[Paddlewise] Flares In A Cargo Hold Can Result in a Catastrophy

Federal Express and UPS have both been fined for accepting "Hazardous 
Material" for air shipment that were not labeled properly and should have 
been sent ground.  Flares are shippable in the US via Ground and not by air 
in most cases that I am aware of.  Flares within a pressurized environment 
in a commercial aircraft could result in a serious situation for all of 
those on board.  Please don't take flares with you.  Buy them when you get 
there.  The life you save could be your own!!!!  The Value Jet crash in the 
Everglades that Alan references below is an excellent example of equipment 
carried as part of an aircraft's safety equipment that was placed in the 
cargo hold and not packed properly for shipment and misrepresented on the 
cargo manifest.  The passengers and crew died because of that.

With regards to stoves that have been cleaned.  An aircraft is pressurized 
(including the cargo hold), but still result in pressures much lower than 
that found on the ground.  Residual combustible liquids can easily vaporize 
at these pressures resulting in a highly flammable gas that is looking for 
a way out of the container as pressure on the outside is lower than that on 
the inside.  In other words:  A bomb looking for a place to go off.  Have 
you ever had shampoo or perfume fill your suitcase during a flight?  It 
would actually be safer to have the container full of combustible liquid, 
but that really isn't an acceptable alternative either, lest it leak.  It 
would not provide room for a gas to form, but most containers are not 
designed to handle the pressure changes (like your ears are).

At 01:20 PM 3/3/2000 -0500, you wrote:
>While I know this won't be popular, it's quite illegal to carry flares and
>a few other items paddlers can't live without, on commercial aircraft.  It
>doesn't matter what the ticket counter clerk accepts - it's against ICAO
>(the UN aviation organization) and FAA rules to carry incendiary devices
>unless they're declared, rendered "safe", packed in a VERY specific manner,
>and the container (in this case you r luggage) is labelled properly.
>
>Even this is no guarantee it'll go as the Captain must be notified of all
>dangerous goods on board (which he won't be if you haven't filled out
>paperwork on it), and accept them which many passenger carrying Captains
>won't do (rightly so).
>
>The other items, which I wish weren't so, include stoves that've been used,
>no matter how well you think you've cleaned them (I don't agree with this
>one, but I don't make the rules), fuel bottles even if empty (same rule as
>stoves, and I also don't agree IF they've been properly cleaned - but how
>many of us know how to do that or would, beyond the "sniff" test?), smoke
>generators and, for checked luggage any kind of matches/lighters (you can
>put them in carry-on's I think).
>
>  If you think just one little flare, which must be "safed" as you've been
>paddling with it and not had a problem, would be okay, consider what
>happens when this (possibly past its expiration date) flare, that's likely
>spent part of the last year or two soaked in saltwater and exposed to the
>sun, decides it's its day to shine - think ValueJet DC-9 in the Everglades.
>
>Sorry to be such a wet blamket.
>
>Alan Gurevich
>
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