DG incidents and accidents

[james beckford]

HI all,

I am a DG instructor trying to put some training material together when I was asked a question, "how often does DG go wrong, why do I have to spend so long learning this c##p"

would really appreciate any feedback on how often everybody else out there has encountered a problem and a brief description. I am more interested in the little incidents that you have picked up and rectified, not the ones that blew a plane out of the sky.

All anonymous, I am just trying to put a general trends list together to focus my students minds.

Thanks in advance

[TOWTEAMBASE]

Maybe it's BECAUSE we sit this crap that it DOESNT go wrong very often.

[james beckford]

Hi Tow team,
I know that and so do you, I am just trying to prove to students how important it is.

My own example was a wet cell battery in a box 3 times to big for it with no means of securing the battery inside, contrary to the rules I opened the box as I wasnt happy and discovered the battery had rolled on its side and was starting to leak.

It had passed acceptance checks as by the rules it was okay.

we all know that those of us who take our jobs seriously find these things all the time but they never get reported outside the company so no one else learns frm others mistakes.

I dont think its c~~p I was quoting a traffic team member who quite obviously didnt want to be on the course

[TOWTEAMBASE]

Was it a sealed box made for wet cell batteries, or just any old box. I know what you mean though, I've met their type many a time before

[james beckford]

Hi towteam,

no just a generic 4G box, no inner bag, just a load of polystyrene chips,
battery not secured, no orientation labels.

its the sort of thing that never ends up on the caa list of incidents cos no one got hurt but its the sort of incident im looking for more details off.

as they say learn from your own mistakes but far better to learn from someone elses

[stallspeed]

Isn't limited to aircargo, but - despite some of the more 'scare-me' filters available - fairly interesting :

Global Incident Map Displaying Terrorist Acts, Suspicious Activity, and General Terrorism News (http://hazmat.globalincidentmap.com/home.php)

Taking into account the sheer numbers and quantities of HazMat that gets moved around the globe every day, the numbers of reported incidents seems comparatively low - maybe because everybody involved in it is made to sit down and learn about this c**p....

Fair guess is when you ask the FAA they'll gladly provide you with stats and data...

[james beckford]

hi stall speed,

Thanks for that will have a look,

I agree to a certain extent that the number of incidents is low compared to the amount of stuff being moved around, but, in my experience the number of reported incidents is too low which is why I asked the question of the forum.

I suspect that a lot of things never get reported because they werent serious enough to waste time doing the paperwork or its come from an important client, or, as happened in the incident i quoted, someone in my workplace had already accepted it and people dont want to report and drop a colleague in the clag.

I also suspect that most incidents are picked up by people who have bothered to learn all thr c##p but are initiated by the people like my student who thinks its all just a waste of his time. its just a shame there isnt an option to fail people in training on their attitude.

[SloppyJoe]

I dont think its c~~p I was quoting a traffic team member who quite obviously didnt want to be on the course

Please fail him if he does not want to know about DG cargo on aircraft. A couple of times a month I am with 300 people over the ocean, 2 hours away from an open airport with lots of batteries and other items I personally think should not be there with us. If the guy in charge of loading it does not think any of the regulations matter it would be an even more worrying place to be. Please just simply fail him, it is not worth your time and effort or the danger he may place other people in throughout his career.

[Laarbruch72]

Personal mobility scooters are a hit topic at the moment, do you already have details of the one offloaded at Heathrow on fire? There's been many similar ones in my own airline although not as serious.

[opsmarco]

Maybe I'm unlucky, but in 10 years working in the ramp, I've had 3 DG incidents on my flights (the largest number of occurrences in my former company), and seen 2 more on other flights. Mine were, in two cases, cargo related, and one with pax luggage. Fire brigade, pax disembarked, but nothing serious in the end. One of my colleagues had one with flamable liquid as cargo, lots of smoke in the hold, but the fire brigade did their job and everything ended well.

DG courses are c$$p for one particular reason : almost every airline has its own DG course, and when you assist dozens, you spend far too much time in classrooms being taugh the same things over and over again... Particularly when those airlines teach you how to deal with DG occurrences using their main hub rules and regulations, when at your station, things are dealt with differently.

What would be nice would be a single course that certifies you for every company, but I don't see that happen soon.