Fed Ex B727 Crashs in Florida

[Koja]

Fedex plane crash in Florida

Friday July 26, 8:54 am Eastern Time
Reuters Company News
FedEx plane crash lands in Fla. 3 crew hurt

MIAMI, July 26 (Reuters) - The three crew members were injured when a FedEx (NYSE:FDX - News) cargo plane landed short of the runway at Tallahassee, Florida, on Friday, bursting into flames, a company spokesman said.

Greg Rossiter, a FedEx spokesman, said the Boeing 727-200 landed short of the runway on arrival from Memphis.

"The three-person crew is being treated at a local hospital for minor injuries," he said. "We're very thankful they managed to escape from the aircraft."

Rossiter added that the plane was destroyed by fire.

'I can't speculate about the cause," he said, adding that a FedEx safety team was on its way to Tallahassee.

Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx Corp., one of the top express package carriers in the world, delivers about 3 million packages a day.

[Shore Guy]

July 26, 2002

NTSB LAUNCHES TEAM TO INVESTIGATE CRASH
OF FEDEX PLANE IN TALLAHASSEE

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a
Go Team to investigate the crash of a FedEx cargo plane in Tallahassee this
morning.

At approximately 5:45 a.m. today, a FedEx Boeing 727 (N497FE)
crashed on approach to the Tallahassee, Florida airport. It was completing
a flight from Memphis, Tennessee. There was a post-crash fire. The three
crewmembers aboard survived the crash but were injured.

Senior NTSB investigator Richard Rodriguez will lead the team as
Investigator-in-Charge. He is accompanied by 8 other NTSB investigators.
Parties to the investigation will be designated later today. Ted
Lopatkiewicz will be the press officer on scene.

Contact information for the team will be released when available.

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KTLH Local + 4 = GMT

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[crash gang]

A Fed Express Boeing 727 has crashed half mile short of the runway in Tallahassee Florida, the aircraft has burnt out, the 3 crew on board have escaped without serious injury ( thank God )

[ORAC]

AP: JULY 26, 10:13 ET
FedEx Cargo Jet Crashes in Florida

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A FedEx Boeing 727 cargo jet crashed and burned short of the runway Friday at Tallahassee Airport. The three-member crew escaped serious injury, officials said.

The three-engine jet, FedEx Fight 1478 from Memphis, Tenn., landed a half mile short of the runway at 5:43 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman at regional offices in Atlanta.

It wasn't immediately know why it didn't reach the runway.

"We can't speculate on the cause,'' said Jess Bunn, the FedEx spokesman at company headquarters in Memphis. "The National Transportation Safety Board and FedEx's own safety team will be investigating.''

Brooke Wilson, spokeswoman at Tallahassee Memorial Health Care hospital, said the three were in fair condition. They were being checked for broken bones; they did not suffer burns, she said.

A mass of metal could be seen on the runway about a half-mile from the terminal Friday morning. Television footage showed orange flames burning in the center of the wreckage at dawn.

David Pollard, the airport's operations superintendent, said the plane was under the control of air traffic controllers in Jacksonville at the time of the crash. The Tallahassee control tower does not begin normal operations until 6 a.m., he said.

Pollard said there was fog in the area at the time of the crash but he had no indication that the weather played a factor.

Officials with the city of Tallahassee, which owns the airport, said it would remain closed until the wreckage is cleared, possibly by Friday afternoon. At least 15 flights were expected to be affected. The airport is served by Delta Air Lines, US Airways, AirTran Airways and Northwest Airlines.

[Airbubba]

Here's a CNN page with a photo, it looks like the plane is burning on or near the airport property.

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/07/26/fed....ap/index.html

FedEx has had a rash of accidents and incidents in recent years including some hull losses. Fortunately, there have been no fatalities or serious injuries.

[MidnightSpecial]

FedEx 727

Flying the back side of the clock has to be a factor in this. Some people adapt better to a disrupted sleep cycle than others. My sympathies to the crew.

