Dangerous goods your help

[chips101]

I will be training "Dangerous goods awareness" to ground staff. Could I have examples from flight deck/cabin crew where dangerous goods gave you a problem? Your input would be much appreciated.

[TurningFinals]

Anything to make DGR less boring!:ok:

[chips101]

I know!!!!! this is why I need help.

[411A]

A few years ago, the company wanted to place a flask of mercury on my pax airplane, in the aft compartment.
I suggested otherwise...they then thought about it more...and removed same.
Restricted articles/dangerous goods are serious business....I wish you well.

[Capetonian]

To my amazement, I saw someone boarding a flight at Luton with a fluorescent tube, about 1.5 metres long, in its cardboard packing, and with no other protection. It was a few years ago, possibly before 9/11, but even so this seems an extraordinary item to allow on board, given the potential for harm if it were broken accidentally.

[Captain Stravaigin]

I was told a story by a friend of mine who flew Caravans in the Caribbean for Fedex. He never bothered too much about checking the load list until one day he was flying and his eyes started to water.

As it got worse he could hardly see. In order to help his streaming eyes he opened the window (contrary to company regs).

It got worse and worse and as he came into land he could only open his eyes very briefly to glimpse at the runway b4 the pain made him close them again. He landed safely but was very shaken.

The cause - Pepper corns in hessian sacks. The vibrations of the plane rubbed the pepper against the hessian and produced a fine dust of pepper !!

He always double checks the load list now.

[BOAC]

chips - buried deep in the archives on Pprune are some threads on this - I recall some fireworks (or it may have been dodgy lighters?) coming in from a Spanish destination once.

[Flintstone]

What type of operation are you dealing with chips? If you're anywhere near private charter/bizjets I've a few examples for you.

[chips101]

Flinstone it's airline handling but any examples that make people think would be good. Thanks for replys so far keep them coming.

[Big Bad D]

There have been a few interesting cases when flight crew have felt unwell and donned oxygen which have been attributed to high levels of CO2 from excessive dry ice used to pack fresh food produce (particularly freight, but also some suspected cases of passenger meals stored in galleys). Dry ice is on the list of dangerous goods, but in these cases it was not the goods that were at fault but the "storage packaging".

[Flintstone]

chips.


The bizjet/GA arena is perhaps more prone to DG mishaps for several reasons although it's not always deliberate.

The passengers don't get the montone grilling at check-in because often there is no check-in, under certain circumstances baggage need not be x-rayed and they're often not even aware what's been packed for them anyway. Then again there are some who just think the rules don't apply because they either own or have chartered the aircraft. That said there are times where you can turn a blind eye in the interest of common sense like allowing aboriginal passengers in the Northern Territory to bring on their fishing spears or people off on their summer holidays nailclippers. Imagine that at a major airport :rolleyes:

Luckily I've had no real incidents, just managed (with previous employers) to avoid a few. Let's see now.

The family heading home from Scotland who didn't realise their butler had thrown in two pouches full of shotgun cartridges. As it happened they were less than the permissable quantity but there were no guns with them (always a good hint as to what to be on the lookout for) and had I not recognised the shape of the pouches we'd have been none the wiser.

Next up was the gentleman flying from Germany down to his yacht in the Mediterranean. He was planning to do some maintenance and had with him half a dozen tins of some liquid clearly marked with big, red hazardous stickers. I pointed them out, explained they couldn't go aboard and he took it well placing them on the back seat of his car. You have to wonder then why five minutes later when putting things into a holdall in the boot he thought it would be alright to reach over onto the back seat and pick up the very tins he'd just been told weren't allowed. When I told him (again) they couldn't come aboard he acted surprised (again) and put them away.

Russian passengers going to Moscow with a bagful of fireworks. "Niet tovarisch" was met with a shrug and a grin, he knew damn well they weren't allowed. He said there were no more so we 'suddenly' found out that security wanted to run a spot check and examine their bags. One pile of fireworks later we were on our way.

