Remember the Maine!

It’s really hard to tell what happened. It seems people are jumping on the bandwagon trying to take credit for killing him. Some if not all are interested in fame in fortune. I find it very hard to believe the British resorting to the unwarranted sinking of a war ship on a diplomatic mission, as it would cause a backlash.

Though I am a very skeptical of the claims, they are plausible.

In a 1990 interview Joseph Zwerkin, an ex-member of Soviet Naval intelligence who had moved to Israel after the fall of the Soviet Union, claimed that Soviets had noticed Crabb in the water and that a Soviet sniper had shot him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Crabb

We “US citizens” still are not totally sure what sank the USS Maine (ACR-1). At the time it was pretty much assumed (taken for granite) that it was sunk by a mine or sabotage. Most of the current evidence seems to suggest it was sunk by a mine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Maine_%28ACR-1%29

Magic Comet Ride:dev2:
Hale-BoppParady. WAV :diablo:
😉
http://psychozone.net/psycho_tunes/parody5/Magic%20Comet%20Ride.wav

FOD = Foreign Object Damage (aka Foreign Object Debris)

Cockpit (and access panel) FOD should be taken seriously by pilots, crews, mantaince people and GA passengers. Proper cockpit management should include keeping the cockpit clean and free of loose debris that can become obstructions, projectiles, and bind controls or (short or open electrical instruments or controls)

This was a rather pointed response I gave someone that said I should not criticize the FOD in the thunderbird video. I suspect the video was edited to be a safety awareness video about cockpit FOD. I was told I was out of line for mentioning the safety issues and criticizing the cockpit management. I think it shows even the best sometimes screw up.

Potential FOD (foreign Object damage) Perhaps you’ve never heard of an instrument or a flight control failure due to debris in the cockpit. I guess you didn’t notice all the separate instances of debris loose in the cockpit? Perhaps you haven’t heard of someone wrecking their car or an aircraft because some debris like a coffee mug lodged under the brake or the rudder. Perhaps you haven’t heard of drivers or pilots wreck their aircraft because debris floating around the cockpit blocked their field of view.

I think they all appear to be innocent mistakes/oversights (that anyone can do), so I am not angry. However like I said it is a good example of what not to do, it would make a good safety training film. I think these films should be used for safety awareness to prevent mishaps, I suspect that they already are. I suspect this footage was made public for safety awareness.

Perhaps you don’t realize the significance of the loose debris not is it jeopardizing the aircraft and the pilot, add at least one point they are formation flying, so it could easily resulted in a midair. Any of that debris could’ve possibly resulted in loss of life and a great expense to the taxpayer.

All debris (including the pilot) should be securely stowed, particularly during aerobatics.

If you get in a crash, that wrench or toolkit or lunch the you have improperly stowed can become a lethal projectile.

The problem with crashes from FOD is if the crash is fatal there is often no way of determining what caused the crash, because the FOD often breaks loose on impact, unless it is caught on camera there is usually no evidence of it.

So the casually rates from FOD are probably much higher than documented. Sometimes the findings are somewhat ambiguous like instrument or control failure, however sometimes instrument or control failure is a result of loose debris, or from spills that have later compromised instruments or controls.

Perhaps if you ever have the bad experience of losing a friend or a crew member that you consider a friend or at least part of the team, to some safety oversight, perhaps then you’ll understand. I have known several people (including two family members), that have died in aviation mishaps, due to some minor oversight.

Thunderbird cockpit potential FOD

Scary and funny. Good demo of what not to do.

Things should be properly stowed.

I can’t vouch for the story but I heard one person claim this A-7 crash was from a FOD flashlight. @ 2m 6sec in this video, allegedly a flashlight lodged in the throttle linkage of an A-7 after being trapped on the wire on a carrier landing, which allegedly jammed the throttle at full. The pilot ejected and the aircraft was lost overboard.

Aircraft Mishap Montage 2

Here is a story about a Harrier crash because of a FOD flashlight.

Capt. Richard F. Davis died in 1975 when his AV-8A rolled on its side and crashed as he attempted a vertical takeoff.

