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There was one good piece of news to emerge from Monday’s horrific Metro crash on the Red Line: The response to the tragedy demonstrated that an increased focus on local and regional readiness since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has better prepared the Washington area not only for acts of terrorism but also for the full range of emergencies that can strike a region.
Within minutes of the accident, which killed at least nine people and injured 80, scores of emergency vehicles from the District and surrounding jurisdictions descended upon the scene. As I monitored the radio traffic of the local agencies involved, I expected to hear chaos; instead, I heard the calm and ordered dispatch of emergency units, along with informative reports from first-responders.
Thanks to extensive regional planning, the Washington area didn’t seem to suffer from some of the challenges faced by other jurisdictions in similar emergencies. Public safety leaders, for example, weren’t jockeying for control of the incident site; rather, police, fire, emergency medical services, transit and emergency management officials worked in a unified manner. When D.C. resources became stretched, pre-identified units from surrounding jurisdictions were alerted, smoothly joining the rescue operation. There were no apparent coordination or communications issues.
The ability of hospitals to handle a large number of injured people — the so-called “surge capacity” — was also critical. It appears that extensive planning by area hospitals paid off on Monday, as no single hospital was overwhelmed with casualties.
Monday’s coordinated effort stands in contrast to the chaotic response to what was previously the deadliest incident in Metro history. On Jan. 13, 1982, just a half-hour after Air Florida Flight 90 crashed into the icy Potomac River, a rush-hour train derailment near the Federal Triangle station killed three passengers and injured 25.
During these incidents, the emergency response system became overwhelmed and critical systems failed. Coordination between emergency workers from responding jurisdictions was unwieldy, and radio communications were difficult. Rescuers were forced to act on instinct rather than formal training.
As the investigation continues into the cause of Monday’s crash, public safety agencies and health-care providers will undoubtedly pause and evaluate the effectiveness of their response. Any “lessons learned” will further improve the area’s response system, thereby making the region even better prepared to respond to the next major incident, whether it be an accident or an act of terrorism.
The writer is deputy director of George Washington University’s Homeland Security Policy Institute.
“ United States accident investigators are probing two recent failures of airspeed and altitude indications aboard Airbus A330s — the same type of plane that crashed into the Atlantic nearly a month ago.
The planes landed safely and there were no injuries or damage, the National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday. One flight was between the United States and Brazil in May and the other between Hong Kong and Japan in June.
The probes were launched in the aftermath of the June 1 crash in the Atlantic Ocean — when Air France Flight 447 was flying to Paris, France, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. All 228 people on board the plane, an A330, were killed.
Investigators are looking at the possible role of airspeed sensors known as pitot tubes, among other factors, as a possible cause of the Flight 447 crash.
That flight sent 24 automated error messages in the four minutes before it crashed, the head of the French accident investigation board, Paul-Louis Arslanian, has said. The error messages all indicate there were problems with on-board information about the plane’s speed, which can cause some of the plane’s instruments to stop functioning, Arslanian said….”
Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that it has found E. coli O157:H7 (a bacterium that can cause serious food borne illness) in a sample of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough currently under recall by the manufacturer and marketer, Nestlé USA. The contaminated sample was collected at Nestlé’s facility in Danville, Va. on June 25, 2009.
On June 19, the FDA and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers not to eat any varieties of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough due to the risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7. The warning was based on an epidemiological study conducted by the CDC and several state and local health departments. As of Thursday, June 25, the CDC reports that 69 persons from 29 states have been infected with the outbreak strain. Thirty-four persons have been hospitalized, nine with a severe complication called hemolytic uremic syndrome. No one has died.
Further laboratory testing is needed to conclusively link the E. coli strain found in the product to the same strain that is causing the outbreak.
Nestlé USA has fully cooperated with the FDA and CDC investigation and has recalled all of its prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products.
Consumers who have additional questions about these products should contact Nestlé USA consumer services at 1-800-559-5025 and/or visit its Web site at www.verybestbaking.com.
Intro: This is not too good for the new “government” in Honduras. So far, no country has recognized it and both Chavez and Obama deem it’s illegal. Meanwhile, what does the average American think? When asked about the coup in Honduras,
11% thought the “Honduras Coup” was a new South American baseball team
25% opined that Bernie Madoff should be deported and jailed there instead
28% stated they were more interested in the new show, “Dance Your Ass Off”
36% believed where Michael Jackson’s body will be buried is more important than anything else in the world
Last Saturday night, when President Manuel Zelaya went to bed in his official residence, he must have felt at least an inkling of the loneliness of power.
Mr Zelaya has found some powerful regional supporters
In the few days previously, the Supreme Court had twice accused him of acting illegally. His attorney general had said he should stand down. He had sacked his chief of defence staff. The heads of the army navy and air force had all resigned.
Despite all that, he apparently slept well.
But not for long.
He was rudely awoken before dawn as masked soldiers entered the private quarters of the man that still, at that stage, was officially their commander-in-chief.