A well known musical celebrity accompanied by the full entourage of flunkies, @rse-kissers and make-up girls. The latter had so many aerosols with them they could have poked their own hole in the ozone layer and it got interesting when, in flight, they broke out the previously hidden nail varnish remover (acetone) and began using the hairspray with gay abandon. The fumes inside a small cabin were almost debilitating (until we made them stop) and I smelled like a tart's boudoir until I managed to shower.

[BOAC]

Many years ago I picked up a large drill bit in an Aztec at Aberdeen to fly to the Isle of Skye. Much fiddling to get it on - it was both large and heavy, needed spreaders and involved propping the tail to stop it tipping.

Fortunately I had planned a visual transit through the valleys, map in hand, 'cos when I looked at my compass.......................

Nobody told me or the handling agent that drill bits were highly magnetic, and of course it was not sitting far from the compass detector. I learnt about flying from that, as they say. I still get 'pulled' into metal doors:)

[411A]

I still get 'pulled' into metal doors

Perhaps, that is due to your 'magnetic' personality...:rolleyes:

[JW411]

I always thought that you two were poles apart!

[BOAC]

............come to think of it, just to be pulled would be good.........:)

chips - not a personal experience, but there is an issue with Lithium batteries in the headlines at the moment - I assume you are aware of it?

[chips101]

BOAC Thankyou. Lithium batterys are a problem no doubt. It's a minefield of problems regarding restricted articles/dangerous goods! Any pet hates from crew?

[Da Do Ron Ron]

Check out the IATA website, the DG section has training materials for Awareness & full DG training plus DG accredited training schools

[no sig]

The one that sticks in my mind was the ground hold fire we had on the turnaround of a B737 resulting from a chefs gas browning blow torch in a passengers bag being ignited. The piezo electric switch must have been pushed as the bag was stuffed in the hold and ignited the torch. But for the steely eye of one of the loaders who noticed a red glow as he closed the hold door, we would likely have had a much more serious incident.

[Piltdown Man]

Batteries of electric wheelchairs being un-isolated; Rotting meat, shellfish and other "food products" which produce such foul smells you can't go in a hold; Camping gas cylinders in PAX luggage; Magenetic components being loaded in the wrong compartment; Incorrect separations (oxydisers and inflamables in the same compartment; Bleach leaking from carry-on handbaggage (don't ask me). Oh, and WMD's in the form of yoghurts, soup and water.

PM

[deltahotel]

Freight pilot perspective. Properly declared DG is never a problem - DG staff know their stuff and the agents know it, so paperwork n packaging is good. The great danger is the undeclared stuff hidden (probably unwittingly by joe public) amongst the rest. Much the same as on pax ac - pax who don't/can't read/understand all that 'boring' stuff at check in.

[BOAC]

There was a BA story too about a petrol driven chainsaw which was brought on as handbaggage (thank you security...) and spotted by an alert c/crew...

[OzExpat]

I was once told, by a Haj charter pilot that there are some frightening things that have happened on those trips. Perhaps we have some former Haj pilots on the forum who can give you some examples.

[bcgallacher]

As a ground engineer working Hajj operations in northern Nigeria I can confirm that a common problem was passengers hand carrying small Chinese cooking stoves and about a litre of kerosene.They were not happy about leaving it behind and only the threat of being left behind themselves would induce them to give it up.
Not dangerous goods but many pilgrims from the northern city of Maiduguri carried buckets of honey to sell in Jeddah and in the usual rugby scrum the stuff ended up everywhere - I once counted 11 shoes stuck to the tarmac after A departure.
Everyone in aviation should try to do at least one Nigerian hajj operation - it is like nothing else and will leave you with enough stories to fill a book - some of which you wont believe yourself!

[TurningFinals]

Been in Jeddah during Haj as PAX, couldn't help but feel sorry for the staff!

Anyway, the most common ones in my day to day are;

Bicycle tyres not deflated
Batteries that haven't been disconnected from mobility scooters
Camping equipment - gas stoves etc

[42ongo]

chips 101
go to
DG Instructors (http://dginstructor.webexone.com/default.asp)
200 dg instructors from all around the world share material and hope we can make things safer
no prima donnas
and best of all no fee
all the best

[chips101]

42Ongo thankyou