MetaFilter posts tagged with accident

How was your flight?

tss — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:15:29 -0800

This past week: in D.R. Congo, an MD-80 strikes a lava field at the end of a runway; earlier over Iran, a medical emergency diversion frightens a passenger; the day prior, an LA-Sydney flight diverts to Honolulu to drop off a new mother and her child born en route. Also medical emergencies, unruly passengers, and unruly medical emergencies. It's avherald.com, your daily source for pretty much every incident occurring on an airliner.

The Story Of The 1987 CN Nepisiguit Sub Runaway Train

srboisvert — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:46:19 -0800

Stick with 'er Wiener! On March 9, 1987, a well-known derailment occurred here when a runaway CN train journeyed from Brunswick Mines to just short of the wye. There was a mixup in communications and engineer Wesley MacDonald ended up with more cars on his train than he thought, and the brakes on the engine alone were unable to hold the consist on the grade in the Brunswick Mines yard. Great radio show about the accident that we previously discussed here.

Former Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant involved in death of Toronto cyclist

maudlin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:54:06 -0800

Late last night, a cyclist was killed in Toronto. "Ontario's former attorney general Michael Bryant ... will be charged with criminal negligence causing death and dangerous driving causing death, a police source tells the Globe, after a collision left a 33-year-old cyclist dead." Accounts vary, but the sequence appears to be 1) Some collision and argument between the cyclist and the driver; 2) The cyclist grabs the driver's door and hangs on (or he may have been caught on the car accidentally) while the Saab convertible drives on; 3) The car drives into the opposite lane, across a construction zone, and the cyclist is battered against mailboxes and light posts; 4) The cyclist falls under the car's back wheels and is killed. This map shows the path of the accident and includes links to picture and video. (What it doesn't show is how torn up by construction the area is, like much of downtown and midtown Toronto.) Witnesses describe what they saw at the scene. The cyclist has not yet been identified to the public. Feelings have already been running high in Toronto about the Toronto Bike Plan and what many motorists consider a War on Cars. A few weeks ago, a woman was killed by a teenager cycling on the sidewalk, but the cyclist was not charged. Coincidentally, a study based on Toronto accident statistics was recently released, showing that 90% of bicycle-car accidents are caused by clumsy or inattentive drivers, although these results have been disputed. And while traffic services has been cracking down on both driver and cyclist infractions this summer (and some Critical Massers seem to agree that sidewalk cycling should be cracked down on), some people think cyclists are getting treated with kid gloves, that they shouldn't be on anything but residential roads, and that no more money should be spent on cycling infrastructure. Catch a taste of non-CBC Canadian talk radio here (live streaming here.) Meanwhile, I suspect another ghost bike is being prepared.

The Best Phallic Image You Will See in the News Today

wendell — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 20:17:37 -0800

A week ago, when Oscar F. Mayer, retired chairman of the Oscar Mayer meats company and grandson of the Original Oscar, passed away at 95, he left instructions that the Wienermobile NOT appear at his funeral because "it would be too much of a spectacle." Well, today, there was a bit of a spectacle as one of the iconic vehicles crashed into the side of a house in Racine, Wisconsin. There is a Wienermobile Blog written by the team of drivers but they have no statement there on this incident (yet).
Previ-ously

Walt Disney World Monorail Collision Leaves 1 Dead

Lokheed — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 07:02:33 -0800

Early this morning, Two monorail trains collided at Walt Disney World, causing the death of one of the drivers. The Walt Disney World Monorail System first opened in 1971 with two routes servicing The Magic Kingdom, and then expanded to a third line servicing Epcot in 1982. This is the first incident resulting in a fatality in 38 years of operation. The most serious incident previously was a fire in 1985 caused by tire failure in which two cars were burned badly, but there were no injuries. The monorail trains have numerous safety features, including a "Moving-blocklight anti-collision system", referred to as MAPO (the term was coined by Walt Disney himself, who formed a new company to deal with Disneyland's transportation system directly from the profits made by Mary Poppins). As of this morning, the monorail system at Walt Disney World is out of service pending investigation.

