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On May 11, 1996, 105 passengers boarded a ValuJet flight in Miami, bound for Atlanta. They never made it. Shortly after takeoff, a small explosion in the airtight cargo hold developed into a fire, which should have burned out quickly, but didn’t. The 27-year-old plane’s crew of five, and all 105 passengers, were killed as the plane plummeted into the Everglades. Many chalked this up to the dangers of plane travel and the poor maintenance record of ValuJet, which, as a budget carrier, certainly gave plausible grounds for the argument… but it wasn’t a lack of maintenance that caused this...

WASHINGTON, July 8, 2008 – Long known to protect the waters surrounding the United States, the question asked each time someone sees them is, “What is the U.S. Coast Guard doing here?” Chief Petty Officer Daniel Kinville and Petty Officer 2nd Class Lauren Kowalewski are part of an eight-person unit from the Coast Guard’s 1179th Deployment Support Brigade, and are the only two Coast Guard personnel in Afghanistan. “Usually, everyone’s first reaction when they see us is shock,” said Kowalewski, a Pittsburgh native. “They can’t seem to figure out why we’re so far from the U.S. coast and why we’re...

Owner of auto wrecking firm, worker allegedly sold gas from abandoned cars A Santa Rosa auto dismantling company owner and one of his employees face felony charges stemming from the illegal sale of gasoline from abandoned cars, police and prosecutors said Tuesday. Cream's Auto Dismantling obtained many of those cars under towing contracts with Sonoma County and the city of Santa Rosa, authorities said. Police said Santa Rosa would be terminating its contract with Cream's, which is worth an estimated $50,000 a year. Sonoma County administrators couldn't be reached to determine what would happen with that contract, which is worth...

Freight Train Derails in S. California By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer PICO RIVERA, Calif. - A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed early Saturday, damaging at least four homes and forcing more than 200 people to evacuate, officials said. No serious injuries were reported. Investigators were trying to identify the hazardous materials on board and determine whether any leaked when the nearly 50 freight cars and trailers left the tracks, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy Luis Castro said. About 500 gallons of diesel fuel spilled. Derailed cars badly battered two homes and littered several back yards with twisted metal...

ERIE, Pa. -- A man who soiled his underwear and tried to dispose of the evidence by tossing it over the fence of the city's largest reservoir has been fined $5,000. The city bomb squad and hazardous materials crew responded after an Erie Water Works employee spotted a black bag near the 33-million gallon Sigsbee Reservoir last month. The reservoir was shut down for several hours while the bomb squad X-rayed the bag and hazardous materials crews waited to test it. Police tracked down Troy Musil, 18, of Erie. He told police he'd been ill and soiled his underwear. He...

HEADLINE: Anthrax Fallout Hits Postal Service; Anxious about costs if cavalier about people, managers at the Brentwood Road postal center sent 'volunteers' back into the formally closed facility to retrieve mail. BYLINE: By Timothy W. Maier, INSIGHT BODY: Management of the U.S. Postal Service processing and distribution center on Brentwood Road in Northeast Washington, which serves the nation's capital, not only ignored its own policies by failing to shut down operations immediately upon learning that the building tested positive for anthrax, but Insight has learned that managers also secretly sent postal volunteers into the facility on Oct. 22, 2001, to...

MAY 28, 00:12 ET Town of 2,200 Emptied for Derailment POTTERVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A freight train carrying hazardous materials derailed, and officials ordered the evacuation of the town of 2,200 people. The train was carrying liquid propane and sulfuric acid when 35 of its 58 cars derailed Monday, the Eaton County Sheriff's Department said. Nine of the derailed cars were carrying propane and two others contained sulfuric acid. One car was spewing fuel, another had a steady leak, and a third may have been punctured, said Sheriff Rick Jones. He said any spark or surge of electricity could ignite...

Everyone seems to have their terrorism antenna up nowadays. Some of the results, like the "zero tolerance" at airports, has quite obviously crossed the stupid line. But, that's only because Congress interfered, passing inappropriate legislation. Where Congress has not (yet) interfered, things seem to be handled on a more adult level. The trucking industry is a case in point. Those of us who have had the unfortunate experience of witnessing a large gas truck burn understand what an eventful situation that can be. Other hazardous materials transported by trucks from coast to coast every day of the year could cause...