Eideard

The U.S. average price for a gallon of regular gasoline topped $4 for the first time, a survey issued today by the travel group AAA showed.

AAA’s survey showed a national average price of $4.005 per gallon, up from $3.67 a month ago and $3.10 a year ago.

Average national gasoline prices had stabilized last week before Thursday and Friday’s spike of U.S. crude oil futures by $16 to a record above $139 a barrel. Friday’s one-day gain of $10.75 for crude oil was the biggest daily gain in history, and Thursday’s gain was the second biggest.

Kinda makes the weekend, doesn’t it?

The Air Force said the first crash of a B-2 stealth bomber was caused by moisture in sensors and estimated the loss of the aircraft at $1.4 billion.

The crash probably could have been avoided if knowledge of a technique to evaporate the moisture had been disseminated throughout the B-2 program, said Maj. Gen. Floyd L. Carpenter, who headed an accident investigation board.

The Spirit of Kansas abruptly pitched up, rolled and yawed to the left February 23 before plunging to the ground at Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam. Both pilots ejected safely just after the left wing made contact with the ground; it was the first crash since the maiden B-2 flights nearly 20 years ago…

Water distorted preflight readings in three of the plane’s 24 sensors, making the aircraft’s control computer force the B-2 to pitch up on takeoff, resulting in a stall and subsequent crash.

A technique learned by some two years ago that had gone widely unknown and unadopted probably would have prevented the crash, Carpenter said. The technique essentially heats the sensors and evaporates any moisture before data calibrations.

“This technique was never formalized in a technical order change or captured in ‘lessons learned’ reports. Hence, only some pilots and some maintenance technicians knew of the suggestion,” according to Carpenter’s executive summary of the accident.

Haven’t yet had a chance to discuss this with any jet jockeys. The essential reason for this crash was poor communications skills and procedures?

Johnny Jackson, a 10-year-old boy from South Carolina, died at home on Sunday from “dry drowning” more than an hour after going swimming and walking home with his mother. The sad event highlights a little known danger that parents and child carers should be aware of, that drowning can kill hours after being submersed in water.

Johnny’s mother, Cassandra Jackson, told NBC News…that: “I’ve never known a child could walk around, talk, speak and their lungs be filled with water.”

Johnny must have got some water in his lungs while he was swimming in his local pool at Goose Greek, South Carolina. He didn’t show any signs of respiratory distress, but he had an accident in the pool and “soiled himself”, said the TODAY report. He then walked home with his mother and sister.

His mother said she bathed him and he told her he felt sleepy. When she went to check on him later she saw his face was covered in a “spongy white material”. He was rushed to hospital but it was too late.

According to the latest figures, about 3,600 Americans died from drowning in 2005…including a small percentage that die up to 24 hours later because of water entering the respiratory system. A not insignificant number of the victims are children who died after having a bath.

Read the whole article. Remember the symptoms. Hopefully, you’ll never need to respond to an emergency like this.

Thanks, K B