in St. Albans, WV

JULY 2, 2015

ST. ALBANS, WEST VIRGINIA

Kanawha County deputies have released the name of the motorcyclist who died from his injuries sustained in a crash on Coal River Road outside St. Albans.

Richard “Dick” Smoot, 67, of Tornado was pronounced dead at an area hospital after the wreck that occurred about 7:15 a.m. Thursday near Mountain Breeze Lane, according to a news release from the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said a pickup truck crossed the center line in a curve and struck the motorcycle in a head-on crash. The motorcyclist was thrown from the bike. The driver of the pickup truck, Mathew Smith, 21, of Hurricane, had minor injuries but was not transported by ambulance, deputies said.

Coal River Road was closed from the time of the crash until about 10:15 a.m. for an investigation into the matter. Investigators have collected evidence and taken measurements. The evidence and information will have to be reviewed before any causes or contributing factors are sure.

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ST. ALBANS, W.Va. -- Kanawha County deputies said a motorcyclist has died from injuries sustained in a wreck on Coal River Road outside St. Albans.

The man was driving a motorcycle that was involved in a collision with a pickup truck. Metro 911 said the wreck happened about 7:15 a.m. Thursday in the area of 137 Mountain Breeze Lane.

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ST. ALBANS, W.Va. -- A motorcyclist was seriously injured in an accident Thursday morning on Coal River Road outside St. Albans, deputies said.

The accident happened about 7:15 a.m. in the area of 137 Mountain Breeze Lane outside of St. Albans, Metro 911 said. An emergency dispatcher said the roadway would be shut down for quite some time.

Kanawha County deputies said a pickup truck was traveling south while the motorcyclist was traveling north when the wreck happened.

An accident reconstruction crew is on the way to the scene.

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ST. ALBANS, W.Va. – A section of Coal River Road is shut down Thursday morning after an accident involving a motorcycle and a pickup truck, Metro 911 said.

The wreck occurred about 7:15 a.m. in the area of 137 Mountain Breeze Lane outside of St. Albans, an emergency dispatcher said.

One person was transported to the hospital.

Kanawha County sheriff’s deputies responded to the accident.

** Kanawha County Sheriff's Office Photo

Source:http://www.wchstv.com

USPS female truck driver cited after Thursday cyclist crash in Fort Collins, CO

Jason Pohl, The Coloradoan 5:21 p.m. MDT July 2, 2015

(Photo: Jason Pohl/The Coloradoan)

FORT COLLINS, CO

A man riding a bicycle was hospitalized Thursday morning after a crash with a U.S. Postal Service truck that failed to yield, police said.

The rider of a yellow bicycle was traveling north about 11 a.m. along Automation Way near Horsetooth Road. 

The bicyclist, riding on the sidewalk against traffic, collided with a mail truck that was turning out of a parking lot, police at the scene said.

Neither the man's name nor age were immediately available. Poudre Valley Hospital EMS treated and transported the man, who appeared to have an arm injury, to Medical Center of the Rockies. 

He was awake and talking at the scene, police said, and he was expected to be released from the hospital later on Thursday.

Traffic, already slow in the area due to road construction, crawled around the crash site while police took measurements and cleaned up broken glass.

Police cited the 45-year-old female driver for failing to yield the right of way. 

Bikes are legally allowed to ride either way on sidewalks, though police highly discourage traveling against traffic. 

Motorists are legally responsible to yield the right of way when leaving private property — that's why the mail truck's driver was cited.

2 Injured When a Commercial Truck is Smashed by Union Pacific Train in Chetora, Kansas and Catches Fire

Union Pacific Truck and Train accident near Chetopa; Driver and Passenger in good condition

Updated: Jul 02, 2015 2:57 PM EST

By News Release

 

CHETOPA, KANSAS - 

 (From Kansas Highway Patrol) 

Vehicle 1 approached train tracks from the West, began to cross the tracks and was struck by Union Pacific train going Southbound on railroad tracks. Vehicle 1 came to rest facing Northwest, South of 7000 Rd, vehicle 1 then caught fire and was engulfed in flames.

Driver:  John Tyler, Chanute, KS, good condition will be released today.
Passenger: Everett Smith, Neodesha, KS, is listed in good condition w/ Freeman Hospital.

