Here are the stories for today...
Of note, the release by the FAA of a Safety Bulletin focusing on the dangers of Lithium Batteries on aircraft...
Be safe out there!
Tom
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FAA ‘safety alert’ warns airlines about the dangers of lithium batteries
By Pete Muntean and Aaron Cooper
Washington —
In a safety alert, Tuesday, the Federal Aviation 
Administration again warned airlines of the risk of lithium batteries carried onboard planes by passengers and crew members.
Cell phones, laptops, portable power banks, e-cigarettes, and hearing aids are just some of the many devices with the batteries that could malfunction, create a ‘thermal runaway’ and ignite a fire.
“Lithium batteries stored in passenger overhead bins and or in carry-on baggage, may be obscured, difficult to access, or not readily monitored by passengers or crewmembers,” the alert notes. “Because of this, detection of thermal runaway and firefighting measures may be delayed in flight, increasing the risk to safety.”
The alert comes days after the FAA demonstrated for CNN how a thermal runaway in a battery power pack in a seat back pocket could suddenly launch a violent shower of sparks and ignite a fire.
“Use of Halon extinguishers can briefly suppress open flames, however they do not halt the thermal runaway process,” the FAA notes in the alert. “The primary response involves using large amounts of water to cool the battery and suppress flames.”
The FAA tracked 50 verified battery related incidents through August, according to the agency’s statistics.
The alert encourages airlines to “consider the hazard posed by the stowage of lithium batteries in areas not visible or easily accessible to passengers or crewmembers, such as in overhead bins or in carry-on baggage.”
Southwest Airlines is currently the only major U.S. carrier which requires portable chargers and power banks to be “in plain sight” if they are being used during flight.
Generally, spare lithium batteries are prohibited in all checked baggage.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/09/us/faa-battery-safety-alert
Small plane makes 'hard landing' at Indiana airport; damage reported
Emily Sanderson - Digital Media Manager
SEYMOUR, Ind. —
A small plane made a hard landing at an airport in 
Indiana Tuesday, prompting a large response from Indiana State Police and other area law enforcement agencies.
According to Indiana State Police Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, troopers, along with other law enforcement agencies, responded to Freeman Municipal Airport in Seymour for reports of a single engine aircraft making a hard landing and sustaining damage.
ISP said no one was injured in the incident.
Wheeles said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were notified and will handle any further investigations into the cause of the incident.
https://www.wlwt.com/article/small-plane-hard-landing-seymour-indiana-airport/66028120
Small plane crash near Dover-area airport
Sean Greene
There has been a plane crash near a small airstrip
east of Dover.
A Grumman G-164 aircraft went down west of the Chandelle Airport, according to an FAA spokesperson.
The FAA said the only person on board was the pilot, that Delaware State Police initially reported did not appear to be injured.
NBC10's chopper showed the wing of a plane in a tree-filled area west of the airport.
Power wires were reportedly brought down during the crash.
The fixed-wing, single-engine plane is registered to Air Enterprises LLC in Dover, and listed in the "agriculture and pest control" category, typically representing cropdusters that would spray chemicals on plants.
According to aircraft tracking site FlightTracker24, a small plane took off from the Chandelle Airport at 2:47 p.m., and made a loop towards the Smyrna Airport before heading back towards the Chandelle Airport, with its last ping reported at 3:02 p.m about 1/2 mile west of the runway.
The FAA is investigating the cause of the crash.
NTSB Final Report: Vans Aircraft Company RV-14
The Nose Of The Airplane Tipped Forward And The Propeller Hit The Runway
Location: Sealy, Texas Accident Number: CEN25LA209
Date & Time: June 17, 2025, 13:24 Local Registration: N852BJ
Aircraft: Vans Aircraft Company RV-14 Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Defining Event: Nose over/nose down Injuries: 2 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
Analysis: The pilot reported that he landed his tailwheel airplane within the first third of the runway; however, the end of the runway was approaching quickly. He firmly applied brakes before the tailwheel was on the ground, and the nose of the airplane tipped forward and the propeller hit the runway. The airplane flipped and came to rest right side up on the runway. The fuselage, wings, and empennage sustained substantial damaged. The pilot said that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable Cause and Findings: The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be -- The pilot’s improper use of airplane’s wheel brakes during the landing roll-out.
