Part 2 - The High Risk Job of a Military Charter Loadmaster

The High Risk Job of a Military Charter Loadmaster


This is a really good article and it touched a nerve with me, because I did this for a couple years.

First, I was part of the crew, but as the article stated and as I illustrated in my previous post, I had no protections as a crew member would.  As soon as we landed, I hit the road running.  However, I do have to say, Northwest Airlines did take great care of us and in no way ever took advantage of us nor did I ever feel abused.  BUT....yes, I slept on the plane in flight, ate junk, cleaned with baby wipes and all that other stuff.  Not until later, after we started burning out did we get authorization to rotate around to get a night in a hotel in either Ramstein or Incerlik.  I would never trade in my days as an NWA loadmaster!

We were met by our local Ground Service Coordinator, which was often a local vendor we contracted with to provide local liaison at the remote airfields we visited.  This began the work, reviewing the paperwork for the next flight, checking the load plans, planned haz mat, time line, etc.  At this point, it was a waiting game, depending on who all was in line ahead of us.

The on/off loads were interesting.  Generally we got a team of military airmen most between 18 and 20 years old, with very little experience.  I had to be in two places at once to supervise the entire load.  Occasionally an NCO or SNCO would pop in to check on them, but for the most part, I had to check and double check everything they did.

To begin with, the loaders the AF uses are not designed to fit with commercial freighters, so getting them to align to the door took an experienced driver and a keen eye on the loadmaster hanging out of the cargo door two stories up.  This was the greatest challenge of the day as the drivers were often "new".  Once we started, the next set of challenges hit the door, like, pallets would come in the door that were either wrong pallets, wrong weights, undeclared or improperly declared haz mat, poorly built/secured and I had to reject them or move them around in the load and coordinate with load planning.

Often the GSC was trying to learn the craft of being a load master, so he was often close at hand and very helpful.  We always had to check the lockdown of each and every pallet to ensure it was done right, pretty often I would find problems.  The problem is that military pallets and commercial freighters don't fit perfectly together, so you have to be very creative on loading to ensure total safety and legality.

Large roll on stock, requires a great deal of knowledge to load and my experience tells me that many of the "loadmasters" I encountered didn't really have that kind of experience.  I learned as an Embarkation Specialist (0431) in the Marine Corps, loading Helos and other Heavy Equipment or Motor T assets into military aircraft.  I loaded many C5s, C141s, C130s and even special ops Ch-53s with cargo.

Now, while all this is going on, you have to coordinate with the fuelers or even fuel the aircraft yourself, if there was no fuelers available, ensure catering is done, ensure all the paperwork is correct and the crews have been called out and picked up in time for an on-time departure.  It was generally an incredible hard and fast paced 2 or 3 hours followed up by a lot of sit around and wait.

So all this being said, imaging doing this after sleeping in a chair for say 10 out of the last 48 hours, eating crappy food and being in extreme weather conditions like 100 degree heat in the middle east after working in 20 degree weather on the east coast and 50 degree weather in Germany.  Toss in snow, rain or a massive dust storm and you have a fun time.

There is no room for error.  Mistakes in this job can have catastrophic results as the article points out, but to blame the loadmaster straight out is harsh as no one knows the circumstances surrounding the event.  However, no matter what, it is the loadmasters job to ensure that everything done to that plane is perfect, so the buck stops there.  The Loadmaster is the commander of that aircraft while it is on the ground until the release is signed by the Captain taking custody of the aircraft.

Loadmasters are a special breed or people who work absolutely insane hours in the most insane environments and they love it.  What we considered a good week, most nine to fivers would think was grounds for quitting.  Murphy's Law ruled the day and the word "easy" was looked on with skepticism.  But I wouldn't trade the experience in for the world.  

All-terrain wheelchair connects disabled woman with outdoors | Outdoors | The Seattle Times

All-terrain wheelchair connects disabled woman with outdoors | Outdoors | The Seattle Times

Some new technology hitting the streets ...or rather the off-road.  At 350 pounds, I suspect that these may be a bit large to move on a passenger plane, but as technology improves, it often gets smaller.

According to the spec sheet:

http://www.actiontrackchair.com/

The device is powered by two " 12v wheelchair batteries" So this is not too clear.  Anyway, something to watch for in the battery powered mobility device arena.

E-cigarette causes home fire - www.marionstar.com

E-cigarette causes home fire .  The device was plugged into a cell phone charger.  This is a sure way to get your e-cig to become a flaming mess.

These devices are starting to gather a rather bad reputation in the dangerous goods world.  The have the potential of becoming very dangerous in aircraft baggage, or even if charging in the cabin.  Definitely a technology to watch.

Press Release – FAA Proposes Civil Penalties Against Seven Companies for Allegedly Violating Hazardous Materials Regulations

Civil penalties for failures to comply with the HazMat Regulations.



