Factual reports:
UPS 6 - https://lessonslearned.faa.gov/UPS6/UPS6_Accident_Report.pdf
- The United Arab Emirates General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) opened an investigation into the crash, assisted by the NTSB. The government of Bahrain decided to conduct its own investigation into the accident. UPS also sent its own investigation team.
- The GCAA released its final investigation report in July 2013. The report indicated that the fire was caused by the autoignition of the contents of a cargo pallet, which contained more than 81,000 lithium batteries and other combustible materials. The shutdown of air conditioning pack 1 for unknown reasons led to smoke entering the cockpit.
Note than in the case above, the amount of lithium batteries onboard was not in violation of any rules and all safety equipment required by law at that time were on-board. It was also noted that some of the cargo loaded in Hong Kong was not properly classified and declared by the shipper.
UPS 1354 - https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/accidentreports/reports/aar1402.pdf
- The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the flight crew’s continuation of an unstabilized approach and their failure to monitor the aircraft’s altitude during the approach, which led to an inadvertent descent below the minimum approach altitude and subsequently into terrain.
- Contributing to the accident were (1) the flight crew’s failure to properly configure and verify the flight management computer for the profile approach; (2) the captain’s failure to communicate his intentions to the first officer once it became apparent the vertical profile was not captured; (3) the flight crew’s expectation that they would break out of the clouds at 1,000 feet above ground level due to incomplete weather information; (4) the first officer’s failure to make the required minimums callouts; (5) the captain’s performance deficiencies likely due to factors including, but not limited to, fatigue, distraction, or confusion, consistent with performance deficiencies exhibited during training; and (6) the first officer’s fatigue due to acute sleep loss resulting from her ineffective off-duty time management and circadian factors
RE UPS 6 The dangers of lithium ion batteries was known: FedEx Express Advances In-Flight Safety with Automatic Fire Suppression System
October 6, 2009
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Oct. 6, 2009 — FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp. (NYSE:FDX), has unveiled the industry’s first onboard automatic fire-suppression system (FSS), elevating the level of safety during international, over-water flights. The comprehensive fire-safety system is the result of seven years of design and development efforts at FedEx Express, and expands upon the company’s existing commitment to advancing aviation safety.
“The in-flight safety of crew and cargo is a top priority at FedEx Express, leading to our development of this enhanced fire-safety technology,” said Joel Murdock, managing director, Strategic Projects, FedEx Express. “After seven years of design and development, we’re proud to see this proprietary technology take flight on a variety of aircraft in the FedEx fleet, representing another strong step forward in our air-safety initiatives.”
In April 2009, FedEx Express began installation of the FSS technology on MD-11 freighters —the workhorse of the FedEx international aircraft fleet. Each installation requires approximately 700 man hours and will be completed on the company’s 59 MD-11 aircraft in early 2011. FedEx also plans to install the FSS technology on new Boeing 777 Freighters, which begin international service in the company’s fleet in early 2010. In all, 74 FedEx wide-body planes used for international, over-water flights will be upgraded with the technology.
How the FedEx FSS Works
The FSS features a network of infrared thermal sensors, foaming-agent generators and an overhead cargo-container injector. If heat is detected by the sensors, the fire suppression technology located above each cargo container is activated, simultaneously alerting crew members. The metal container is pierced by an injector apparatus and filled with an argon-based biodegradable and non-corrosive fire-suppression foam that controls and extinguishes the fire in minutes. Cargo in other containers is unaffected by the system’s activation, and the foam has only minimal impact on packages housed within the container. For palletized freight, a special fire-retardant blanket is used to cover the cargo; it restricts the level of oxygen around freight, effectively serving as a fire suppression tool.
In extensive testing, including the certification process, the FedEx FSS proved quick and effective on classes of fires, demonstrating its capability of protecting aircraft, crew and customer shipments from fires started by:
· Ordinary materials such as paper or lumber (Class A)
· Flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline or kerosene (Class B)
· Combustible metals such as lithium, magnesium titanium, potassium and sodium which burn at extremely high temperatures (Class D).
No other aircraft fire-safety system in use today is effective against Class D fires. Shipments that are subject to what would be considered Class C fires, electrical equipment, for example, will continue to be carried separately in the aircraft’s lower belly compartment, and are safeguarded with the industry-standard halon bottle system.
How FedEx FSS Enhances Air Safety
A majority of fire-safety systems in use onboard cargo aircraft require manual activation by a crew member. In addition, many systems only address fires that could potentially occur in containers holding cargo that must be declared and labeled by shippers as being Dangerous Goods. Yet most cargo fires originate from undeclared Dangerous Goods, posing additional challenges to existing fire-suppression systems. Because of its unique over-head design and automatic activation, the FedEx FSS technology overcomes this challenge by suppressing fires contained within any cargo container or pallet on the main flight deck.
In addition, current FAA regulations require that aircraft depressurize, divert to the closest airport and land immediately after any in-flight fire situation. This means that the flight crew has about 30 minutes to safely land the aircraft. With the new FedEx safety system, aircraft on lengthy international flights, which can be up to three hours from land, are able to safely divert and land.
“Our new in-flight system has pushed the industry safety standard to a new level,” Murdock said. “With the FedEx technology our pilots have more time to review and assess an in-air situation, further ensuring their safety, and the safety of their plane and cargo.”
FedEx acted; UPS reacted. 2 UPS pilots perished.
RE: UPS 1354
(5) the captain’s performance deficiencies likely due to factors including, but not limited to, fatigue, distraction, or confusion, consistent with performance deficiencies exhibited during training; and (6) the first officer’s fatigue due to acute sleep loss resulting from her ineffective off-duty time management and circadian factors.
No sh*$. Both pilots were fatigued. UPS retaliates against pilots that call in fatigued.
Browntails 1354 and 6 are tragedies that could have been averted.
HERE IT IS AGAIN: UPS blackmails pilots. That's it. If you are a pilot at UPS with a substance abuse issue, dui, or are otherwise in trouble with UPS: UPS will coerce, intimidate, and inflict workplace violence upon you.
It is not shocking that a UPS Airline security manager would seek out sick pilots and force them to write false statements targeting pilots who have exposed safety or ethical issues. What is terrifying is that UPS knows about this and has done nothing.
UPS 74 Captain's can easily make $400,000 a year. It is a pretty powerful motivator. Lose your career or write this false statement so UPS can target another pilot's medical.
Using the HIMS program or failure to report dui's/refusal to submit to a chemical test as a weapon is atrocious.