[Orca strait]

David Pollard, the airport's operations superintendent, said the plane was under the control of air traffic controllers in Jacksonville at the time of the crash.

So whom do you suppose the general public perceives as flying the aircraft?

[xaf2fe]

Here's the local paper with a photo.


http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/3740826.htm

[Airbubba]

>>"Our pilots must undergo recurrent training every six months, which is over and above what the FAA requires," Bunn said. <<

Well, actually, I think FedEx's authorization to do annual single visit training (SVT) was withdrawn by mutual consent after the earlier string of accidents. Good spin control though...

_________________________________________________

Crew of 3 survives crash of FedEx jet

Associated Press

July 27, 2002


TALLAHASSEE -- A FedEx Boeing 727 cargo jet crashed and burned short of the runway Friday at Tallahassee Regional Airport. The three crew members escaped with minor injuries, the company said.

They were taken to a local hospital and were reported to be in fair condition.

"They are in remarkably good shape," said Bill Behenna, a spokesman for the city, which owns the airport.

The three-engine jet, FedEx Flight 1478 from Memphis, landed a half-mile short of the runway at 5:43 a.m., said Kathleen Bergen, an FAA spokeswoman at regional offices in Atlanta.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators were on the scene.

"We can't speculate on the cause," said Jess Bunn, the FedEx spokesman at company headquarters in Memphis, Tenn.

Brooke Wilson, spokeswoman at Tallahassee Memorial Health Care, said the crew members were in fair condition. They were being checked for broken bones; they did not suffer burns, she said.

The company identified the crew as Capt. William Walsh, a veteran pilot who has flown with the cargo firm since 1992, First Officer William Frye and Second Officer David Mendez. Frye has been with FedEx since 1997, and Mendez joined the company in 2001. It wasn't clear whether Walsh was piloting the plane at the time of the crash.

"Our pilots must undergo recurrent training every six months, which is over and above what the FAA requires," Bunn said.

Wilson said the crew was declining to talk to reporters about how they got out of the plane.

The crash caused havoc with state politics, delaying qualifying paperwork from at least eight legislative candidates.

A mass of metal could be seen about a half-mile from the terminal several hours after the crash. Television footage showed orange flames burning in the center of the wreckage at dawn.

The airport was closed for about five hours, reopening at 10:35 a.m.

The plane was being monitored by regional air traffic controllers in Jacksonville when it crashed, said David Pollard, operations superintendent for the airport. The local control tower does not begin normal operations until 6 a.m.

There was fog in the area at the time of the crash, but there was no indication that weather was a factor, Pollard said.

The crash was the first for the cargo company since 1999, when one of the its MD-11s slid off the runway into the ocean upon landing at a FedEx hub in the Philippines, said company spokeswoman Sally Davenport. That crash is still under investigation.

FedEx has a fleet of 647 aircraft operating around the world, including 95 727s.

[TowerDog]

Wow, 647 aircraft flying around the world???

Does that include the fleet of Cessna Caravans operated by contractors?

[hobie]

fleet info etc .........

its all here at this web link ....

http://www.fedex.com/us/about/express/facts.html?link=4

[Ignition Override]

Tower Dog. You exposed the truth. Those Caravan pilots earn a bit more than minimum wage, but the Mountain Air Cargo F-27 FOs' gross pay was probably no more, unless you include per diem (as corporations often do), last time I read about salaries in FAPA/Air Inc years ago.

They are not on the FEDEX seniority list.

I sure was glad to read that the 727 pilots were ok. Were they by chance on a non-precision approach, which can be hazardous?

[Lartington]

Sorry to hear about the crash. I hope the crew are ok. Just as a query, how do Fedex handle the multitude of insurance claims for the cargo and many legal documents on board the aircraft. I sent some very important legal documents by Fedex that were routed
to Tallahasee via Memphis the day before the crash. I would think it would be a nightmare sorting out the various claims.

