Root Cause Analysis Information

Driving While Distracted

December 16, 2011

A recent study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration determined that 3,092 people died last year in car accidents that involved distracted driving.  This means that texting and talking on cell phones contributed to one out of every 11 traffic deaths in the US last year. It’s difficult to compare this number to the [...]

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Roofing Asphalt Spilled on PA Turnpike

December 9, 2011

On November 22, 2011, a tanker truck spilled a large quantity of roofing asphalt along nearly 40 miles of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.  The spill damaged many vehicles and caused a traffic nightmare as crews worked for hours to clean the mess up.  The timing of this incident was also unfortunate because it occurred on the [...]

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Pilot Locked in Bathroom Nearly Results in Terror Alert

November 30, 2011

In order for a flight to take off and land safely, many complex mechanical systems have to work for the plane to function properly.  Additionally, pilots need to be properly trained and proficient at their jobs.  Airline processes also have to work in order to smoothly ticket, security screen and board all the passengers.   The [...]

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First Airline Fine for Tarmac Delay

November 22, 2011

The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently issued the first fine for violating new rules that limit how long passengers can be kept onboard a plane waiting on the tarmac. The new regulations, commonly called the tarmac delay rule, state that passengers may not be kept onboard a plane waiting on the runway for more than [...]

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Plane Crash Kills Hockey Team

November 17, 2011

Hockey fans were devastated when, on September 7, 2011, a Yak-42 plane carrying a Russian hockey team, including many former NHL players, crashed shortly after takeoff.  A total of 44 people were killed, including 36 passengers and 8 crew members.  One crew member survived the crash.  This incident was the 7th fatal crash to occur [...]

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Bluff Collapse Releases Coal Ash

November 9, 2011

On October 31, 2011, a bluff collapsed at a power plant on the shores of Lake Michigan.  The resulting mudslide took trailers, storage units, at least one truck and an unknown amount of coal ash into the lake, which provides drinking water for more than 40 million people.  Cleanup is ongoing, but the overall impact [...]

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BlackBerry’s Widespread Failure

November 3, 2011

BlackBerry faced yet another setback last month when service went down world-wide for multiple days.  The Research in Motion (RIM) company, already facing stiff competition from other smart phone vendors, apologized profusely for the outage and vowed to woo back its customers.  What caused the extensive and possibly business-ending service outage? A root cause analysis [...]

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Severe Flooding in Thailand

October 26, 2011

Thailand is experiencing an unusually heavy monsoon season, but it’s management of the rains that are being blamed for the most severe flooding to occur in the area in decades.  Heavy rains resulting from the monsoon season and high tides are creating serious difficulties for officials in the area, who are having to make hard [...]

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Driver Death at Indy 300

October 19, 2011

The racing world was filled with sadness with the death of Dan Wheldon during the Indy 300 race in Las Vegas on October 16, 2011.  However, many race-car drivers were not shocked at the occurrence of a 15-car pileup that resulted in Wheldon’s death.  Specifically, these drivers note that the track – which was designed [...]

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Toxic Fumes on Aircraft

October 14, 2011

A settlement against an aircraft manufacturer, with regards to a claim that faulty design allowed toxic fumes to enter the cabin, occurred in early October 2011.  It is the first of its kind to occur in the U.S., but may not be the last.  A documentary entitled “Angel Without Wings” is attempting to bring more [...]

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