XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 10/02/12

Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Seats become loose on THIRD AMERICAN AIRLINES Flight... - and now 10 planes taken out of service... -

American Airlines says improperly installed clamps caused seats to pop loose on some of its planes, and it expanded an inspection to look at 47 jets.

In the past week rows of seats have come loose on three separate flights, two of which made emergency landings. Federal officials are looking into the matter, which safety advocates consider to be serious.

On Tuesday American said that clamps used to attach rows of three seats to tracks on the aircraft floor were "improperly installed," but it didn't say where the work was done or who did it - American Airlines crews or a contractor who worked on the planes.

"We're not sure where they were improperly installed," said spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan. "A lot of people touch those airplanes."

American had planned to inspect eight of its 102 Boeing 757 jets. But by Tuesday afternoon it had inspected 36 planes and planned to check 11 more that have the same type of seats in the main cabin, the airline said.

The first sign of trouble showed up last Wednesday, when crews noticed loose seats on a plane that had flown from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to Vail, Colo. The same plane had to make an emergency landing Monday when seats came loose shortly after takeoff on a New York-to-Miami flight, and a Boston-to-Miami flight Saturday diverted to New York after seats loosened in mid-flight, according to the airline.

Separately, an American flight on Tuesday from Chicago to London was diverted to Shannon Airport in Ireland after a report of smoke in the cabin. An airline spokesman said it turned out to be a faulty cooling fan in an entertainment system, and the plane was expected to continue on to London Tuesday night.

The reports of smoky cabins and seats coming loose during flights raised questions about safety on the nation's third biggest airline. Aviation industry experts said publicity about the problem could make passengers stay away from American and fly on other airlines instead.

Matt Ziemkiewicz, president of the safety-advocacy group National Air Disaster Alliance, said passengers could be hurt or killed in an otherwise survivable crash if seats break loose from their moorings.

Read more -
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_AMERICAN_AIRLINES_SEATS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-10-02-11-44-30

Popularity of medical marijuana in Colorado has had an unintended side effect - dogs getting stoned - ‘Stoner Dogs’ -

The popularity of medical marijuana in Colorado has had an unintended side effect — dogs getting stoned, sometimes with deadly results.

Some people firmly believe that if medical marijuana helps people, it also helps their pets, but that’s not always the case. Marijuana can be harmful and sometimes toxic for dogs. New research shows that with medical marijuana, the number of dogs getting sick from pot is spiking.

“They basically have lost a lot of their fine motor control, they have a wide-based stance and they are not sure on their feet,” said Dr. Debbie Van Pelt of VRCC, the Veterinary Specialty and Emergency Hospital in Englewood.

Vets say they used to see dogs high on marijuana just a few times a year. Now pet owners bring in doped-up dogs as many as five times a week.

“There are huge spikes in the frequency of marijuana ingestion in places where it’s become legal,” Van Pelt said.

Colorado is one of those places.

Most of the time veterinarians say dogs get the medical marijuana by eating their owners food products that are laced with marijuana that were left out in the open. More and more dispensaries sell those kinds of products.

“I just want dogs, kids to be safe. It needs to be treated like any other drug. If you came home with a prescription of vicodin from your doctor you wouldn’t just leave it sitting there,” veterinarian Dr. Stacy Meola said.

Meola is a veterinarian at a Wheat Ridge clinic. She coordinated a five-year study that shows the number of dogs sickened by marijuana has quadrupled in Colorado since medical marijuana was legalized. Most dogs survive, but not all.

“Two dogs, however, got into baked goods with medical grade marijuana butter in it, which presumably seems to be more toxic to the dogs, so we did have two deaths,” Meola said.

That’s the exception. Most of the time the dogs will end up showing symptoms such as staggering, acting lethargic, vomiting, and being overly sensitive to sound and light. Sometimes they fall into a coma. It’s the doggie equivalent of a “bad trip.” After treatment most are back to normal within 24 hours.

While many dog owners think it’s funny to get their dogs stoned and have posted videos of their stoned dogs, Colorado veterinarians say there’s nothing funny about dogs on dope.

“We need people to realize it is potentially toxic and potentially fatal to their pets,” Van Pelt said.

Veterinarians say frequently when the sick dogs come in, their owners are reluctant to admit medical marijuana might have been the cause. They say if that’s a possible factor, tell the vet right away and they can more quickly treat the dog.

Read more -
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2012/10/01/colorado-vets-see-spike-in-cases-of-stoner-dogs/

The $10 Million frostbitten penis lawsuit -

A U.S. Army veteran claims that a nurse repeatedly put ice packs on his penis after surgery, causing frostbite and gangrene and ultimately leading to amputation.

Michael D. Nash sued the federal government in U.S. District Court in Kentucky on Tuesday, seeking $10 million in damages for what he calls medical malpractice.

Nash went to the Veterans Administration hospital in Lexington for the surgery. His attorneys say a nurse packed his groin in ice for 19 hours afterward. The attorneys say a significant part of his penis later had to be amputated. Attorney Larry Jones says Nash will require reconstructive surgery.

A message left for the Veterans Administration was not immediately returned.

Read more -
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/1265344--man-sues-u-s-for-10m-for-frostbitten-penis

American Airlines temporarily grounds EIGHT planes now after loose seats -

American Airlines said on Monday it has temporarily grounded eight planes to evaluate them after seats became loose on two flights in the last few days -- incidents which have also prompted safety regulators to look into the matter.
The airline, whose parent AMR Corp filed for bankruptcy protection in November, is reinspecting eight Boeing Co 757 planes after a row of seats came loose during a Saturday flight and the same thing happened again on a different plane on Monday.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is also looking into the incidents, according to a FAA statement forwarded by American Airlines. FAA representatives were not available for comment after hours.
Company spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said in an emailed statement that an initial internal investigation "indicated that there could be a possible issue with a certain model of seats and how they fit into the tracking used to secure the seats".
The seats were installed by American Airlines maintenance and maintenance contractors and the issue does not seem to be tied to any one maintenance facility or group, the company said.
A Wall Street Journal story on Monday said the FAA is looking into why a dozen or more rows of seats on one of the planes were not properly secured, adding that the planes being evaluated had recently undergone maintenance.
The airline, which began implementing cost cuts for its pilots last month, has had to cancel hundreds of flights recently due to an increase in pilot-initiated maintenance requests and sick leave usage.
American Airlines said on September 27 that it warned its pilots union it would take legal action if the union fails to ensure the airline operates smoothly.

Read more: http://www.foxbusiness.com/news/2012/10/02/american-airlines-temporarily-grounds-eight-planes-after-loose-seats/?test=latestnews#ixzz288uE0Uum