Mercedes left dangling after smashing through wall
29th April 2010
That's some pretty shoddy building work! It doesn't even look as if the back lights have been broken...
Lucky B*stard
Mercedes left dangling after smashing through wall
29th April 2010
That's some pretty shoddy building work! It doesn't even look as if the back lights have been broken...
Last edited by faceless on Sun May 04, 2014 2:22 am, edited 1 time in total.
[align=center]<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="https://www.youtube.com/v/Nsca3UqysrI&am ... ram><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="https://www.youtube.com/v/Nsca3UqysrI&am ... S&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>[/align]
Yacht trip turns into a modern-day Moby Dick as southern right whale lands on deck with couple
21st July 2010
Mr Mothes and his girlfriend and business partner Paloma Werner, 50, took cover as the whale thrashed about on deck before slipping back into the water. Today the pair were thankful that they were aboard a steel-hulled training yacht, which didn't suffer any structural damage. A fibreglass vessel would have been destroyed. The incident happened at Hermanus, a popular destination around 80 miles east of Cape Town.
Recalling their close call with the forces of nature, Miss Werner said: 'It really was quite incredible but very scary. The whale was about the same size as the boat. We'd spotted it about 100 metres away and thought that was the end of it. Then suddenly it was right up beside us. I assumed it would go underneath the boat but instead it sprang out of the sea. We were very lucky to get through it, as the sheer weight of the thing was huge. There were bits of skin and blubber left behind, and the mast was wrecked. It brought down the rigging too. Thank goodness the hull was made of steel and not fibreglass or we could have been ruined.' The shaken couple, who are experienced seafarers with the Cape Town Sailing Academy, used their engine to get back to shore in Table Bay.
There were reports that the whale had been harassed by pleasure craft before it leapt onto the Intrepid. An inflatable craft had been seen driving close to the animal moments before the incident. But experts say the young whale was more likely inexperienced with human contact and didn't know the yacht, which had its engine turned off, was there. Meredith Thornton, scientist and manager of the Cape Town Mammal Research Institute at the University of Pretoria, said: 'Whales don't see much by way of their eyes but by sound in the water.'
Miss Werner said she first saw the whale when it was about 100m away. It breached once and, before they knew it, the whale was a mere 10m from their yacht. 'There was hardly any wind, so we couldn't get out of the way,' she said. 'We didn't have time to take any evasive action.' Witnesses said the whale had been seen hitting it's tail on the water, and many thought it was being aggressive. But Ms Thorton said the whale was probably 'lob-tailing' in order to communicate with other whales. She added: 'If a whale wanted to be aggressive it would side-swipe the boat with its tail.'
After the incident, Mothes and Werner surveyed the damage to their yacht. Miss Werner said: 'The first thing we did was make sure there was no water downstairs. We didn't know if the whale was coming back. They managed to turn the engine on and made it back to the marina without assistance. Ms Thornton said the whale was probably not badly injured, adding: 'It's definitely very badly bruised, but probably did not break anything. It's definitely feeling it today.'
------------------------
Huge chunk of ice falls thousands of feet from plane and smashes into couple's flat
22nd July 2010
Mr Foote said: 'I thought at first it was thunder and I got up to investigate. I tried to open the spare bedroom door and it wouldn't move. When I forced it open, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There was an enormous hole in both the roof and bedroom ceiling and there were great chunks of ice everywhere. My wife and I are in a state of shock, but we also feel like we've had a lucky escape. The ice smashed through the room our grandchildren sleep in when they visit, which is a terrifying thought. It is such a freak incident, but it could have been so much worse. Tiles and roof debris have been scattered nearly 30ft so I don't want to imagine the force with which it hit.'
Pete Windsor, of West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service, said: 'This is one of the strangest incidents we've been called to. We are just relieved that nobody was hurt and that we were able to offer them some assistance. They have had a miraculous escape really.'
A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said a build-up of ice usually occurs on the seals of the exterior pipes, where water is pumped into the aircraft. Water seeps out and ice begins to form at high altitude and continues to grow in size until the plane descends into warmer air. Rarely, chunks of ice fall to the ground but more often dissipate in the atmosphere, the spokesman said. He said: 'These incidents are rare. There are about 25 to 30 reported every year, which is not a vast amount when you consider there are three million flight movements over the UK annually.'
Miraculous escape for driver as car falls 20ft into sinkhole at traffic lights during storm
24th July 2010
Mr Treankler was rescued by a passer-by, 46-year-old Mark Pawlik, who was walking along when he saw the vehicle disappear and a traffic light land on its roof. Mr Pawlik said: 'The Escalade just went "wham". Everything went down. The power line went like "pow" and then I think it was sewer water was just pouring into the hole.'
The 20-foot-deep, 40-foot-wide sinkhole formed when a manhole collapsed, and will require several weeks to repair, a city spokesman said. Wisconsin's governor declared a state of emergency yesterday after storms flooded homes and opened sinkholes in Milwaukee and closed the city's main airport.
Pensioner smashes his car through two brick walls and into a living room... and walks away with slight bruising
30th July 2010
An officer from the Cleveland Police Crash Investigations Unit, said: 'Luckily the house, which has a "to let" sign, was empty at the time.' A colleague, who did not want to be named, said that previously another car had demolished two large pillars outside another house on the development. He said: 'The driver has survived and is being treated in hospital. The road goes from a national speed limit of 60mph to 40mph on this bend. To go through a wall and then go through a wall into a house, he's very lucky. For reasons still be determined he hasn't taken the bend.' He was asked if speed was a key factor in the crash, but declined to comment.