[Airbubba]

>>Just as a query, how do Fedex handle the multitude of insurance claims for the cargo and many legal documents on board the aircraft. I sent some very important legal documents by Fedex that were routed to Tallahasee via Memphis the day before the crash. I would think it would be a nightmare sorting out the various claims.<<

From FedEx's Terms and Conditions which you probably signed off on with the airbill when you sent the documents:

"The Warsaw Convention limits our liability for loss or delay of or damage to your shipment, unless you declare a higher value for carriage and pay the required fee as described below. The interpretation of the Warsaw Convention's liability limits may vary depending on the destination country. If the Warsaw Convention as amended by Montreal Protocol No. 4 applies to your shipment, FedEx's liability is limited to 17 Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) per kilo, unless you declare a higher value for carriage and pay the required fee. Otherwise, FedEx's liability is limited to US$9.07 per pound ($20.38 per kilo) unless you declare a higher value for carriage and pay the required fee. "

See:
http://www.fedex.com/us/services/ter...tlexpress.html

[Shore Guy]

Note: There is no "standard" instrument approach to runway 9 (there may be a GPS, but they are not included in my subscription). There is a CAT II ILS to runway 27. Runway is 8000', with VASI both 9 -27. Accident occured approximately 15 minutes before published sunrise.

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RMK AO2 SLP200 VIS SW-NW 1/2 CB DSNT SE CB DSNT SW FU SCT015
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KTLH 260953Z 00000KT 8SM FEW001 SCT150 SCT250 22/22 A3011 RMK AO2
SLP195 T02220217=
KTLH 260853Z 12005KT 9SM FEW001 SCT180 SCT250 22/22 A3010 RMK AO2
SLP192 T02220217 55003=

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FedEx crash inquiry goes on
NTSB says engines worked normally
By Rachel Sams
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

Investigators worked under gathering clouds Saturday afternoon at Tallahassee Regional Airport, examining the singed remains of the
FedEx plane that crashed there early Friday morning.

Richard Rodriguez, senior investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, outlined the flight's last moments at the
crash site Saturday. The three-man flight crew survived the crash.

The crew made a visual approach to Runway 9 - the airport's east-west runway - from the west, Rodriguez said. The plane clipped
trees on its way down and skidded to a halt about 1,000 feet from the end of the runway. Tree limbs and hunks of metal of all sizes
marked the path of the plane across the charred grass. The aircraft turned about 180 degrees between the first impact and its final
stop, Rodriguez said.

The first impact mark was on a tree, about 70 feet high and 3,100 feet from the end of the runway, Rodriguez said. The plane first
hit the ground about 2,100 feet from the runway, he said. The first piece of wreckage - a small piece of the leading edge flap - is
about 200 feet from the first tree strike.
The plane's three engines appear to have been operating normally, he said. The aircraft's landing gear was down, meaning it was in
place to land.

An update on the crew wasn't available Saturday. The three men - identified by FedEx as Capt. William Walsh, first officer William
Frye and second officer David Mendez - were listed in fair condition at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital on Friday evening. Hospital
officials Saturday referred all questions about the three men to FedEx, where media officials couldn't be reached for comment.

Rodriguez said Saturday night that the NTSB had begun interviewing the flight crew but would not report on the crew interviews until
the agency had finished interviewing all three members. The agency plans to begin removing cargo from the plane today, he said.

The crew has been tested for drugs and alcohol, and toxicology screenings will be run, Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said the crew's ability to escape was likely because they were conscious and had been trained on how to get out of a plane
in an emergency.
"There was not any significant damage that would necessarily create significant trauma to the crew" in the cockpit area that the men
occupied, he said.

Extensive fire

The NTSB has interviewed four FedEx ground employees in Tallahassee who witnessed all or part of the aircraft's approach, Rodriguez
said. The employees observed the crew members outside the aircraft, he said. One of the crew members gave documents of the hazardous
materials that were on board to firefighters, and when that took place, they withdrew from their attack on the fire, he said.