Press Release – FAA Proposes Civil Penalties Against Seven Companies for Allegedly Violating Hazardous Materials Regulations

ICAO releases Corrigendum #1 to the 2015-2016 TI

http://www.icao.int/safety/DangerousGoods/Documents/Doc%209284.2015_2016.Corr1.en.pdf

The document is very short and addresses Special Provision A201.

It gives States a provision to make exception to the ban of UN3090 Lithium Metal Batteries on passenger aircraft.

The link above takes you directly to the document.

Why lithium-ion smartphone batteries keep exploding | Globalnews.ca

"Though Casserly maintains that the phone was not plugged into its wall charger when its battery exploded, over-charging is said to be one of the leading causes of battery explosions"

Why lithium-ion smartphone batteries keep exploding | Globalnews.ca

The High Risk Job of a Military Charter Loadmaster

I look back at my days of doing this and it would be considered brutal by many.  I would start working a flight on Monday morning with a few hours of reconfiguring the decks for military cargo, board the flight on Monday afternoon for the east coast, get there that night, wait in line to get your first load.  Quite a bit of hurry up and wait in this line of work.  Take care of all the particulars for the trip, get the flight ready to depart then leave LATE on Monday night which was actually early Tuesday morning.

Get to Germany on Tuesday afternoon, wait in line....Get your cross load done, all has to be done and out by 10pm or risk curfew.  Again, do all the particulars and get out on time!  Pretty often there was a back log of planes on the ramp in KWI, so you got held up in Ramstein for a spot to open up.  Flying over Baghdad every week was a bit wierd, but you got used to it.

Head down to the middle east, to get there weds morning, unload and load before the sun comes up and the temps hit 120 degrees .... good luck with that as you again have to ...wait in line.  Ku-WAIT was a saying in those parts of the world.  Take off Weds Morning and get back to Germany Late Weds afternoon.  Hey and guess what you get to do....wait in line some more .... then you actually have a couple hours to grab a shower in a public shower room.  Take off from there Late Wed evening and get back to the east coast Thurs afternoon.  This was the slowest part of the trip.  Again, you have to wait in line....then you have to do the ceremonies for the Angels on board.  This took quite some time because there was a ceremony for each casket and yo usometimes had multiple Angels.  Once that is complete, you do your offload.  Take off from there late Thursday night, get back on Friday Morning and reconfigure the deck back to a civilian format and you are done about 7am.

That was my work week and did you notice there was no mention of a hotel in there.  I slept in a seat or mat on the floor of the aircraft while in the air, in between flight segments and time zones, never really knowing what day or what time it was since we lived on "Zulu" time.  I ate airplane food for 3 meals a day, unless there was a few minutes and someone coule run to the base Burger King for me ar Ramstein, and I did this every week.

Toss in a maintenance problem or back log of aircraft in the middle east or a missed curfew and it easily rolled over into saturday.  The whole time I was doing everything, every thing necessary to make that aircraft airworthy and legal to fly, fueling included!

You have to be on your A game the whole time, every detail has to be seen, nothing can be missed or bad things happen.  You master the load, managing a bunch of 19 year olds who know very little about air cargo as a whole and watching everything they did, checking and double checking.    It was a great gig, but exhausting.  I do miss it though!

That was the glamorous live of a loadmaster for Northwest Airlines.  Check out the article below!


The High Risk Job of a Military Charter Loadmaster

E-cigarette plugged in with wrong charger EXPLODES and burns down Kent bedroom | Daily Mail Online

"I'd put my kids to bed and put the e-cigarette on charge. About five minutes later I heard a bang, I just assumed it was our neighbours moving things about."

E-cigarette plugged in with wrong charger EXPLODES and burns down Kent bedroom | Daily Mail Online

The dangers of using the wrong charger for the device caused this Holiday nightmare.  Think yo uare safe?   Read the next article.

"As you might expect, several lawsuits have been filed against e-cigarette manufacturers for injuries received when the e-cigarettes exploded."

http://www.propertycasualty360.com/2014/11/25/think-youre-safe-from-fires-by-smoking-an-e-cigare  - Article by www.propertycasualty360.com

Southwest: Passenger's e-cigarette use caused emergency landing | Maryland News - WBAL Home

E-Cigarettes in the news again.  This time causing an emergency landing on Southwest.



Southwest: Passenger's e-cigarette use caused emergency landing | Maryland News - WBAL Home

IATA releases guide for safely transporting lithium batteries | Safety content from ATWOnline

AWTonline.com article on the IATA Guide

I have read through the guide and find that it contains a lot of good information.  Read the article linked below and let me know your thoughts!

IATA releases guide for safely transporting lithium batteries | Safety content from ATWOnline

Many passengers are similarly oblivious to the potential hazards of lithium batteries. The result is that there are safety risks from lithium batteries in baggage, cargo and mail. This guide has been produced to assist operators in determining their strategies for mitigating these risks.”

