UPS DC-8 fire PHL Feb. 2006
http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/...606210499/1003
courier-journal.com > Business Wednesday, June 21, 2006 Batteries get scrutiny in UPS plane fire NTSB hearing scheduled for July By Wayne Tompkins [email protected] The Courier-Journal Shipments of potentially hazardous lithium batteries will be scrutinized at a hearing in Washington next month as part of the federal investigation into a fire aboard a UPS jet Feb. 8. The DC-8 caught fire in flight; the three-member crew landed it at Philadelphia International Airport and escaped with minor injuries. The fire severely damaged the aircraft and destroyed much of its cargo. The National Transportation Safety Board said its investigation has determined that lithium batteries and at least one flammable solvent were on the flight, but has not said publicly what role, if any, those materials played in the fire. The board's July 12-13 hearing will consider the safety issues surrounding the transportation of hazardous materials aboard cargo aircraft. "The public hearing will focus on an accident that occurred on a cargo plane that caught fire while carrying potentially dangerous goods," said Deborah Hersman, an NTSB member who will preside over the hearings. "We will . determine what needs to be done to protect the crew, the aircraft and the cargo on these types of flights." Representatives from the NTSB, Federal Aviation Administration, UPS, Boeing and the Independent Pilots Association will gather information from industry and government representatives on topics including airport rescue and firefighting response to the UPS flight. "We're working along with the NTSB and cooperating fully with the investigation . hopefully identifying the cause of the incident," UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said. The design, testing and recalls of lithium batteries; regulations concerning shipping lithium; and aircraft fire detection and suppression systems also will be discussed. The NTSB will use information from the hearing to prepare a final report on the incident, including safety recommendations. According to NTSB records, a company's improper packaging of lithium batteries was the "probable cause" of an Aug. 7, 2004, fire in a freight bin at FedEx's air hub in Memphis, Tenn. The bin had been raised on loading equipment and pushed halfway onto an airplane when loading personnel smelled smoke. When Memphis firefighters opened the bin, a fire broke out. Only the battery package in the bin had fire damage. The board cited "failure of unapproved packaging" that was inadequate to protect the batteries from short circuits during transport. Lithium batteries are commonly used in electronics equipment. Fires involving the combustible alkali metal are resistant to extinguishers using water, gas or certain dry chemicals. Transporting lithium metal aboard passenger aircraft is prohibited, but it may be shipped on cargo aircraft if each package weighs less than 15 kilograms, the NTSB said. Since January 1989, six other air-transportation incidents involving lithium batteries have been reported, the agency said. In one case, the batteries were damaged, but there was no evidence of fire or charring. In the other five incidents, there was some evidence that the batteries had caused fire or charring of the packaging. Reporter Wayne Tompkins can be reached at (502) 582-4232. |
Those pilots should have bought some lottery tickets that day....
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My understanding is that all modern computer notebooks contain Lithium batteries these days.
Look how many get shipped out in one aeroplane by companies such as DELL and Gateway....I dont see any particular different packaging on those shipped laptops when they arrive - in most cases the batteries are even installed in the machine. Not to mention the number of laptop computer battery recalls due to fire risk by these computer companies. |
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