# # #
(From the Labette County Sheriff's Office)

 On July 1, 2015 at 12:50hrs 911 dispatch received a report of an injury accident involving a Union Pacific train colliding with a Union Pacific commercial truck, located west of 7000 & Woodson Road (NW of Chetopa)

Upon arriving on scene, emergency responders discovered the commercial truck along the east side of the railroad tracks sustained injuries during the collision. 

The driver was transported to Labette health by EMS.  The passenger was transported by air to Joplin Freeman.  

The train crew did not report injuries. 

The incident is currently under investigation by the Kansas Highway Patrol. 
No further information is available at this time.

Man electrocuted to death by lightning strike while working on a roof in Port Orange, Florid

Man possibly killed by lightning in Port Orange

 JULY 1, 2015

PORT ORANGE, Fla. — 

A man who was working on the roof of a home Friday was electrocuted by lightning, Port Orange police said Wednesday.

Steven Gang, 25, was working on a roof on Arash Circle in the Water's Edge neighborhood as storms started to move through the area.

Police initially said he died of a “storm-related” incident and an autopsy report released this week determined he was killed by lightning.

No one else was injured.

Gang is the second person struck by lightning in Volusia County this year.

An 11-year-old Georgia boy was injured in a lightning strike in Daytona Beach Shores last month.

His family said he is on the mend.

Gas leak from a high pressure gas line forces 3 block evacuation in Amory, MS

 JULY 2, 2015

AMORY, MS – 

At approximately 9:30 a.m. this morning a high pressure gas line behind El Rey Mexican Restaurant was ruptured by a contractor requiring a 3 block evacuation.

“Due to wind conditions and the nature of the leak, the neighborhood was evacuated and traffic was blocked from Main Street down to 6th Street,” said E911 Director Bunky Gosa.

All electricity was shut off to the area as well.

The leak has been stopped or substantially reduced by Atmos Energy and the area has been opened back up now.

Valley International Cold Storage, LLC in Harlingen, Texas, fined $76,500. Cold storage warehouse fails to protect workers from hazardous gas exposure.

July 2, 2015

Cold storage warehouse fails to protect workers from hazardous gas exposure.

Valley International Cold Storage in Harlingen, Texas, fined $76,500

Employer name: Valley International Cold Storage LLC

Location: Harlingen, Texas

Date citations issued: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued the citations on July 1. The inspection was opened under the agency's Site Specific Targeting* program for industries with high injury and illness rates and its Process Safety Managed Covered Chemical Facilities National Emphasis Program*
.
Investigation findings: Eight of the 15 serious violations are related to the Process Safety Management Program for the maintenance and operation of the Anhydrous Ammonia refrigerant system to prevent potentially catastrophic releases. 

The violations include failing to inspect and test equipment intended to control and contain ammonia; failing to maintain process equipment in an acceptable working order; and not ensuring that process information is up to date and accurate. The company was also cited for failing to provide emergency eyewash, not having an audiometric testing program, and improper chemical storage.

Proposed penalties: OSHA proposed $76,500 in fines.

View citations at: http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/ValleyIntlColdStorageLLC_1023716.pdf* 

Quote: "Anhydrous ammonia can burn a worker's lungs, eyes and skin, and those burns can be fatal," said Michael Rivera, OSHA's area director in Corpus Christi. "Unlike the household cleaner, this is a very concentrated and toxic form of ammonia that requires strict controls and handling procedures to keep workers from harm."

Information: Valley International Cold Storage LLC, a cold storage warehouse, 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.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint or report amputations, losses of an eye, workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Corpus Christi Area Office at 361-888-3420.

Mother Killed, 2 Children Hospitalized in Lycoming County, PA Crash. She was Wearing No Seatbelt

  July 2, 2015, by Kristina Papa

MUNCY TOWNSHIP, PA

A crash in Lycoming County leaves a mother dead and her two children in the hospital.

State police say a mother, her 7 year old, and an infant were in the SUV when it swerved off the road and rolled down an embankment.

The coroner said the driver was Brittany L. Snauffer, 32, from Dunn, North Carolina.