The first word of the crash came in a phone call to the Tallahassee Fire Department at 5:39 a.m. Friday saying that a plane had
crashed, according to Division Chief Steve Anderson. Firefighters were on the scene at 5:42 a.m., he said.

Firefighters used 1,600 gallons of foam and 48,000 gallons of water in fighting the fire, Rodriguez said. "That is a lot of
material," he said.

The NTSB takes the lead in investigating plane crashes - unless any indication of criminal activity surfaces. In such cases the FBI,
which also plays a role in investigating plane crashes, takes responsibility for the investigation. The NTSB does not determine the
probable cause of an crash at the scene; it only gathers facts, assisted by other parties.

Plane's pieces inspected

The question of what caused the crash will be addressed in a report by the agency, which Rodriguez said could be nine to 18 months
away. NTSB investigators expect to be at the site gathering evidence for four days to a week.

Fifteen to 20 people, including members of the FBI's evidence team, worked at the site Saturday identifying pieces of the plane. The
pieces were marked with numbered orange flags as they were found. "I think I got part of the landing gear," one of the workers
called out Saturday afternoon.

The full contents of the plane weren't yet known, but hazardous materials were among the plane's cargo, Rodriguez said. The plane
was carrying 60 pounds of detonating cords, 900 pounds of corrosive materials such as automobile batteries and a small amount of
radioactive medical supplies. Rodriguez said the dosage of radiation was not enough to be dangerous to investigators.

The plane's voice and data recorders were retrieved Friday "in excellent condition" and sent to Washington, D.C., for analysis,
Rodriguez said. Investigators will begin readouts of the contents Monday, he said.

The air traffic control tower in Tallahassee was not operating at that hour, so the plane was communicating with the Jacksonville
tower. The plane's last known radio communication was an acknowledgement of clearance from the Jacksonville tower to approach the
runway, Rodriguez said. The plane's crew acknowledged that the airport was in sight from about 20 miles out, he said.

The last time a FedEx plane was destroyed in a crash was in 1997, when an MD-11 crashed in Newark, N.J., officials said. There were
no fatalities in that crash, either; the five people on board received minor injuries.

The NTSB determined that pilot error was the cause of the Newark crash. The plane experienced a hard landing, bounced and the right
main landing gear collapsed on the second touchdown, according to the agency. A fire broke out after the plane came to a stop,
destroying the plane. The agency said the captain's desire to touch down early to ensure adequate stopping distance contributed to
the accident.

[Airbubba]

>>The last time a FedEx plane was destroyed in a crash was in 1997, when an MD-11 crashed in Newark, N.J., officials said. <<

Several news stories have picked up this erroneous statement. In fact, N581FE, an MD-11 was destroyed in a runway overrun at Subic on October 17, 1999.

A pretty convincing picture of N581FE's hull loss may be found here:

http://www.baaa-acro.com/photos/MD11-FedEx-Olongapo.jpg

[Traffic]

Interested to see the crew's roster for the previous week.

Had all three been flying the same fixed roster?

How much of it was on the dusk till dawn patrol?

[MidnightSpecial]

FedEx 727

Here's why it's good to be in Alpa. Comair pilots, our Alpa brethren, kept guard at the hospital room doors for the FedEx pilots and kept out the press and other unwanted people. They also kept the Feds away until representation could arrive.

God Bless Alpa.

[Shore Guy]

Some obvious errors in this piece, but here is the latest from the Tallahassee newspaper.....

Posted on Wed, Jul. 31, 2002



First officer was at controls
NTSB says no evidence of fire damage before crash
By Rachel Sams
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER

The National Transportation Safety Board knows who was flying the FedEx plane that crashed at Tallahassee Regional Airport last week. But it hasn't talked to him.

First officer William Frye was flying the plane, senior air-safety investigator Richard Rodriguez of the NTSB said Tuesday.

All three crew members survived the Boeing 727's crash. Frye has asked that Tallahassee Memorial Hospital release no information on his condition, hospital officials said. But the NTSB has not yet interviewed Frye, saying he is "medically unavailable" for interviews.