Investigators discovered that a maintenance worker had left a flashlight in the engine bay, the equivalent of stitching up a patient with a scalpel still inside. The flashlight created “a severe loose article hazard condition” that could have caused the accident, the investigation report said.

Annie Davis Kennedy, the pilot’s widow, did not know about the flashlight until The Times contacted her last summer. She had been told only that there was a fire.

“After all these years, to think it might have been human error,” she said. “It rips me apart.”

Source: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2003/national-reporting/works/national2.html

I saw a video of a guy in an F-14 with a can of pop and eating a hamburger in a careless and reckless manor. I warned people that I though it was a little careless to handle the pop that way. That the pop could spill on the instruments or controls and cause electrical shorts, electrical opens, and mechanical sticking; that could cause fires or crashes. They said I was nuts. Well I might be a little nuts, but I am right.

I am not against eating or drinking while flying, but it should be done carefully and with regard for safety.

The threat is not only to the electrical system, it could be a threat mechanically.

If you’re not convinced what kind of damage a soda pop can do; if you have an old tape player hold the open the tape door and spray in a little pop. Then after giving it a chance to sit out in the sun and heat for a month, try putting in a tape and playing it. I suspect your tape player and tape will be destroyed. Now let’s say that instead of the pop spraying the clutches and linkages inside a tape player, let’s say it is the linkage for your throttle, flight controls or landing gear (or ejection system on a military fighter)?

Note:
In my opinion, it is extremely immature and stupid; the video seems to suggest and approve of drinking alcohol (or and smoking pot) and flying. Just what we need to do; attract more immature gangsters, hoodlums, alcoholics and drug addicts in the aircraft industry.

May 7, 2007 A spilt cup of coffee may have caused last Thursday’s emergency landing at Ohakea Air Base which disrupted the travel plans of 122 passengers.

Two investigations are probing the cause of the electrical fault that grounded the 737 but Air New Zealand has revealed that coffee was spilt over a control panel earlier in the day.

Air New Zealand has said a “minor electrical fault” was the “likely cause” of the late night drama when fumes filled the cockpit of the aircraft and forced an emergency landing.

But one passenger is demanding answers after being told that coffee was spilt on switches in the flight deck. North Shore MP Wayne Mapp says several people were anxious and it’s a significant thing to be diverted.

“Air New Zealand needs to tell the public what went wrong, what they’re going to do to fix it,” says Mapp who was one of several politicians travelling on flight 476 from Wellington to Auckland.

The pilot left passengers in no doubt about the danger.

“People were quite concerned on board, he made it clear that it was a dangerous situation,” says Labour’s Te Atatu MP Chris Carter.

Engineers have found evidence of electrical arcing in the cockpit door locking switch but an internal memo obtained by ONE News says: “We do know that coffee was spilt over this area earlier in the day.” It goes on to say: “It is possible that unseen fluid contamination caused the arcing.”

Air New Zealand won’t discuss the coffee incident because official investigations are under way. But the airline says there was no need to remove the plane from service because engineers had replaced all the parts they believed were affected.

But Mapp says the company needs to be open to the public on the incident.

The airline says there was no lapse in safety procedures, but the internal memo asks flight crew “to be extra vigilant when passing drinks between crew members”. And they have also been reminded that fluids must never be passed over the control pedestal.

Source
tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411424/1106177

I think the reason there has been no real war between the United States and Canada, is we haven’t been able to find translators.;) :diablo: :dev2: :p

I thought this was a mild example of what can happen if you use the reversers at low airspeed.

Why are Irish, anti-British Army songs all sung in English and not Irish?

You think maybe it has something to do with the fact that only a bout 40% of the people in Ireland are fluent with the Celtic language?

By no means am I endorsing revolution, violence or terrorism.

A song that I like that is similar though I don’t think it is Irish. (it seems to have some hints of Irish and Soviet revolution) 😉 This was a jokingly violent song that we used to harmonize as our school superintendent used to walk by. Behavior that would probably get you thrown in jail today.