Traffic was backed up in both directions on Interstate 180 near the Lycoming Mall exit after noon Thursday.

Emergency crews picked up things like baby formula and clothing thrown from the SUV.

State police say the vehicle swerved on to the side of the road and then rolled several times down an embankment.

The Lycoming County coroner said the mother was not wearing a seatbelt. She was thrown from the SUV and died.

The coroner’s office is still investigating whether her two children were buckled in. Both of the children were flown to the hospital. State police say the infant has a head injury.

“This was probably a survivable crash, you know, had a seat belt and children have been restrained,” said Lycoming County coroner Charles Kiessling. “We are trying to figure out exactly what happened to them.”

Interstate 180 reopened around 1:25 p.m. , according to PennDOT.

Brain-eating amoeba kills 21-year-old California woman

A wet mount of Naegleria fowleri trophozoites cultured from the CSF of a patient with primary amebic meningoencephalitis (CDC)

Thursday, July 02, 2015 12:07PM

BISHOP, CA --

A 21-year-old woman died from a rare but incredibly lethal parasitic killer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Naegleria fowleri is the name of the amoeba which attacked the woman's brain tissue, eventually sending her into cardiac arrest.

Humans are infected when the amoeba enters their bodies through their noses while swimming or diving in warm freshwater. It then migrates its way through the skull to the brain, where it eats away at the brain tissue. You can't catch it from simply drinking contaminated water, the CDC says.

The risk of infection is extremely low. There are less than 10 cases are reported each year, and it has never been shown to spread from person to person. However, the probability of death is virtually 100% if contracted.

The victim first felt symptoms on June 16th and was initially diagnosed with meningitis at Northern Inyo Hospital. Her condition continued to worsen however, and she was flown to Renown Regional Medical Center, where she later died of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis, the Reno Gazette-Journal reports.

Public health officials do not believe the amoeba represents any risk to the general public. There have been no evident cases of amoeba contamination in the U.S. in well-maintained, properly treated swimming pools or hot springs, according to California public health officer Richard Johnson. It is believed the woman contracted the amoeba on private property.

You can learn more about Naegleria fowleri by tapping here.

Suit filed in death of worker replacing Boeing 777 air bag. Jamco America employee died month after air bag seat belt exploded in his face.

July 2, 2015

 

Jamco America employee Kenneth Ott died month after air bag seat belt exploded in his face.

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By Seattle Times staff

Boeing and a supplier have been sued by the family of the worker who died from injuries received when an air bag seat belt he was replacing on a 777 exploded in November.

The accident occurred on a 777 parked on the flight line at Boeing’s Everett factory, when workers for two contractors were called to deal with an air bag seat belt that had discharged for no apparent reason.

Kenneth Otto suffered massive head injuries when the replacement unit he was installing inflated explosively; he died almost a month later at Harborview Medical Center. Also suing Boeing and air bag manufacturer AmSafe is Christopher Gee, who was assisting Otto and suffered physical and emotional injuries, according to the lawsuit.

Seat belt air bags are typically installed only in the lap belts of business-class seats that can lie flat and are angled to face an aisle, or in seats that face a bulkhead wall or some other hard surface. In a crash, highly pressurized gas inflates the air bag “upward and away from the lap belt, filling the space in front of the passenger,” according to the suit.

The suit filed Wednesday in King County Superior Court alleges that the plane’s buyer, Singapore Airlines, discovered a discharged air bag in one of the business class seats as it was preparing to take delivery of the plane. Neither Boeing nor AmSafe conducted an examination to find what caused the malfunction, which later was traced to a short circuit in the wires controlling the device, according to the suit.

Boeing asked Jamco America, the company that usually installs the 777 air bags at its nearby airplane seat factory, to replace or repair the device on the plane. Otto, 49 at the time of the accident, was a Jamco employee, while Gee, 25, worked for Vartan Aviation Group, which works on Boeing airplane interiors.

Otto had put more than 150 AmSafe seat belt systems in seats at the Jamco factory before they were put into a plane, but “neither Jamco nor Vartan workers had ever installed a NexGen AmSafe air bag seat belt system on a seat on Boeing aircraft on the Everett flight line,” according to the suit.