Student’s Samsung phone explodes, causing bedroom fire | WGN-TV

Student’s Samsung phone explodes, causing bedroom fire | WGN-TV

This isn't as uncommon as you expect.  You have got to be careful with your phones and how you handle and store them.

The residual of the processor and batteries running is heat and Lithium batteries do not react well to prolonged exposure to heat.

United latest carrier to restrict lithium batteries | Air Cargo World

Still in the Media

Air Cargo World's take on the renewed interest in Lithium Batteries as Cargo.



United latest carrier to restrict lithium batteries | Air Cargo World



Importantly, “Lithium batteries are safe to transport provided that they are designed, tested, manufactured and packaged in accordance with the global transport safety standards,” said Kevin Hiatt, IATA’s senior vice president-safety and flight operations. - See more at: http://aircargoworld.com/Air-Cargo-World-News/2014/12/united-latest-carrier-restrict-lithium-batteries/6901#sthash.KDt5NvxV.dpuf

IATA - News Brief: IATA Launches Lithium Battery Risk Mitigation Guidance for Airline Operators

Lithium Battery Risk Mitigation Guidance

Montreal – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the publication of the first edition of the Lithium Battery Risk Mitigation Guidance for Operators. This free online guidance material provides airline operators with critical information related to the safe handling and transport of lithium batteries by air.

IATA - News Brief: IATA Launches Lithium Battery Risk Mitigation Guidance for Airline Operators

View the manual from this link

Media at it again

Recently, there has been a lot of press concerning Lithium batteries in cargo on airplanes.  Most of it if all hype by the media, trying to make something look far worse than it really is.  The articles are all full of mis-quotes or things taken out of context.  Some I read were just plain fabrications.

As always, I recommend not paying any attention to these hype articles in the main stream media.  They are all for ratings and readership numbers.

Your best bet are industry publications, websites, forums and blogs.  For the most accurate info, contact your trusty Dangerous Goods by Air Expert.  The media will hype anything to make it far worse than it is to get you to read or watch, keep that in mind.

Dreamliner Battery Still Not Safe Enough, NTSB Report Says | Christine Negroni

"Thousands of pages document the tests, inspections and analysis the Japanese and American safety authorities have conducted searching for the answer and many things remain unknown. The list gives way to a number of recommendations for better ways to handle lithium ion batteries on airplanes and explains the conclusion that as of now, they are not safe enough."



Dreamliner Battery Still Not Safe Enough, NTSB Report Says | Christine Negroni

United Continental Tightens Restrictions on Lithium Batteries in Cargo - WSJ

A company spokesman said the tighter rules were put in place “out of an abundance of caution,” but added that United Continental “will continue to accept lithium ion batteries loaded on open or flat containers.”

United Continental Tightens Restrictions on Lithium Batteries in Cargo - WSJ

NBC News - Could Lithium Ion Batteries Pose Fire Risk on Passenger Planes?

Lithium Batteries in the News



Also an article hit the presses:

http://www.pressherald.com/2014/12/03/in-bulk-lithium-ion-batteries-aboard-airplanes-pose-threats/

Design flaws led to 2013 lithium-ion battery fire in Boeing 787: NTSB | Business Insurance

Two recent articles about the Boston 787 Lithium Battery incident.

Design flaws led to 2013 lithium-ion battery fire in Boeing 787: NTSB | Business Insurance

The National Transportation Safety Board said the battery, manufactured by GS Yuasa Corp., experienced an internal short circuit that led to thermal runaway of the cell.

787 lithium battery short circuited in Boston plane fire - USA Today

The manufacture of lithium-ion batteries allowed contaminants and other defects in batteries aboard Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes, 

BBC One - Fake Britain looks at fake batteries

BBC One - Fake Britain, Series 5, Episode 13

Geoff Leach worked with BBC on the production of this episode!  It looks like you can watch it online after it airs!

Give it a look!

"Matt Allwright investigates the conmen who are trying to get their hands on your money by using fakes, forgeries and frauds and shows you how to avoid being taken for a ride. In this episode, Matt reveals the fake batteries being used in mobile phones, cameras and laptops that can give you more than you bargained for. Plus the police officers cracking down on courier fraud."

Fire Containment Concepts Releases Fire Containment System To Deal With Fires Resulting From Lithium-Ion Batteries On Aircraft

"One of the potential safety risks affecting the aviation industry today is the potential danger of fire resulting from the use of PEDs and the lithium batteries that power them onboard aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has confirmed 144 documented safety incidents involving these devices and lithium batteries." - read the article from www.safetyonline.com at the link below.

Fire Containment Concepts Releases Fire Containment System To Deal With Fires Resulting From Lithium-Ion Batteries On Aircraft