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question for UPS/FedEx crews

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linecheck

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 23, 2003
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For any of the UPS/FedEx pilots out there:

Do your 767's, or any other aircraft, contain Class C cargo compartments, or are they all fitted with Class E?

Also, in light of the tragedy in Dubai, what precautions does UPS take regarding the loading and transport of lithium batteries? Is there anything out of the ordinary that's done, from a flight crew perspective, when compared to other DG? For example, are lithiums loaded in a specific location on the main deck or are they loaded anywhere on the aircraft?

Thanks for any information you might have. Just trying to compare notes as it relates to the carrier I work for.

Fly safe,
LC
 
For any of the UPS/FedEx pilots out there:

Do your 767's, or any other aircraft, contain Class C cargo compartments, or are they all fitted with Class E?

Also, in light of the tragedy in Dubai, what precautions does UPS take regarding the loading and transport of lithium batteries? Is there anything out of the ordinary that's done, from a flight crew perspective, when compared to other DG? For example, are lithiums loaded in a specific location on the main deck or are they loaded anywhere on the aircraft?

Thanks for any information you might have. Just trying to compare notes as it relates to the carrier I work for.

Fly safe,
LC
At FedEx, our MD-11 lower cargo compartments are all class-C. We don't have 767s yet, so I'm not sure how they'll be equipped once we get them.

Nothing has changed "in light of" Dubai because no regulations have changed. FedEx (and I'm guessing UPS too) does nothing "out of the ordinary" beyond what is required by current regs when carrying LI batteries.
They are not put in a special location, they are labeled class 9 miscellaneous and unless we ask or look ourselves, we are not notified of their presence.

We have added a main deck fire suppression system that detects and actively suppresses a fire/high temp situation at the individual positions by dousing the pallet or piercing the can and filling it with suppressant. This was not in response to any particular incident but rather a welcome attempt at an additional level of safety. Unfortunately, this system is not advertised to work on a LI battery fire.

There is a possibility we will begin using a fire suppression bag around dg pallets. It is supposed to minimize airflow and delay progression of the fire to allow the crew more time to get the aircraft on the ground.

Hope that helps.
 
At UPS, the lower cargo is Class C and main deck is Class E. UPS is also developing fire proof/self extinguishing containers.

All fleets are being outfitted with EVAS systems and I know the MD11 has full face O2 masks, but am not sure about the rest of the fleets.

While waiting for the new container:

UPS will deploy Fire Containment Covers on certain palletized air cargo shipments originating in Asia. Implementation begins in March and should be completed in all Asia gateways by the end of September.

Although initial implementation is in Asia, a pallet position with an FCC could arrive at any gateway in the world. All gateway locations will be required to either bypass or remove FCCs and follow instructions from the ULD Control Center to move folded FCCs back to Asia.


To ensure all gateways are prepared for the start-up, a series of informational emails, training documents and training videos will be distributed over the next few weeks.


FCCs are designed for the air cargo industry to address fires in non-containerized cargo shipments aboard aircraft. The covers are constructed of fire resistant material and help contain a fire by collapsing with the cargo load as it burns, thereby depriving the fire of oxygen and keeping it from spreading to other positions within an aircraft.


After extensive testing in UPS operations in 2012, UPS made the decision to implement the FCCs on selected palletized positions originating in Asia. Only select pallet positions originating from Asia will require an FCC to be placed over the load.
 

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