3 KILLED, 1 INJURED IN MULTI-VEHICLE CRASH AT LAMB, I-215. SPEED WAS A FACTOR IN THE DEADLY CRASH.

APRIL 15, 2015

NORTH LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

 I-215 northbound has reopened following a crash that killed three people Wednesday, police said.

The crash involving multiple vehicles happened at N. Lamb Boulevard and I-215 around 5 p.m. Even after the 215 reopened, North Las Vegas Police said Lamb Boulevard had to stay closed for several hours.

There hasn't been much information released concerning the cause of the crash, but speed may have been a factor, according to NLV police and according to statements from witnesses.  They were going fast towards their final destination.  RIP.

One person was taken to University Medical Center. Their condition is said to be "extremely critical."

Police said the three people killed were pronounced dead at the scene.

This fifth, sixth and seventh crash-related deaths in North Las Vegas' jurisdiction this year.

Source: http://www.8newsnow.com

PILOT ERROR TO BLAME: PLANE THAT CRASHED NEAR BLOOMINGTON, ILL, KILLING 7, CLIMBED AWAY FROM THE RUNWAY, TURNED AND BEGAN A SHORT SERIES OF DESCENTS AND CLIMBS BEFORE CRASHING INTO A FARM FIELD

APRIL 15, 2015

The report released Wednesday did not indicate any possible cause for the April 7 crash or say why the pilot appeared to have aborted the landing. The last recorded radio transmission from pilot Thomas Hileman to air traffic control did not indicate any problems or distress aboard the twin-engine Cessna 414A, built in 1980.

Bloomington was shrouded in dense fog as the plane approached Central Illinois Regional Airport shortly after midnight. The NTSB report says there was an overcast ceiling at 200 feet above ground level, with a half-mile surface visibility.

The plane was returning from Indianapolis, where the passengers, including two members of the Illinois State University athletics department, had attended the NCAA men's basketball championship game. Hileman, 51, and all six passengers died on impact, the coroner said.

Aaron Leetch, 37, ISU's deputy director of athletics for external operations, and Torrey Ward, 36, associate head coach of the Redbirds men's basketball team, were among the victims. Also killed were Terry Stralow, 64; Woodrow "Jason" Jones, 45; Scott Bittner, 42; and Andrew Butler, 40.

The NTSB typically releases an initial report about a week after plane crashes, but the full investigation of the Bloomington crash may take up to 18 months. Hileman had a valid flying certificate and about 12,000 hours of flight experience.

Rob Mark, an Evanston-based commercial pilot and flight instructor who edits an aviation blog at jetwhine.com, said the plane's instruments may have malfunctioned or the pilot may have become disoriented.

"What a strange-looking accident," Mark said. "Everything looked good as they approached the airport, and then they were doing some strange stuff."

Mark also said investigators will be looking into the instrument landing system, which connects the airplane with the airport, for any problems. Hileman was using the system to line up with the runway and land, the NTSB said. There is no voice recorder on a Cessna 414A.

As another instrument rated pilot I have always feared the failure of my EFB or electronic flight book at night under IMC (instrument conditions). Depending on the avionics in the 414 it would be hard to fly a missed approach with the tower closed and no charts in the dark.. Hand flying...

The fact that the plane was able to climb suggests both engines were functioning properly, Mark said. Investigators should be able to make that determination by reviewing the wreckage, though determining whether the instruments were working may be a tougher task, he said.

Anthony Brickhouse, associate professor of aerospace and occupational safety at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., said he would be focused on the plane's multiple course corrections and the weather — a 200-foot ceiling "is really low" — if he were investigating the crash.

"That approach is not something you typically would see," Brickhouse said. "Investigators also will be looking at the aircraft. Was there something mechanically wrong? You can be following your instruments to a T, but if they're giving you bad information or not functioning properly, that's going to have a negative impact on you."

In the last radio transmission from Hileman, recorded about five minutes before the crash, he indicated the plane was nearing Runway 20 at Central Illinois Regional Airport.

The plane was lined up with the runway at 12:04 a.m. and descended to 1,400 feet about 1.7 nautical miles north of the beginning of the runway, according to the NTSB. But in the next 34 seconds, the plane climbed 600 feet, then "began a descending left turn to an easterly course" away from the airport.

At that location, a typical "missed approach," in which the pilot abandons a landing because the runway is not visible at low elevation, would mean heading to the west, not east, to circle back for another try, Mark said.

The plane descended to 1,500 feet, then climbed again to 2,000 feet while heading east, according to the report. Within the next 38 seconds, the plane went up and down in the air. It went from 1,600 feet to 1,900 feet back to 1,600 feet, the elevation recorded on the final radar return at 12:06 a.m. about 2 miles east of the airport, near where the crashed plane was found by emergency personnel about three hours later.