FMI: www.ntsb.gov
Today in History
49 Years ago today: On 10 September 1976 Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 3B operated by British Airways as flight BE476 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, operated by Inex-Adria Aviopromet, were destroyed when both aircraft crashed near Vrobec following a mid-air collision. All 176 on board both aircraft were killed.
| Date: | Friday 10 September 1976 |
| Time: | 10:14 |
| Type: | McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32 |
| Owner/operator: | Inex-Adria Aviopromet |
| Registration: | YU-AJR |
| MSN: | 47649/741 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1976 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 1345 hours |
| Cycles: | 990 flights |
| Engine model: | Pratt & Whitney JT8D-9A |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 113 / Occupants: 113 |
| Other fatalities: | 63 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed, written off |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Vrbovec - Croatia |
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Non-Scheduled/charter/Air Taxi |
| Departure airport: | Split Airport (SPU/LDSP) |
| Destination airport: | Köln/Bonn Airport (CGN/EDDK) |
| Investigating agency: | AIB |
| Confidence Rating: | Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Narrative:
Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident 3B operated by British Airways as flight BE476 and a McDonnell Douglas DC-9-32, operated by Inex-Adria Aviopromet, were destroyed when both aircraft crashed near Vrobec following a mid-air collision. All 176 on board both aircraft were killed.
The Trident was on a scheduled flight from London-Heathrow Airport in England to Istanbul-Yesilköy Airport in Turkey, carrying 54 passengers and a crew of 9. The aircraft took off at 08:32 GMT and the flight proceeded normally. First contact with the Zagreb Area Control Centre was established on the Upper Sector frequency 134,45 MHz at 10:04 GMT. The flight was requested to report passing the Zagreb VOR at flight level 330.
The aircraft flew along the centreline of airway UB5 with slight side deviation 1-2 km to the right due to wind. At 2 minutes and 50 seconds before the collision, the aircraft changed heading to 115° to head back towards the airway centreline. Airspeed was 295 Kts.
The DC-9 departed Split Airport at 09:48 GMT to fly 108 West German tourists back to Cologne. Flight JP550 was issued instructions to climb to FL180.
At 09:54 the flight, on passing flight level 130, switched to the Zagreb Area Control Centre lower sector east frequency of 124.6 MHz, receiving clearance to climb to FL240 and later to FL260.
At 10:03 the crew switched to the frequency of the middle sector controller, responsible for safety and regulation of traffic between flight levels 250 and 310. This controller cleared to flight to FL350.
The aircraft assumed a heading of 353° and a speed of 273 Kts as it passed a beam and to the west of the KOS NDB, approximately 2-3 km from the airway centreline. While heading towards the Zagreb VOR, the flight crew radioed the Upper Sector controller on frequency 134,45 MHz at 10:14:04 GMT and reported that they were climbing through FL325. The controller then requested, in Serbo-Croatian, flight JP550 to maintain their present altitude and report passing the Zagreb VOR. The controller stated that an aircraft was in front passing from left to right at FL335, while in fact BE476 was at FL330. At 10:14:38 the crew replied, also in Serbo-Croatian, that they where maintaining FL330.
Three seconds later both aircraft collided. The outer five meters of the DC-9's left wing cut through the Trident's cockpit. Due to the sudden decompression, the forward part of the Trident's fuselage disintegrated. The remaining part of the fuselage struck the ground tail-first. With its left wing torn off, the DC-9 tumbled down and hit the ground right-wing first.
CAUSES OF THE ACCIDENT: "1) Direct cause of the accident was the struck of the DC-9 wing into the middle side of the TRIDENT THREE fuselage which occurred at the height of 33.000 feet above Zagreb VOR so that both aircraft became uncontrollable and fell on the ground.; 2) Improper ATC operation; 3) Non-compliance with regulations on continuous listening to the appropriate radio frequency of ATC and non-performance of look-out duty from the cockpits of either aircraft."
