Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab is not the only individual who boarded a flight with unmixed chemicals (two-part concoction of the high explosive PETN and possibly a glycol-based liquid explosive,) and bad intent. On Nov 13, in Mogadishu, Somalia, African Union peacekeeping troops arrested a man carrying carrying powdered chemicals, liquid and a syringe on to a Daallo Airlines flight scheduled to go from Mogadishu to Hargeisa, to Djibouti and then to Dubai.

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787 Dreamliner Has its Wings Back

Remember when that Boeing 787 botched it’s test flight and caught on fire? The one with the power distribution panel that burned up, insulation and all? Well that plane flew out of Laredo today. The Dreamliner has its wings back.

This is what Boeing had to say as of a week ago:

EVERETT, Wash., Nov. 24, 2010 — Boeing is developing minor design changes to power distribution panels on the 787 and updates to the systems software that manages and protects power distribution on the airplane. These changes come as the result of what has been learned from the investigation of an onboard electrical fire on a test airplane, ZA002, earlier this month in Laredo, Texas.

“We have successfully simulated key aspects of the onboard event in our laboratory and are moving forward with developing design fixes,” said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. “Boeing is developing a plan to enable a return to 787 flight test activities and will present it to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as soon as it is complete.”

Engineers have determined that the fault began as either a short circuit or an electrical arc in the P100 power distribution panel, most likely caused by the presence of foreign debris. The design changes will improve the protection within the panel. Software changes also will be implemented to further improve fault protection.
The P100 panel is one of five major power distribution panels on the 787. It receives power from the left engine and distributes it to an array of systems.

The 787 team is now assessing the time required to complete the design changes and software updates that are being developed. A revised 787 program schedule is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks.
“Our team is focused on developing these changes and moving forward with the flight test program,” said Fancher. “The team in Laredo is also well along in preparing to return ZA002 to Seattle.”

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Medical Helicopter Crashes on Hospital Roof Helipad

bellThe new PHI Air Medical Eurocopter AS350B3 Ecureuil (#N395P) on its first flight had just delivered a patient from Rio Rancho to University of New Mexico hospital. Taking off from the hospital roof, the helicopter crashed, injuring the pilot and two medics aboard. No patients were aboard at the time.

The helicopter lifted off for 30 feet, spun, then fell back to the roof; the tail impacted the building and the helicopter rolled on to its side. It caught fire, but the fire was put out by sprinklers. The top two floors of the hospital were evacuated as a precaution. The accident occurred at a quarter to six pm on April 9, and NTSB investigators arrived Thursday morning.

PHI (Petroleum Helicopters International) flies patients to hospitals, medical equipment, gas, oil, and technology.

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