The suit says “Boeing required the work be performed within the tight confines of the airplane. No further guidance or assistance was provided to the two workers.”

While they were replacing the air bag, according to the suit, “suddenly and without warning, the air-bag inflator discharged … (and) launched the partially attached device into Kenneth Otto’s face.”

The suit claims the device was defective, and that neither Boeing nor AmSafe had developed procedures for replacing the air bag seat belt on the plane.

A Boeing spokesman said it had no comment on the case. In a statement after Otto’s death, the company noted that the workers’ injuries “were not related to air bag deployment, as would occur during passenger flight, but rather were related to the discharge of the inflater while the system was partially disassembled.”

It also cautioned employees, suppliers and airline operators to ensure that the seat-belt air-bag system is not connected to the plane’s electrical system “unless all the components of the system are completely installed.”

A subsequent investigation by the state Labor and Industries Department resulted in an $11,000 fine against Jamco America and a smaller fine against Vartan. Because of safety shortcomings revealed in follow-up inspections, the state also cited and fined two other aircraft seat suppliers, Zodiac Seats and B/E Aerospace.

Karen Koehler, the attorney at Stritmatter Kessler Whelan who sued on behalf of Otto’s family and Gee, said employers can’t be sued for injury or death of workers under Washington law, which uses a no-fault workers’ compensation system. 

But the accident wasn’t just the fault of Otto’s and Gee’s direct employers, she said: “This fiasco was the result of combined negligence, including that of Boeing and AmSafe.”

2 electricians hurt at New Hanover High gym in North Carolina after they fell from scaffolding

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

NEW HANOVER COUNTY  


Two New Hanover County school maintenance workers were injured Wednesday morning while working at Brogden Hall at New Hanover High School.

Deputy Superintendent Rick Holliday said he received a call at 10:26 a.m. that two electricians working in Brogden Hall had fallen from scaffolding and emergency medical services were called for the two injured workers.

Holliday said the electricians have been working on a project all week to replace lighting in the gymnasium and a problem with the scaffolding led to the two employees fall.

“They had completed, as a understand it, replacing the new lights—a florescent lighting system,” he said. “They were moving some of the banners in the gym so they would not obstruct the lighting, and that was when the scaffolding malfunctioned.”

Holliday said both were transported to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, and Superintendent Tim Markley was there with the workers and their families.

He added that he did not know the condition of either worker and did not release the names of the employees.

Holliday said that an investigation into the cause of incident had already begun. New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office also is looking into the incident.

By Hannah DelaCourt
StarNews Staff

Prevent Carbon Monoxide Poisoning on Your Boat this Holiday Weekend

Gasoline-powered engines on boats, including onboard generators, produce carbon monoxide (CO), a colorless and odorless gas that can poison or kill someone who breathes too much of it.

How CO Can Build Up In a Boat

Larger boats, such as houseboats, sometimes have generators that vent toward the rear of the boat. This venting poses a danger of CO poisoning to people on the rear swim deck or water platform. On larger boats CO builds up above the water near the water platform. CO that builds up in the air space beneath the stern deck or on and near the swim deck can kill someone in seconds.

Traveling at slow speeds or idling in the water can cause CO to build up in a boat’s cabin, cockpit, bridge, and aft deck, or in an open area. Wind from the aft section of the boat can increase this buildup of CO.

Back drafting can cause CO to build up inside the cabin, cockpit, and bridge when a boat is operated at a high bow angle, is improperly or heavily loaded, or has an opening that draws in exhaust.

Symptoms of CO Poisoning

The most common symptoms of CO poisoning are headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. High levels of CO inhalation can cause death. CO poisoning can also cause you to pass out and fall into the water and drown. A person who is sleeping or intoxicated can die from CO poisoning before ever having symptoms.

How to Prevent CO Poisoning on Boats

Install and maintain a working CO detector listed by Underwriters' Laboratories (UL) as appropriate for marine use inside the boat to alert people when dangerous levels of CO have built up inside the boat cabin.

