Hoax Email - Aircraft Corrosion

There is an email going around, your Corrosion Blog editor has received it, called Aircraft Corrosion. The email is discussed on the extremely useful and entertaining "fact-checking" urban legends website snopes.com here. Public awareness of the dangers of corrosion is beneficial but spreading false tales is not. If you receive this email, I suggest that you do not forward it and reply to the sender letting them know that the email is a hoax, with the link to the snopes site (or this post).

The pictures are from a simulation of an actual crash in 2007. The failure was attributed to out-of-spec structural member that ultimately failed due to fatigue cracking. The pilot was able to eject safely and suffered a broken arm, dislocated shoulder, and cuts and bruises.

There I was just flying along, enjoying the flight...

And what's so cool is they actually pay me to do this!

Hmmm... What's that strange sound? Something feels different!

Hey, why am I looking up?

Whoa here. Controls aren't working.

Time for a mirror check. ?Hey, where's the rest of my F-15?

Uh oh, it's over there.? I think I've got a definite 'Aw, hell' going on here.

I gotta wonder, am I the first guy to ever experience 'cockpit-airframe separation anxiety?'

OK, enough is enough! I'm outta' here! But first, the canopy has to go...

OK, now it's my turn. I'm gonna be gone - soon as I find that frickin' lower handle.

Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about.

This 'incident' caused the USAF to ground its fleet of F-15's.

How about the guy who took these pictures? Just when it looks like it's going to be just another 'average day at the office'.. You never know!

What caused the mid air break up? The main "longeron" (stringer) behind the cockpit failed due to corrosion.

Hoax Email - Dial Before You Dig

There is an email going around, your Corrosion Blog editor has received it three times now, called Dial Before You Dig. The email is now discussed on the extremely useful and entertaining "fact-checking" urban legends website snopes.com here. Public awareness of the dangers of third-party damage to pipelines is beneficial but spreading false tales is not. If you receive this email, I suggest that you do not forward it and reply to the sender letting them know that the email is a hoax, with the link to the snopes site (or this post).

The email contains a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow named Dial_Before_You_Dig.pps.

Dial Before You Dig
This happened in America. It’s a good reason why you should dial before you dig…… The following pictures are a result of a worker on a farm using a post hole digger - he hit an underground, high-pressure gas main. He took out 2 homes, associated sheds and vehicles. They never found the man.

The remainder of the slideshow is pictures showing the devastation of a pipeline explosion. The pictures are from an actual pipeline explosion that happened in "America", but not as the result of a man with a post hole digger. The photographs are actually from a natural gas transmission failure near Appomattox, Virginia in September 2008 caused by external corrosion. There were some minor injuries but fortunately no one was killed.