Firefighters from the Port of Seattle transport a simulated casualty during the airport’s recent triennial disaster drill
The FAA requires airports to conduct a comprehensive disaster drill every three years. On July 12, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) did its thing, and it was quite a sight.
Volunteer “victims” hung out in a comfortable hangar, waiting for the drill to begin
Volunteer victims included employees of the airport, several airlines, airfield support companies, the FAA, and the TSA. They received elaborate makeup at a remote hangar in order to maximize the realism of the drill.
The Paine Field Fire Department, ready for action!
I think many people have a child-like persona that lives inside them. I know I do. When I had the opportunity to hang out with the fine folks at the Paine Field Fire Department, my inner seven-year-old was not only excited, but very jealous of my mid-30s self.
Yes. I am very much having a good time. – Photo: AirlineReporter
I think my initial pitch was to do a story about how the Paine Field Fire Department operates at the airport — and it was very professional-like. When they told me they would love to host me for a story, I couldn’t help but ask if I could turn on the lights and sirens. They told me they could arrange for much more than that. I was down!
A Tesla Model S P85 parked at twilight. Photo: Bernie Leighton | AirlineReporter.com
I am a proud owner of a Tesla Model S and I am sick of people asking me if my car has caught fire yet. It was not funny the first time, and it has not changed the roughly five thousand times I have heard the same quip since.
The car has recently run into some fire issues causing some wide-spread media attention. The first time it happened, a man was driving his Tesla Model S in Kent, WA, when he hit road debris at an unconfirmed high speed. The battery was punctured by the gigantic, pointy, piece of metal – but the car maintained integrity long enough for the driver to pull over before the stricken Tesla’s battery pack overheated and ignited.
Soon people started comparing the Boeing 787 Dreamliner fires to the Tesla’s, and I felt that things were getting out of control.
Batavia Air-Boeing 737-4Y0 Reg: PK-YTP
A Batavia Air Boeing 737 that was at the Ngurah Rai Airport in Indonesia had some issues with one of its engines and caused passenger panic. Airport Commander, Lt. Col. Aldrin P. Mongan, stated “, there was a blast-like sound which shook the plane when the second engine was turned on.”
The blast caused smoke, which caused some passengers to think the plane was on fire. “[Passengers] demanded the cabin crew to open the emergency exit door and some of them jumped off disorderly. They jumped before the slider came out,” Ketut Parwa, the head of the Bali rescue team stated. Three passengers jumped out of the aircraft and all were injured.
The act of these passengers is very selfish. It seems they were not listening to the flight crew and put other people’s lives at risk. However, I don’t know how I would react if I was on a plane and honestly thought it was on fire. Especially when knowing all Indonesian airlines (except Garuda Indonesia) are banned from flying to the European Union since 2007 due to their poor safety record.
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Source: Seattle PI Image: Tri Setyo Wijanarko
The exact JetStar Airbus A300-200 involved in this incident: VH-EBF. Taken 10/08
On June 11th, a Jetstar Airbus A330-200 (same model as the AirFrance flight 447) was at cruising altitude heading from Japan to Australia when a loud bang and a flash of white came from the co-pilot’s windscreen.
Luckily, at the time of the incident, the aircraft was only about 20 minutes from Guam, but getting there wasn’t an easy ride.
The cockpit started to fill with smoke and the pilots put on oxygen masks while trying to put out the fires. After about a minute, it seemed the flames were out.
The passengers had no idea there was an emergency, since both pilots in the cockpit had their masks on and were unable to inform others aboard the plane of their condition.
At this time, there doesn’t seem to be any similarities between the malfunctions on this flight and those on AirFrance Flight 447. Hopefully people won’t start thinking the Airbus A330 is an unsafe plane.
Source: The Melbourne Herald– which has video interview with Jetstar CEO Bruce Buchanan
Image: iCougarmon