Skier Suffers Exposure! Get it?!?

miss lynnster — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:30:31 -0800

A lot of people have nightmares about showing up to school or work naked. But hey, how about this one? Brrrrrrrrr. (nsfw)

Olympic Crash

vansly — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 08:18:58 -0800

A tower on the Excalibur gondola at Blackcomb Mountain north of Vancouver collapsed yesterday. Early speculation centres around the possibility of the tower filling with water and freezing. The Excalibur gondola is built by the same company who recently finished constructing the record-breaking Peak2Peak gondola. This is not the first lift incident at the resort, which is set to host alpine events for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

A Review of Criticality Accidents

ikkyu2 — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 23:34:42 -0800

A Review of Criticality Accidents (3.7 MB pdf) Do you like reading comp.risks, or CVR transcripts from famous plane crashes? Then you may enjoy this technical analysis of 60 accidents where improper handling of fissile materials led to unexpected critical mass. All the famous names are here - Oak Ridge, Los Alamos, the Argonne National Lab - as well as the famous players: the Demon Core that claimed two lives in separate accidents, and later became the heart of the Bikini atoll ABLE nuclear test; Harry Dahglian; Louis Slotin; and even a cameo by Richard Feynman, who comments on the Dragon experiment in a footnote. Watch for the telltale signs of prompt critical - the blue glow, the flash of light, the wave of heat - and look up Roentgen Equivalent Man, and tuballoy in the comprehensive glossary at the end. I can't be the only one who likes this stuff, can I? (Via AskMe.)

999 Call Transcripts

roofus — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:01:11 -0800

JS (Aged 5) She can't wake up.
Operator No? Is she breathing? Can you see her chest go up and down?
JS I can see her shoulders going ... I can see her doing [Makes breathing noises]
Operator She's breathing, is she? But you think she's having a fit.
JS Yeah, I think she is and ... I don't know what to do.

6 transcripts of 999 operators helping people cope with emergencies: a mother giving birth alone, a 5 year old whose mother is fitting, a mother and son trapped in a house fire, a brother and sister resuscitating their father, a husband saving his choking wife, and a neighbour saving his friend with an amputated arm

That's a good name - ground! I wonder if it will be friends with me?

lalochezia — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:34:11 -0800

Unplanned Freefall? Some Survival Tips A perspective from the world's largest extant toothed mammal (comedic). Previously and Previously (non-comedic).

Emilio

fourcheesemac — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 11:33:05 -0800

Emilio Navaira is a Grammy-winning Tejano and country singer. Navaira's tour bus was traveling north along west 610 Loop near the Southwest Freeway when it crashed into a set of freeway barrels shortly before 4 a.m. He is clinging to life in a Houston hospital. His fans are praying for him. Doctors say he is now stable, but he faces a difficult recovery at best, and may never perform again. I hope with all my heart this does not become an obituary thread. This is a really big story for Tejano music fans. (It also appears Emilio was driving his own bus without a proper license, but maybe we don't need to argue about blame for the accident for now?) Eight other members of his tour were injured, some seriously.

Fifty car pileup closes 1-4 in Florida

misha — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 08:01:37 -0800

I watched man burn to death, heard others screaming in the fog. A massive, 50-car pileup, the result of three or more crashes on I-4, has led to at least 3 fatalities and 82 injuries in central Florida near Orlando. The smoke and fog were so bad that rescue efforts were hindered. Drivers with no visibility did not know whether to stay in their burning cars or risk running out onto the highway for help.

Near Miss in Las Vegas

jontyjago — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:58:36 -0800

Pilot tells of hairy near miss at Las Vegas airport A post on Airliners.net telling, in some detail, of a near miss between an America West Airbus A320 (piloted by the author) and an Air Canada plane at Las Vegas airport. And if that puts you off flying, to calm down, another pilot's account, of a less hair-raising flight.