• Properly install and maintain all fuel-burning engines and appliances.
• Educate all passengers about the signs and symptoms of CO poisoning.
• Swim and play away from areas where engines vent their exhaust.
• Watch children closely when they play on rear swim decks or water platforms.
• Never block exhaust outlets. Blocking outlets can cause CO to build up in the cabin and cockpit areas–even when hatches, windows, portholes, and doors are closed.
• Dock, beach, or anchor at least 20 feet away from the nearest boat that is running a generator or engine. Exhaust from a nearby vessel can send CO into the cabin and cockpit of a boat.

If you think a person on your boat has CO poisoning move him or her to fresh air right away and contact the nearest emergency services.

More information on CO and boating

• Carbon Monoxide Dangers in Boating
• USCG

Warning: the exhaust of some older boats can emit 10,000 parts per million of carbon monoxide, leading to deadly poisoning

 

Carbon monoxide poisoning can be deadly on boats

SPICEWOOD, Texas (KXAN)

From the very first time he went wakeboarding, Larry Mann knew he had a new passion. At his shop near Spicewood, you can see many wakeboards he has created himself.

“I just absolutely fell in love with it,” he said.

That is why when he heard about proposed laws and regulations in California several years ago concerning the sport, he was skeptical.  The proposals were to make wakeboarding safer and one of the concerns mentioned was carbon monoxide emissions from boats.

Not willing to part with his passion, Mann set out with a monoxide censor to see just how dangerous it could be.

“My intention and my expectation was to find that it was a bunch of hooey and really not a problem.”

But he was wrong.

“Within 30 seconds of testing, I realized it was very serious.”

Mann said the exhaust of some older boats can emit 10,000 parts per million of carbon monoxide, a tasteless and odorless gas which can turn silent killer for anyone who obliviously inhales.

The Travis County Medical Examiner’s Office said this week carbon monoxide toxicity was a “significant condition” in the drowning death 15-year-old Sarah Pool. A tragedy Mann himself experienced with a friend years earlier. 

Pool was not wearing a life jacket, but two friends with her near the boat’s swimming platform were wearing them according to Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

“She was on the back of the boat on the swim platform,” he said remembering the death of his friend which occurred under very similar circumstances as Pool’s. “When they looked back, she was gone. She did not have a life preserver. Unfortunately it was the same scenario.”

Mann’s personal experiences with carbon monoxide on boats led him to develop another creation for his passion. This one is not any kind of wakeboard, but a welded metal device that fits onto the exhaust pipes where boats emit CO. The “Fresh Air Exhaust” releases the exhaust gases down into the water where the propeller pushes it several feet behind the boat.

For older boats or boats without a catalytic converter, he thinks the patented product can be a lifesaver.

“We want to see this stop. Boating should be fun and people should be able to have a good time and not have to worry about dying.”

The swimming platform and the back of the boat can be the most dangerous place to inhale fumes from the exhaust’s “backdraft” according to Mann and the Center for Disease Patrol and Prevention. Mann advised the engine should be off if people are on the swimming platform.

The CDC has a webpage devoted to carbon monoxide poisoning.
Source:http://kxan.com

Are you ready for some boat crashes?: 4th of July Holiday has the highest number of boat crash claims of the year

Family injured in hit-and-run boat crash

By Calily Bien Published: July 2, 2015, 2:26 pm Updated: July 2, 2015, 4:08 pm

Damage from boat crash.

AUSTIN, TEXAS (KXAN

A family’s weekend on the lake ended abruptly with injuries and thousands of dollars in damage to their boat. The person who caused the collision took off, leaving the victims with no information.

According to Progressive Insurance, they see more boat claims during the Fourth of July weekend than any other three-day period in the year.

Last weekend, the Austin Police Department arrested two people for boating while intoxicated as of Operation Dry Water — an initiative to cut down on boating while intoxicated. Another 13 citations and 31 warnings were issued.

Do not drink and drive a boat - otherwise, you are looking for some trouble.

Female driver dies in fiery truck crash in Coweta County, Georgia after she loses control and strikes a tree

Photo by Jeffrey Leo/The Newnan Times-Herald 

A 44-year-old woman lost her life Wednesday night after she became entrapped when her truck crashed into a tree and was engulfed in flames. 

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Thursday, July 02, 2015
 
Coweta County, Georgia

A 44-year-old woman lost her life in a fiery crash Wednesday night after she appeared to lose control of her vehicle and collided with a tree.