Local resident, Christine Torr, said: 'It's been an accident waiting to happen. These houses should never have been built so close to a major road.' Another local who didn't want to be named said: 'To see a car that has gone through a wall and through another wall right into a house is horrendous. It's so lucky no one was in otherwise they could have been killed. Some people just rent these properties so that might have been why there was no one in.'
American Footballer In Dramatic Road Accident
Police in the US have released video showing American footballer Josh Koeppel picking himself up after being thrown from his motorcycle in a dramatic road accident.
oooooff.......
Last edited by faceless on Sun May 04, 2014 2:25 am, edited 1 time in total.
Man survives after 400ft jump by landing on car
A man who jumped more than 400ft after leaping off a New York apartment block survived after crashing feet first into a parked car.
Paul Thompson
2 Sep 2010
Thomas Magill, 22, is said to be in a stable condition after the jump, suffering only two broken legs and a bruised lung. He only suffered two broken legs and a bruised lung from the fall. Eye witnesses said he was still conscious screaming "my leg, my leg" as he lay slumped on the back seat of the car.A man who jumped more than 400ft after leaping off a New York apartment block survived after crashing feet first into a parked car.
Paul Thompson
2 Sep 2010
Mr Magill, an aspiring actor and singer, had leapt from the 39th floor of the building on New York's Upper West side in the US. He fell more than 400ft and reached speeds of up to 126mph before crashing into a red Dodge Charger sports car parked alongside the building. Residents of the building told police they saw a body whizz past their window before others on the ground heard a thud as he slammed into the car.
"He came down feetfirst at like 100 mph," said witness Andrew Petrocelli, who added that the landing was "like a stunt man. That's a miracle if I've ever seen one. He should be a goner. He had his hands up in the air, like flailing." Construction worker Guy McCormack,40, said the car belonged to his wife. "I can't believe this. My car saved his life," said McCormack who was working nearby. He retrieved a set of crystal rosary beads from the car saying divine intervention had played a part in Mr Magill's survival.
Air show crash drama:
Pilot's amazing escape as stunt glider smashes into runway as 15,000 fans look on
14th September 2010
Mr Newman crashed while performing for the Swift Aerobatic Display Team at the Royal Air Forces Association airshow at Shoreham, West Sussex. Amateur photographer Rob Yuill, 62, of Hornchurch, Essex, who took the amazing sequence of pictures, said: 'He had a very lucky escape indeed. The glider was supposed to perform an aerobatic display with two powered aircraft - but it was a very overcast day with low cloud. The gilder only performed for a couple of minutes before being released from its tow line. Then it flew downwind and turned to make its final approach to land.'
'As he turned, I realised the glider was at the wrong angle as its nose went down. He had lost air speed and headed straight into the ground. It was not far off vertical when it hit the runway. The nose section just crumpled. It was an awful thing to see. There was an silence from the crowd as people took in what had happened around 400 ft in front of them. I felt a real sense of relief when the pilot crawled away. I had feared the worst because it was such an awful crash. Two ambulances and a couple of fire engines were on the scene very quickly and he was taken away on a stretcher.'
Mr Newman who was the UK unlimited aerobatic gliding champion in 2008 and 2009 was taken to Worthing Hospital after the accident, which took place on August 23. He has since been transferred to a hospital closer to his home in Egham, Surrey, and is said to be "'on the mend'. Mr Newman, an operations manager for an automatic door manufacturer, is having to lie on his back for the next three weeks to help his spine heal naturally. Swift Aerobatic Display team spokesman Guy Westgate said: 'Mike is in good spirits and the whole team wish him a speedy recovery.' Mr Newman, a gliding instructor and aerobatic coach, has been flying since 1996.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch and the British Gliding Association have begun an investigation into the crash. Air show organiser Don Bean said: 'We are very sorry about the pilot being hurt - but it is fortunate the accident was not much more serious.'
----------------------
Huge pieces of space rocket land in Chinese village
Quite recently, in a village far, far away… massive sections of a space rocket crashed to Earth.
The probe was fired into the heavens on the back of a Long March 3C rocket – and the villagers must be counting their lucky stars that no one was hurt when some of it fell to Earth. Blistering from the scorching heat the rocket had to withstand during take-off can clearly be seen. The probe was launched on a reconnaissance mission ahead of an unmanned lunar landing the Chinese are planning for 2012. They are hoping to put astronauts on the moon’s surface in 2017.
130-year-old engine crashes through garden wall .. at top speed of 5mph
19th October 2010
Neighbour David Sandy, 60, said: 'I was finishing my breakfast when I was alerted by a huge ball of steam rising up out the front of my house. The engine appears to have gone down the hill and skidded on the cats eyes - sending it across the road. It then hit the end of a neighbour's car and crashed into the wall. If it hadn't have hit that wall, it could have crashed into a house. It was such a sad sight to see the engine, which had obviously been lovingly restored, lying shattered. My neighbour had just spent the summer repairing his wall too!'
The traction engine, bearing the name 'S Kavanagh, road contractor, Surrey', was towing a caravan when it crashed on Saturday at 9.30am. Neighbours believed it was travelling from the nearby Toddington Steam Fair. Traction steam engines - often called road locomotives - became popular in Britain from the 1850s. The metal-wheeled vehicles were used to tow heavy equipment and usually travel at around 3-4mph.
-------------------------
Car in Melbourne flies into bedroom
A car in Melbourne, Australia, crashed into the bedroom of a suburban house leaving the owner thanking his lucky stars that he was in another room using his computer, just before the vehicle burst onto the scene.
According to police, the car became airborne and smashed into Mr Bisbelis’s bed after it hit a curb. The driver and passenger in the car escaped with minor injuries and have been questioned by the authorities.