"It's not uncommon for the first officer to be involved in landing planes," said FedEx spokesman Jim McCluskey on Tuesday. "They are fully trained just like captains are."

Frye was hired by FedEx in 1997, McCluskey said. Frye has 1,982 flight hours with FedEx, all in the 727.

In order to be hired for FedEx, all pilots must have 1,500 flight hours, with 1,000 of those as pilot in command. Pilots also undergo two months of intensive ground and flight training, and undergo recurrent training every six months, the company said.

Capt. William Walsh, who was in fair condition at TMH on Tuesday, has been with FedEx since 1992. Walsh has 3,891 flight hours with the company, and 2,751 of those are in a 727, the company said.

Second officer David Mendez, who has been discharged from the hospital, has been with FedEx since September 2001. He has 345 flight hours with FedEx, all in a 727, according to the company.

FedEx has declined media requests to interview the crew members, citing the ongoing investigation.

Flight 1478, a Boeing 727-232, was en route to Tallahassee from FedEx's Memphis hub. The plane crashed about 5:45 a.m. Friday, shutting down the airport for several hours. Fire damaged much of the airplane and its cargo.

"There was no evidence of fire damage prior to impact," the NTSB's Rodriguez said Tuesday.

There had been some reports of fog that morning, but Rodriguez said several people the agency has interviewed who were on the ground at the airport said there was no fog in the area. A weather observer at the airport reported some light mist in the wooded area to the west of the airport, but not on the flight path, Rodriguez said. Weather conditions were a few scattered clouds at 100 feet, he said.

The NTSB has talked to four FedEx employees in Tallahassee who were on the ground and saw all or part of the aircraft's approach. The agency has also interviewed a few people who were at the airport's air traffic control tower. The crash happened about 15 minutes before the tower begins operations at 6 a.m. The aircraft's crew was in touch with air traffic controllers in Jacksonville, agency officials said.

The airplane was built in 1974, according to Federal Aviation Administration records. FedEx acquired it in 1990, company officials said. The plane had no prior accidents, according to the FAA.

The aircraft last had a routine maintenance check April 23, FedEx officials said. The check, done every 180 days, includes a visual inspection and checking of aircraft systems. A more extensive maintenance check, done every 910 days, last took place in May 2000, officials said.

The 727 "has been a very reliable, safe aircraft for us," said FedEx spokeswoman Sally Davenport. "The safety and airworthiness of our fleet is of the utmost importance to us. We make sure our fleet meets or exceeds the standards set by the FAA."

An 'outstanding safety record'

The 727 "is a very fast plane, so it's well-suited to FedEx," said David Esser, professor and associate chair of the aeronautical science department at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. The model was known as the workhorse of the aviation industry in the 1960s, he said.

"Considering the number of years it's been in service, I think it has a pretty outstanding safety record," Esser said of the 727. Many air carriers are phasing out the 727 because the plane requires a three-person flight crew and has three engines, which makes it more expensive for an airline to operate and maintain, he said.

The last time a FedEx plane was destroyed in a crash was in 1997, when an MD-11 crashed in Newark, N.J., company officials said. The five people on board received minor injuries.

The NTSB determined pilot error was the cause of the Newark crash. The plane experienced a hard landing, bounced and the right main landing gear collapsed on the second touchdown, according to the agency. A fire broke out after the plane came to a stop, destroying the plane. The agency said the captain's desire to touch down early to ensure adequate stopping distance contributed to the accident.

A FedEx MD-11 airplane also crashed in 1999 at Subic Bay in the Philippines, but the plane was not destroyed, company officials said. That plane apparently overshot the runway. The crash is still under investigation by the NTSB.

[lomapaseo]

> A FedEx MD-11 airplane also crashed in 1999 at Subic Bay in the Philippines, but the plane was not destroyed, company officials said. That plane apparently overshot the runway. The crash is still under investigation by the NTSB.
<

I could have sworn that it looked just like an A310 stuck against that chain-link fence. I must have missed that engine in the tail