About 6:50 p.m., emergency units with the Coweta County Fire Department responded to Corinth Road where a vehicle reportedly crashed and caught on fire. When they arrived, they found the driver, Janet Lee Daniel from Newnan, was entrapped and had been fatally injured.

According to Tracey Watson with the Georgia State Patrol, the initial investigation shows Daniel was traveling eastbound on Corinth Road in her pickup truck when she crossed the center line and ran off the north shoulder of the road. 

She then appeared to overcorrect, which caused her vehicle to rotate clockwise, drive off the south shoulder and collide with a tree with its driver’s side door. 

The truck then became engulfed in flames. 

The accident is still under investigation by the Georgia State Patrol.

Do not drink and drive this 4th of July Holiday.  Save your life.

VOTE "OXI" ("NO") ON SUNDAY, JULY 5, 2015. GIVE GREECE A CHANCE: The Greek government just got a huge referendum boost from the IMF

The Greek government just got a huge referendum boost

• Oscar Williams-Grut

• Jul. 2, 2015, 11:56 AM

EUROZONE-GREECE/NEGOTIATIONS REUTERS/Yves Herman/Files.  Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Greece's ruling Syriza party just got a huge boost in its campaign to get Greeks to reject the existing bailout proposals in Sunday's referendum.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), one of Greece's three main creditors, acknowledged Thursday that Greece's debts needed to be restructured.

That's pretty much the key demand Greece has been making all along. Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told Bloomberg TV earlier Thursday that he would rather "cut his arm off" than sign a bailout deal that didn't include rehashing debts to make payment dates more realistic.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras and Syriza's major issue with bailout proposals so far has been that they effectively turn Greece into a zombie country, stumbling along the poverty line and existing solely to pay off its heavy debts.

The IMF acknowledges in its latest debt-sustainability report on Greece that things have deteriorated so badly over the past year that debts are "unsustainable" and the country can't cope with any debt repayments for at least three years, even if things start moving back in the right direction. 

Greece's next payment — €3.5 billion (£2.5 billion, $3.89 billion) to the European Central Bank — is due July 20.

It also says Greece will probably need a debt "haircut" — writing off some of the money it owes.

Some of the IMF's proposals are even more radical. One idea is to give Greece a 20-year "grace period" during which it would not have to pay debts.

Greece's economy has been crippled by huge debt demands, shrinking 25% over the past five years, and the IMF says the country will need €50 billion (£35.5 billion, $55.5 billion) to survive over just the next three years.

All of this is a huge boost for Tsipras, who told Greeks in a TV address on Wednesday that the country's creditors needed to give the country "breathing space."

But even if the IMF backs a debt restructure and an easing of payments, it doesn't mean it will necessarily happen. The IMF will have to convince Greece's two other big creditors — the European Commission and the European Central Bank. These two parties have so far been stubborn.

Go Greece.  You can do it.  Vote a resounding "OXI" ("NO") on Sunday, July 5, 2015

TransAsia Plane Crashed in February After Faulty Sensor, Errors by Pilots

 JULY 2, 2015

TransAsia Plane Crashed in February After Faulty Sensor, Errors by Pilots

A faulty connector sending inaccurate information and pilots mistakingly shutting down the wrong engine during a flameout led to the February crash of a TransAsia Airways Corp. plane, investigators said.

Flight GE235 had a connector that failed to send right information to the propeller plane’s computer systems, triggering an unnecessary automatic correction move, known as autofeather, according to a factual data report published by Taiwan’s Aviation Safety Council Thursday. The ATR plane’s two pilots then followed a procedure that shut down the wrong engine, its executive director Thomas Wang said in Taipei.

“He called it wrong” when calling for shut down of engine 1, when engine 2 flameout procedure was displayed on screen in cockpit, Wang said. “We didn’t see some procedures being followed,” he said.

The pilot in command of TransAsia Flight GE235 called for reduction in power to engine 1, five seconds after a master warning sounded, the Aviation Safety Council said in its factual report. Flight GE235 lost altitude, clipped an elevated highway and crashed into a nearby river minutes after takeoff from Taipei’s Songshan airport on Feb. 4, killing 43 people including the pilots. Some people survived the crash.

