Back in February, the very large ore carrier (VLOC) Stellar Banner ran into trouble in Brazil. The ship was leaving harbor with a cargo of 270,000 tons of iron ore, bound for China, when she suffered extensive damage to her bows. The leak could not be contained, so her captain chose to ground the ship rather… Continue reading Death of a giant ship
Tag: Accidents
Unexpected airport traffic
I had to smile at reports that three deer had a close encounter with Royal Air Force Typhoon fighter aircraft at RAF Coningsby recently. Cute, I suppose, but animals on the runways and taxiways can be a real hazard. In flying around Africa for many years, I grew used to pilots of smaller aircraft (from… Continue reading Unexpected airport traffic
Er . . . oops?
The Russian Mil Mi-26 helicopter is the largest in the world, able to lift up to 20 tons (the same cargo capacity as a Lockheed C-130 transport aircraft) or over 100 passengers. It’s almost as big as a Boeing 737 airliner. An Mi-26 was coming in to land on the Yamal peninsula in Russia a… Continue reading Er . . . oops?
I suppose it’s cheaper than fixing the actual console . . .
Back in January I reported on two incidents involving Airbus A350 airliners, where pilots’ beverages had been spilled onto the center console, resulting in serious technical problems. This led to an emergency order defining a “liquid free zone” in the cockpit until further measures could be developed. Now Airbus has announced a more permanent solution… Continue reading I suppose it’s cheaper than fixing the actual console . . .
Er . . . oops?
A tip o’ the hat to reader D. W. for sending me the link to this video. Men at work, not at their best! Some expensive oopses, there . . . Peter
Er . . . oops?
A giant container ship had a close encounter of a rather too intimate kind with harbor cranes and another vessel in Busan, South Korea, on Monday. That must have been a wild ride for the crane operators! I guess they had no choice but to stay put in their cabs, pray, and hope for the… Continue reading Er . . . oops?
Ouch!
This happened a few months ago, but I’ve only just seen the report. I found myself wincing as I watched, and crossing my legs, too! I’m glad he’s recovered from his injury. I had to laugh at the young man’s comment that he’d never been closer to his father than when he stitched up the… Continue reading Ouch!
Doofus Of The Day #1,060
Today’s award goes to the pilot of a Airbus A330 airliner of Thai Airways. It clipped a Gulfstream IV corporate aircraft with its wing at the airport in Vientiane, Laos the other day. The results were catastrophic for the smaller plane. The much larger airliner suffered only minor damage to its wing, and will be repaired before… Continue reading Doofus Of The Day #1,060
Monday morning chuckle
Received via e-mail, origin unknown: Peter
Performance art with a real twist to it!
I had to laugh at the sad (?) news of an injury to a member of an Australian comedy team known as “Puppetry of the (male organ)“. The actual word used has been censored due to the family-friendly nature of this blog. A member of the Puppetry of the ***** duo has suffered a testicle… Continue reading Performance art with a real twist to it!