Now the soldiers were giving the orders. The president was marched out of his house and taken to a nearby military airport. Still in his pyjamas, he was forced to board a plane.
By the time it took off, he still had no idea where he was being taken, or what his fate might be.
The destination was Costa Rica, and enforced asylum.
‘No hero’s welcome’
It might have seemed like his darkest hour. But President Zelaya has instead found himself an unlikely hero with some powerful champions.
He [Mr Zelaya] is the democratically elected president of Honduras. He was kidnapped by criminals
Paulina, teacher in Tegucigalpa
“President Zelaya was democratically elected. He has not completed his term,” stated US President Barack Obama.
“This is a coup against us all,” said Venezuela’s leader Hugo Chavez, who has vowed to do what he can to restore the sometime cattle rancher to power.
Mr Zelaya now says he will be returning to his home country on Thursday.
If he is expecting a hero’s welcome, he might be disappointed.
The new Honduran government, which remains unrecognised by any country in the world, has said the exiled president is now a regular citizen and should expect to be arrested and imprisoned if he returns.
Popularity plummeted
But what of the Honduran people?
Recent events in Tegucigalpa, with hundreds of protesters chanting the president’s name have proved that he has his fanatical supporters.
Troops stormed the president’s home at around dawn on Sunday
“He is the democratically elected president of Honduras. He was kidnapped by criminals,” said Paulina, a primary school teacher, as she hurled insults at the soldiers currently occupying the presidential palace.
But in the weeks before he left the country, Mr Zelaya’s popularity was in fact plummeting. One survey put it at about 30%.
“We saw this coming around six months ago,” said Miguel, a lawyer as he watched protesters build a barricade of burning tyres in the centre of the capital.
“Zelaya, for some reason, became a radical,” he said.
‘Expertly planned’
Perhaps seeking inspiration from President Chavez in Venezuela, Mr Zelaya, who said Honduran democracy grossly favoured the country’s wealthy elite, began to turn his attention to the constitution.
It currently allows presidents to only sit for one term of four years. Mr Zelaya’s presidency was due to expire next January.
His efforts to alter the situation would appear to have been relatively modest.
Last Sunday, he was attempting to push what was in effect a referendum about whether a future referendum would take place on rewriting the constitution.
But Mr Zelaya’s enemies it seemed, wanted to stop the process in its inception. And they had powerful institutions on their side: the Supreme Court, the Congress, the army.
The removal of President Zelaya was expertly planned and orchestrated.
Yet, for its proponents, it might have been disastrously mistimed.
They are now left in nominal charge of a country. Their nemesis has been turned into a symbol of Central America’s long, unhappy, struggle against military dictatorship.
And questions remain as to whether, assuming it was his intention, he really could have altered the Honduran Constitution in order to prolong his rule.
Even highly popular leaders, such as Hugo Chavez, have discovered that such an undertaking is not always successful.
Might the generals and judges and politicians who decided that Manuel Zelaya had to go, now be wondering whether they would have been better off doing nothing?
“A young child has been recovered alive from a Yemeni jet crash in the Indian Ocean, an airline official said Tuesday.
Relatives of passengers of the plane that crashed
The child was the first person found alive from the jet, which was carrying more than 150 people en route to the island nation of Comoros from Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
A reconnaissance plane spotted traces of the jet in waters off the town of Mitsamiouli, Comoros Vice President Idi Nadhoim said Tuesday….”
“At least 15 people were killed and 50 injured overnight in Italy when a freight train hauling liquefied petroleum gas derailed and exploded as it passed their homes, officials said on Tuesday.
About 1,000 people were evacuated following the blast just before midnight on Monday, which shook people from their beds in the Tuscan seaside town of Viareggio, about 350 km (220 miles) north of Rome.
Thirty-seven people were injured, seriously or very seriously, rescue workers said, including a 2-year-old who was badly burned and was being transferred to a hospital in Florence.
It was Italy’s most deadly rail accident since 17 people were killed in January 2005, when a passenger train collided with a freight train near the northern city of Bologna.
Firefighters battled overnight to contain blazes started by the explosion and, as a precaution, were emptying liquefied petroleum gas from other, unexploded tanks in the wrecked train….
Television showed the fire spreading down city streets, setting cars and nearby buildings alight. Rescue workers set up along the roadside to provide first aid to burn victims.
At least two children were among the dead, officials said.
…..Rescue workers pulled bodies from the rubble of damaged buildings. ANSA said two nearby buildings collapsed.
State railways said the accident occurred when one carriage derailed, pulling another four with it. Liquefied petroleum gas escaped from a tank on one of the carriages and caught fire.”
August 22, 2006 – A Russian Tu-154 operated by Pulkovo Airlines crashes 30 miles north of the east Ukrainian town of Donetsk, killing all 170 passengers and crew.
September 29 – One hundred and fifty-four people are killed when a Boeing 737-800 operated by low-cost Gol airline crashes in the Amazon rain forest.