About 36 seconds after takeoff, the propeller-driven plane’s No. 2 engine autofeathered with the No. 1 engine being shut off 46 seconds after that, according to a preliminary report by the Aviation Safety Council published Feb. 17. The pilots discussed an engine flameout 35 seconds before making a Mayday call and subsequent crash three minutes and three seconds after takeoff.

Temporary Grounding

Autofeather is a feature in propeller aircraft that automatically turns a propeller’s blades parallel to airflow, called feathering, to reduce drag.

The crash was the airline’s second fatal accident involving an ATR72 turboprop aircraft within a year. The first, in July 2014, killed 48 people.

While aviation authorities temporarily grounded all ATR aircraft in Taiwan for checks after the February crash and ordered retraining of TransAsia pilots, the airline won a delay of a new flight safety rule introduced specifically for 

TransAsia after the July crash.

Logbooks for the aircraft that crashed Feb. 4, which were released publicly and reviewed by Bloomberg, showed that pilots didn’t meet new requirements to remain at the gate at least 30 minutes between flights to allow time to conduct safety checks.

A 20-minute turnaround earlier on the day of the crash didn’t necessarily breach the new rules because TransAsia had requested, and was granted, a delay in implementation of the regulation by two months, the Civil Aeronautics Administration said at the time.

//------------//

Valuable Routes, Insurance Cover Insulate TransAsia From Grim Crash Record

By Clare Baldwin and Yimou Lee | February 5, 2015

Even after two deadly crashes in seven months, TransAsia Airways Corp. will likely rebound quickly as insurance covers any financial losses and its coveted routes through Taipei’s downtown airport keep it popular with business travelers.

Airline analysts said the carrier may have to offer discounts to lure back passengers after Flight GE235 ended in at least 31 fatalities on Wednesday. 

Amateur video from a car dashboard camera showed the plane clipped a taxi and a bridge before smashing upside down in a shallow river.

“Songshan (airport) is in downtown Taipei… so their flights are valuable, especially for the corporate guys,” said Marc Wang, manager at KGI Securities in Taiwan. “I don’t think they will give up the business.”

TransAsia operates about 22 daily flights from Songshan, mainly to domestic destinations but also to a few Chinese cities, including Shanghai.

The larger Taoyuan Airport is about an hour from central Taipei by road and handles the majority of international flights, channeling almost 36 million passengers in 2014 compared with just over 6 million for Songshan.

Taiwan Fire & Marine Insurance Co. Ltd. said it had underwritten TransAsia’s aviation hull and passenger liability insurance and estimated its maximum retained loss at $225,000, which it said would have no significant impact on its business.

Two other insurers, Cathay Financial Holding Co. Ltd. and Mega Financial Holding Co. Ltd., said they expected no significant financial impact from related claims.

Wednesday’s crash and another fatal accident in July mean TransAsia is suspended from opening new routes, which will set back its ambition to grow as a regional carrier, said Michael Lee, Taiwan airlines analyst at Primasia Securities in Taipei.

“It’s a problem for TransAsia because for the last two or three years, TransAsia has been working pretty hard to shift its focus from the domestic market to the regional market,” Lee said. “The margin of the domestic routes is much lower than the regional routes.”

TransAsia bounced back quickly from the July crash. Revenue passenger kilometers – a measure of an airline’s traffic – dropped 64 percent in July from June, but rebounded in August, JihSun Securities Investment wrote in a research note. Insurance covered all compensation claims, it said.

The airline is part of conglomerate Goldsun Group, which has businesses ranging from concrete to telecommunications. TransAsia accounted for about 39 percent of the group’s total revenue in 2013, according to an annual report from subsidiary Goldsun Development & Construction Company Ltd.

“We hope the market can have some faith in us,” said Tu Pei Chun, a spokeswoman for Goldsun. “There will be some confidence issues in the market in the short term, and it’s understandable, but in the longer term, our flight business is quite good and we have the top-level staff.”

KGI’s Wang said steep discounts could help restore consumer confidence. “People forget bad things quickly.”

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Clare Baldwin in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Ben Blanchard and Twinnie Siu; writing by Emily Kaiser; editing by Christopher Cushing)