Responders in Philadelphia PA are on the scene of what appears to be a plane crash that impacted a mall that has erupted fired across several street blocks. 6ABC in Philly is reporting multiple casualties, and reports are the impact (captured by doorbell cams) has ignited underground gas lines. Bystanders reporting the smell of jet fuel near the impact zone. This is a developing story.
None of this is ever cool but we want to know what has allowed this to occur. Granted that a Lear 55 is not a large aircraft, but it’s not a small, single engined prop machine either. This is tragic and reminds me of a similar occurrence at Masset on the Queen Charlotte islands 25 or so years ago. Are there any similarities here?
From the far distant video does not appear to be spinning. Looks like a straight in missile type plunge. Run away elevator? Missing elevator? Missing tail? This one I want to follow closely. So sad for the poor kid and his family just trying to get him well for recovery.
The medevac to Masset 25 years ago hit ocean because altimetry was mis-set, a simple case warning to pilots to be rigorous. (Barometric pressure was unusually low at the time, so crew probably entered 30.17 instead of 29.17 which would be unusual, even though the F/O acknowledge 9.17. As flight flew high enroute altimeter would have been set to 29.92 before resetting to destination value. CORRECTED AS I STATED BACKWARD.
Crew may not have set an alert bug on the radio altimeter display, so didn’t get low warning.)
Sad end to a family’s battle to save a youngster from a life threatening illness. As for the crash, two higher likelyhood possibilities seem evident. The plane was on fire as it went down, so we’re MAYBE looking at either a catastrophic engine failure, or an explosion of a medical oxygen tank. Noteably, one oxygen tank was located 1/4 mile from the impact zone. Something catastrophic happened on the climb out.
Oxygen leaks can lead to fire, connections need periodic inspection.
Debate between copper which seals better but work hardens under vibration - so needs periodic replacement, and stainless which is more durable but harder to seal. Seal material must be carefully selected.
Good point. Shouldn’t be much vibration on a Lear, but if these cylinders are swapped out to be refilled, their usage could have taken them anywhere. Also, maybe someone just didn’t tighten the valve enough. I had a propane torch with a knurled hand knob, but I still had to tighten it with pliers. Not good.
What kind of society are we that has the deaths of people loved by their friends and family on endless loops? Has every shred of compassion been corrosively dissolved by a media greedy for views? The old disclaimer “The following contains images some might find disturbing” can be safely done away with. Those people either don’t exist or they shouldn’t stand in the way of cultivating new ad revenue.