It’s Sister Ginny’s Turn To Throw The Bomb,
By the Glencoves

lyrics
http://p202.ezboard.com/Song-of-the-Day-82004/fdrunkardswalkforumsfrm13.showMessage?topicID=84.topic

It’s a transatlantic difference I guess.

Over here confining a cat, a free spirited, semi-wild animal in a house is seen by most normal people as incredibly cruel.

The law concurs – nobody is liable for the actions of the cat that owns them, unlike dogs, where the liability is strict.

The car is the major predator of the cat, but locking-up the unfortunate thing for a wholly unnatural life sentence confined in a house or flat is a pretty poor solution.

Moggy

Over here it is insane, there seems to be little consistency or reason. There seems to be very wide variation from region to region and interpretation by police, lawyers and judges.

In most places I think cats are allowed to roam free, however I think there are many places (if not all) there is some liability involved. Some places are so strict that they require leashes for cats.
http://www.hcnonline.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=13166214&BRD=1574&PAG=461&dept_id=532215&rfi=6

I love many of the ideas that this country was founded on, however some of the perversions confound me, make me angry and sad.

A woman can spill hot coffee on her lap and successfully sue McDonald’s.

A soldier that received a shrapnel brain injury from an IED in Iraq that has given him permanent brain damage and disability, yet they refused to give him full disability because they claim his disability was a pre-existing condition. I guess they are trying to use something like a ADD or dyslexia as a scapegoat for giving him full benefits. I feel if he was capable of enough to do his job as a soldier, he should get full benefits as a soldier.

A person with a broken back can be denied pain medication. A person bleeding to death on the floor is accused of just wanting narcotics so the person bleeds to death becuase they are deneid treatment. Yet celebrities are frequently dispensed dosages and frequencies that exceed any legitimate usage, for no apparent legitimate reason.

I love my country, but in some ways it is so screwed up it is pitiful. The political correctness and hypocrisy is absolutely insane.

In the cold light of day we are asking is this bill fair or reasonable? especially as the cost was not agreed before being undertaken. What is a fair price for two cat surgery sessions ( under general anasthetic) and an x-ray??

It’s probably more than I would pay, however you didn’t have much choice since made the choice to let your cat run loose.

Is the charge reasonable? I think so, compared to what it cost for human surgery it is a bargain. As near as I can tell the charge is comparable to other vet bills.

Would I spend that much money on a cat? I doubt it, however you really don’t have a choice since you let it run loose. I’m not sure what the laws are where you’re at, but here if you let an animal run loose you can be held liable for any damage it does to anyone else or itself. Actually you have gotten off quite cheap compared to many people in your position. If the lady that apparently hit your cat; instead swerved and had an accident and damage her car, was injured or and killed, then you could be facing much larger financial responsibility and possibly even criminal charges.

Is it worth it, that is strictly a matter of opinion. If you think it is worth letting a cat run loose, to risk the liability. Either way it was your choice to let the cat run loose, so you should suck it up and face the consequences and stop second-guessing.

Even if the injuries was not from your own neglect and even if you had a direct choice in the surgery, whether or not it is worth it is a matter of how much you love your cat, how much money you have, what condition the cat would be after the surgery, and how long you estimate the cat would live after the surgery.

I’ve had German shepherds, they are superb dogs but they are very bad about getting dysplasia at about 10-15 years old. It’s heartbreaking, but I’ve always put them down once they get to the point they are in such bad pain can’t get up and down the stairs. There is surgery that might be able to help them, unfortunately it puts them through heck for a few weeks or months, and the surgery costs about 2-5k USD; to me it seems like too much money to spend and too much pain and suffering to put a dog through that is likely only going to last a year or two more.

For younger animals that have a greater potential of lifespan I would be willing to spend more money if they can live a reasonable quality of life. I spent about 2K USD trying to cure a young dogs ear infection, however even after spending all that money, several procedures and seeing several vets the dog still continue to deteriorate. She was screaming in pain, and when people would try to pet her it would hurt her ear so she was becoming aggressive. To stop her suffering, and to prevent her from injuring someone I put her down.