October 29 – A Boeing 737 operated by domestic carrier ADC, crashes after take off on a flight from the Nigerian capital Abuja to Sokoto. Only seven of the 106 people aboard the flight survived. Among the dead was Ibrahim Muhammadu, who as Sultan of Sokoto was the leader of the Muslim community.
January 1, 2007 – An Indonesian Boeing 737-400 operated by budget carrier Adam Air disappeared from radar screens during a flight from Java to Sulawesi islands. Wreckage was located at sea 10 days later. All 102 passengers and crew were killed.
May 5 – All 114 people on board a Kenya Airways Boeing 737 are killed after the plane crashed in torrential rain after takeoff from Douala in Cameroon en route to Nairobi.
July 17 – A Brazilian TAM passenger plane crashes into buildings when trying to land in Sao Paulo, killing 199 people aboard and on the ground.
September 16 – One-Two-Go, a budget Thai airliner carrying 123 passengers and several crew crashes on landing at the resort island of Phuket. At least 85 of the 123 passengers were killed and five of the seven crew.
August 20, 2008 – A Spanair MD-82, flying to the Canary Islands with 166 passengers and six crew, crashes on takeoff at Madrid airport killing 154 people. The remaining 18 are seriously injured.
August 24 – A Boeing 737-200 belonging to a private Kyrgyz company Itek-Air, chartered by an Iranian company and bound for Iran, crashes at Bishkek airport. Around 70 people, including members of a local teenage basketball team, died.
May 20, 2009 – An Indonesian C130 military transport plane carrying 110 passengers and crew crashes and bursts into flames 6.5 km (4 miles) from the Iswahyudi air force base in East Java while preparing to land, killing 98 people including two on the ground.
June 1 – An Air France Airbus A330-200 jetliner carrying 228 people crashes over the Atlantic. Fifty-one bodies and 600 pieces of wreckage are recovered before the search for survivors is called off on June 26.
June 30 – A Yemen Airways aircraft carrying a total of 153 people crashes in the waters of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros.
(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; additional writing by Gillian Murdoch; Editing by Jon Hemming)
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s transport minister said the plane was not at fault in the crash of an Airbus A310-300 into choppy seas as it
tried to land in bad weather near Comoros Tuesday.
“It has nothing to do with the plane,” Dominique Bussereau said on Europe 1 radio.
“We will know the cause of things.”
It was the second Airbus to plunge into the sea this month. An Air France Airbus A330-200 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people on June 1.
“An Airbus A310-300 from Yemen with 153 people on board, including 66 French nationals, crashed into the sea as it approached the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros in bad weather early on Tuesday, officials said.
Some bodies were recovered from the wreck of the Yemenia plane, said Abdul-Rahman Abdul-Qader, undersecretary of Yemen’s aviation authority. The airline said one survivor had been rescued from the sea.
The Paris airports authority said 66 French nationals were aboard the plane, which was flying the final leg of a flight taking passengers from Paris and Marseille to Comoros via Yemen. A large number of Comoros nationals were also on board.
Two French military planes and a French ship left the Indian Ocean islands of Mayotte and Reunion to search for the plane.
“The planes have seen debris at the supposed point of impact,” Ibrahim Kassim, an official at the regional air security body ASECNA, told Reuters.
It is the second Airbus to plunge into the sea this month, following an Air France Airbus A330-200 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean killing 228 people on board on June 1. A preliminary report on that crash is due on Thursday.
The Paris-Marseille-Yemen leg of the Yemenia flight was flown by an Airbus A330. In Sanaa, those passengers who were flying on to the Comoros changed onto a second Yemenia plane, the A310 that crashed.
FAULTS DETECTED
French Transport Minister Dominique Bussereau said faults had been detected during inspections in France in 2007 on the Yemenia A310, and that it had not flown to France since.
“The A310 in question was inspected in 2007 by the DGAC (French transport authorities) and they noticed a certain number of faults,” he told the I-tele television channel.
“The company was not on the black list but was subject to stricter checks on our part, and was due to be interviewed shortly by the European Union’s safety committee.”
French television showed pictures of friends and relatives of the passengers weeping at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport, many of them railing at the airline.
Airbus said it was dispatching a team of investigators to the Comoros. It said the aircraft was built in 1990 and had been used by Yemenia since 1999. Its engines were built by Pratt and Whitney, a unit of United Technologies.
“We still do not have information about the reason behind the crash, or survivors,” Mohammad al-Sumairi, deputy general manager for Yemenia operations, told Reuters.
A Yemenia official said there were 142 passengers including three infants, and 11 crew. The plane was flying to Moroni, capital of Grande Comore, the main island of the archipelago. …..”
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Bernie Madoff’s mug shot 
Bernie’s new home
He [Mr Zelaya] is the democratically elected president of Honduras. He was kidnapped by criminals 
Relatives of passengers of the plane that crashed 
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