Zzzzap! Zzzzap!

Blazecock Pileon — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:51:05 -0800

Weather shock horror! Survivors live to tell the tale!

Hey Good lookin'! I'll be back to nuke you up later!

Smedleyman — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 17:16:27 -0800

AHHHH!!! An unintentional disruption pre-empted morning radio and television throughout Illinois this week when a FEMA contractor mistakenly sent the highest level of alert codes (Presidential) through the Emergency Alert System during the installation of an upgrade. (A year to the day after the upgrades were ordered) It's not the first time false warnings have been sent. Apparently (before the upgrades) the EAS data headers had no authentication and someone could have hacked a t.v. or radio station using a Mr. Microphone. The old Emergency Broadcast System had an authenticator word list, like the tone, and the voice, the words themselves were slightly unsettling. I know the old EBS tests used to scare the hell out of me. The 1971 false alarm was initiated with the code word: HATEFULNESS.

Science, skepticism, and critical thinking are all about admitting when you’re wrong, and taking action to correct them.”

grateful — Thu, 17 May 2007 11:37:15 -0800

Bad Astronomer and skeptic Phil Plait posted a rant last week about a supposed miracle – a woman, who survived a car accident against all odds. After being deluged by comments from irate readers, including the accident victim, he issued an apology, contacted her directly and is collecting donations to fund her medical bills. Phil writes, “Science, skepticism, and critical thinking are all about admitting when you’re wrong, and taking action to correct them.”

Lost sub?

ctmf — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 22:10:28 -0800

We regret to inform you that we your husband's submarine is missing, and possibly sunk. Oh, wait. Never mind[pdf].

The last thing I remember it was dark, I could hear lightning all around me

BLDGBLOG — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 14:15:01 -0800

Paraglider survives 32,000ft fall. A German paragliding champion named Ewa Wisnierska was "sucked into a storm that pulled her higher than Mount Everest." She "soared skywards," and was soon "covered in ice" as she "battled hailstones the size of oranges," becoming one with the weather. "I could see the Earth coming," she later said, "wow, like Apollo 13 – I can see the Earth."

His object all sublime / He will achieve in time

Smart Dalek — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:45:11 -0800

Court Decision, re: Fisher v. Lowe, Feb. 1999. Car ends up in man's yard. Man sues driver. Judge administers poetic justice. [via]

Reqiescat in Pace, Vaquero

John of Michigan — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 05:58:20 -0800

"I have an agenda." Luis Jimenez, a Latino sculptor who worked primarily in fiberglass, portraying Latin themes, died last month in an accident in his art studio.

Famous people who died in aviation accidents

persona non grata — Sun, 16 Jul 2006 21:24:09 -0800

"Famous people who died in aviation accidents" -- notables and not-so-notables who have perished in crashes in the last 100 years.

America's forgotten nuclear accident

Ridx — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 04:44:39 -0800

The SL-1 Reactor, part of the short-lived Army nuclear power program, became America's only fatal nuclear accident when it exploded in its warehouse, killing three technicians.

Spelunking for Danger!

jonson — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 10:16:09 -0800

I never thought a string of videos of car accidents taken from automatic tunnel cameras in metropolitan tunnels would make for compelling viewing. But it turns out you learn something new every day. warning - embedded video on page contains horrible dance music

car vs bike at 155mph

jonson — Tue, 06 Dec 2005 10:40:34 -0800

Photos of the outcome of a motorcycle merging with a car @ 155 miles per hour.

No weakness for S-class after all

SharQ — Mon, 28 Nov 2005 05:24:09 -0800

It turns out that last weeks' story about the Mercedes S class crashing during a safety demonstration on tv was a set-up, arranged by the television station in question. Whoops. via digg