Source: www.chicagotribune.co

NJDEP: SOLVAY SPECIALTY POLYMERS WATER CONTAMINATION FINDINGS 'EXTREMELY PREMATURE'

APRIL 2, 2015

Solvay Specialty Polymers claims "major findings" in a water contamination investigation revealed no contaminants in surface water and most private drinking wells.

The investigation, however, is far from over and the West Deptford plastics company's cooperation is waning, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

Solvay is blamed for perfluorononanic acid (PFNA) contamination in private and public wells in at least six Gloucester County towns, with NJDEP identifying the company as the "point source" for the chemical, according to NJDEP spokesman Larry Hajna.

In a full-page paid advertisement in a South Jersey newspaper Thursday, Solvay provided a written update on "what we have done so far and what we have learned."

The ad — an outrage to NJDEP commissioner Bob Martin — indicated "major findings" from Solvay's "voluntary and extensive" work with the NJDEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Solvay claimed PFNA was found in sediment, but not surface water samples of the Delaware River; PFNA was not found in most of the 95 private drinking wells samples; and PFNA was detected in other locations farther from its plant, suggesting "the existence of sources closer to those locations."

"Our results indicate that PFNA comes from multiple sources in the region," the ad indicated.

NJDEP officials call Solvay's statement "extremely premature."

"They have made it seem like they're taking themselves off the hook," Hajna said.

"The data we've gotten so far has been incomplete and inconclusive."

Martin released a statement indicating extreme disappoint at Solvay's suggestion the investigation is near completion.

Weiss True Value, on Broad Street in Paulsboro, is a distribution point for bottled water paid for by Solvay Solexis, owner of a West Deptford plastics plant that many fear has contaminated the water supplies around it.  (Photo: Carly Q. Romalino/Courier-Post )

"Solvay appears to be trying to absolve itself of any further responsibility, when, in fact, we are only in the first phase of investigation," Martin's statement said.

"Investigation work Solvay has submitted to the DEP to date falls far short of our expectations, neglecting to investigate pathways by which PFNAs have gotten into the area's ground water and failing to outline future steps to be taken as the investigation continues."

High levels of PFNA were discovered in public wells in Paulsboro, Woodbury and East Greenwich in 2013 by an environmental watchdog group.

The group's results — the highest at 150 parts per trillion in Paulsboro — exceeded the state's proposed 20 parts per trillion standard, spurring NJDEP to test private wells in areas surrounding the plant.

PFNA is used for waterproofing, stain and grease resistance, fire-fighting foams. Solvay did not manufacture PFNA, but it used it as a production process aid until 2010, the company wrote in its ad.

An NJDEP draft report on the chemical noted a link to cancers in lab mice.

"Our concern is the chemical is traveling through shallow grand water aquifers," Hajna said.

"NJDEP has had to step up and do some of this work because Solvay has not. While they started off cooperating with the DEP it has become increasingly difficult in recent months."

Source: http://www.courierpostonline.com

RAYTHEON AND C&F ELECTRICAL SERVICES DEFENSE CONTRACTORS PLEADED GUILTY AND FINED AFTER WORKERS BADLY INJURED. THE FIRMS WANTED TO "CUT COSTS AT THE EXPENSE OF SAFETY" (THAT IS TYPICAL OF MOST COMPANIES).

THURSDAY, 16 APRIL 2015 

A global defence contractor has been fined £24,000 after two workers suffered horrific injuries in an accident at a Scots plant that builds laser guidance systems for missiles.

Steven Delargey and Russell Brand were carrying out out non-essential work at Raytheon Systems Ltd's Glenrothes plant in Fife.

The pair's employers C&F Electrical Services were fined £20,000.

They tried to replace capacitors while a high voltage electrical system was live because Raytheon did not want to interrupt production at the factory.

The pair suffered horrific injuries in the accident, with prosecutors stating the firm wanted to "cut costs at the expense of safety".

It happened after one of the capacitors they were removing came into contact with a pair of live busbars, causing an electrical flashover that severely burned them on the face, neck and arms.

Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard Mr Brand and Mr Delargey both had to be admitted to intensive care units for four days.

Mr Delargey suffered 10 per cent full thickness burns and was off work for almost a year and has been left with permanent scarring to his neck and face.

Raytheon build laser-guidance systems for missiles at the factory.

A Health and Safety Executive probe found that the work should not have gone ahead with the distribution board live and that the job was "not reasonable".

They found there was "no urgency" for the capacitors to be replaeced as they had been switched off for some time - and that the only effect of delaying the work would have been increased energy bills and issues meeting Carbon Trust emissions standards.

The court was told that "cost cutting at the expense of safety" was an "aggravating factor" in the case and that the risks were "entirely foreseeable".

Raytheon and C&F Electrical Services pleaded guilty to two charges on indictment under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.

Source: http://www.heraldscotland.com