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Just came across this... Thoughts & prayers go out to the families & survivors... First report said it was a T-72...


Man killed in fire at Aberdeen Proving Ground identified
2 others remain hospitalized after fire caused by malfunctioning equipment
By Mary Gail Hare | Baltimore Sun reporter
5:01 PM EDT, May 22, 2009

U.S. Army officials have identified the civilian employee who died during a vehicle testing operation at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Thursday as well as the two civilians injured in the fire caused by malfunctioning equipment.

Mark A. Henry, 49, an engineer from Delta, Pa., died at the scene while conducting a classified test on a T-55 Soviet tank, which fires 100 mm ammunition, a spokesperson for the Army base said.

Douglas S. Mauzy, 50, and Joseph Gray, 32, both of Aberdeen, were transported by medevac Thursday to the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Their conditions were not available.

The Army Test Center, located in the Edgewood area of the Harford County post, conducts research on foreign vehicles and armaments to determine the potential capabilities, officials said.

Investigators, led by staff from the U.S. Army Combat Readiness Center/Safety Center from Fort Rucker, Ala., remained on the scene of the accident Friday. Attempts to remove the damaged tank from its location in a marshy area of the test center will be a difficult and time-consuming task, officials said.

1 dead, 2 injured in fire at Aberdeen Proving Ground
Incident occurs during vehicle testing operation in Edgewood area of base
By Mary Gail Hare | Baltimore Sun reporter
May 22, 2009

A fire during a vehicle testing operation Thursday morning in the Edgewood area of Aberdeen Proving Ground left one employee dead and critically injured two others.

"The crew of three was testing a vehicle and a malfunction occurred with an ensuing fire," said George Mercer, a spokesman for the Army base.

Officials at the Harford County base said they will follow the Army's 24-hour policy for releasing the names of the victims - all civilians - and will disclose the information today. One employee died at the scene; the others suffered burns and were taken by medevac to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore.

The base's emergency and fire personnel responded to the incident about 9:30 a.m. No outside assistance was required from the county's volunteer fire companies, several of which are located near the proving ground.

The vehicle was still burning as late as 4 p.m., officials said. There was minimal smoke and no danger to base workers or the public, they said.

The testing center, one of 70 tenants on the base, conducts trials on weapons, gear and most frequently on vehicles - from armored tanks to cars - and often films the procedures. Mercer was unsure whether the fire incident was filmed.

According to a WBAL-TV report, the employees involved in the accident were part of the Foreign Exploitation Branch, which tests vehicles from other countries. The station reported that the vehicle involved in the incident was a T-72 Russian tank, the station reported.

"We test an entire system, even if there is only a minimal change," Mercer said. "We also test what we call human engineering to see how equipment interfaces with the humans who use it."

Mercer did not know at what stage in the testing process that the accident occurred, but the investigation began immediately after, he said.

"Even before the test, safety plans and risk assessments are in place," he said. "When something goes wrong, response plans are also in place."

The investigation will involve physical evidence at the scene and interviews with the two surviving victims and any witnesses. The criminal investigation department is also involved, Mercer said.

"There is no evidence of criminal involvement," Mercer said. "But this investigation is the Army's equivalent to the FAA's black box from an airplane crash."

Freedom is not free and vigilance must be eternal.