The graphic (website) version of this newsletter can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/newsletter410.htm
Quote of the Week: "Sadly the FAA continues to short staff control towers
in an effort to control costs while they eschew safety and efficiency"
comment by Senator "Chuck" Schumer who has inserted himself in the FAA/Air
Traffic Controller contract dispute
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Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#411.........................................................................January
14, 2006 Past newsletters can be accessed at:
http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm
The PASSUR air****t
flight
tracking system at many major U.S. air****ts
http://www.passur.com/sites.htm
(you must have Java installed to view it). If you want to get the
newsletter
sent to you every week, sign up to AviationWatch. Bill Mulcahy
rockaway@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Small Jet Crashes Increasing!!!
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As Bill Sees It: (Editorial) Is The Small Jet Danger To Residential Areas
Increasing? The crash of a small business jet on Friday near California's
Van Nuy's Air****t, which narrowly missed several homes, shows the danger
of
the increased use of small jets at air****ts located near, or in some cases
surrounded by, residential areas. The Associated Press stories said that
the
jet that crashed had a full load of 3,400 "pounds" (why not gallons?) of
fuel on board. More and more we see the use of smaller jets at air****ts.
How
long will it be before one of these flying bombs, filled with thousands
of
gallons of fuel, hits a crowded apartment house as it takes off or lands?
More FAA Duplicity And Obfuscation With The Eastern Region Airspace
Redesign Plan!!! Thanks to aviation activist, Robert Belzer, for sending
me
the latest FAA "update" on their Airspace Redesign Plan for the NY/NY/
Philadelphia Region. Predictably, the (January 2007) update gives no new
information at all. All it says is that "The FAA is in the process of
identifying the Preferred Alternative for this project which will be
followed by five public meetings (one per state in the study area) to
discuss noise mitigation strategies for that preferred alternative." This
looks like a typical effort by the FAA to get communities to fight with
each
other over who is selected as the new noise dumping ground while the FAA
sits back amused as the great "decider."
Senator Schemer Gets Involved In FAA/Controller Dispute: I see a story
this
week that New York's senator Chuck Schumer is getting involved in the FAA
management versus the air traffic controller battle. What's really is
behind
Schumer's interest in the FAA? Only the most uninformed and naive can
believe it has anything to do with aviation safety. Schumer has been
interested in influencing the FAA ever since he was a congressman. I
remember I was at a Rockaway, N.Y. City community meeting with him. It was
called because we had found out we had been selected as the sole JFK
Air****t
"preferred nighttime overflight route" (the planes STARTED coming over at
midnight!!!) for JFK Air****t planes and wanted answers from "our"
congressman. Schumer cleverly avoided answering the very few questions he
allowed. I later found out that he attended a rally for convicted Israeli
spy, Jonathan Pollard, in the Lawrence, Long Island community (which was
not
part of his congressional district) that had gotten their night flights
dumped on us. Obviously Schumer had a close association with some people
in
that community. Congressman Schumer liked to ****tray himself as a fighter
against air****t expansion, while Senator Schumer voted to remove flight
limitation "caps" at LaGuardia Air****t! These flight caps were later
restored by the FAA because of safety concerns. No doubt now Schumer is
pu****ng the FAA's plan to "increase the capacity" of LaGuardia by the use
of
larger planes. In my opinion Schumer's only interest in the FAA is his
ability to influence their unjust, racist and corrupt routing policies for
wealthy communities, like Lawrence, Long Island, that he wants financial
and
political sup****t from. Also, the ability to influence FAA policies means
that other politicians, whose communities are effected by FAA decisions,
would have to crawl to Schumer for help with the FAA.
California: Small Plane Narrowly Misses Several Homes: LOS ANGELES -
Federal
authorities were scouring the wreckage of a small jet crash to determine
what caused it to go down near a suburban air****t, killing two people
aboard. Several witnesses said a nose compartment door was open as the
plane
lifted off. Moments after the twin-engine Cessna Citation lifted off
Friday
morning from Van Nuys Air****t in the San Fernando Valley, the pilot
radioed
the tower with a request to return, the National Trans****tation Safety
Board
said. The business jet, which was heading to Long Beach to pick up two
passengers and continue to Prescott, Ariz., was cleared to land but it
never
made it. A tower controller noticed the plane "wobble" as it turned
around,
then it crashed about a half mile north of the air****t and within 100 feet
of several homes, said NTSB investigator Howard Plagens. No nearby
structures appeared to be damaged. The jet was carrying a full load of
3,400
pounds of fuel and burst into flames, said Assistant Fire Chief Tim
Manning.
Firefighters sprayed foam and quickly put out the fire, he said.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/4468387.html
Senator Schumer Inserts Himself Into FAA/Air Traffic Controller Dispute!!!
WA****NGTON (AP) _ Sen. Charles Schumer charged Wednesday that a festering
labor standoff between the government and air traffic controllers is
risking
safety at upstate air****ts. The Democratic senator said the Federal
Aviation
Administration is keeping control towers far understaffed, which he
characterized as a widespread problem that is being felt across the Empire
State. In upstate New York, there are currently 164 controllers guiding
planes in and out of local air****ts, when according to the senator there
should be 192. Albany, for instance, has 26 full-time controllers instead
of
the 30 allowed by the FAA, Schumer said. "It started as a labor dispute,
but
now it's become a safety issue. The FAA cuts are absurd," he said.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--air****tcontroller0110jan10,0,5201703.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
Illinois: Plane Piece Crashes Through Homeowner's Roof!!! CHICAGO - A
small
piece of metal that crashed Friday through the roof of a home located near
Midway Air****t fell off an airplane that experienced engine failure on a
flight from Milwaukee, federal authorities said. The engine piece came to
rest 2 feet from the foot of a bed where homeowner Dorothy Gohn was
sleeping. She was not injured. The multi-engine aircraft, apparently being
used as a cargo plane, landed safely without any indication of distress to
air traffic control, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a
statement. But the pilot should have re****ted the engine failure to
authorities, said Tony Molinaro, an FAA spokesman. Instead, FAA inspectors
found the plane themselves, with significant engine damage and some wing
damage, in a hangar at Midway Air****t, he said. "If the pilot knew about
this, it has to be re****ted," Molinaro said. "Our investigation will look
into exactly what was going on and why it was not re****ted."
http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/breaking_news/16448993.htm
@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Aviation News Stories This Week
Schumer: FAA staffing of air traffic controllers risks safety
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--air****tcontroller0110jan10,0,5201703.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
January 10, 2007, 5:56 PM EST
saying union numbers are misleading and towers are well staffed in most
locations
WA****NGTON (AP) _ Sen. Charles Schumer charged Wednesday that a festering
labor standoff between the government and air traffic controllers is
risking
safety at upstate air****ts.
Democratic senator said the Federal Aviation Administration is keeping
control towers far understaffed, which he characterized as a widespread
problem that being felt across the Empire State.
In upstate New York, there are currently 164 controllers guiding planes in
and out of local air****ts, when according to the senator there should be
192. Albany, for instance, has 26 full-time controllers instead of the 30
allowed by the FAA, Schumer said.
"It started as a labor dispute, but now it's become a safety issue. The
FAA
cuts are absurd," he said.
At Syracuse-Hancock International Air****t, there are 20 active controllers
for an authorized staffing level of 30, according to the air controllers
union.
FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the union's numbers don't reflect the
actual staffing needs of individual facilities.
"We have a staffing plan to put the right number of controllers in the
right
place at the right time," said Brown. "We feel that most locations around
the country are well-staffed right now and there may be a few facilities
here and there where we have a couple fewer controllers than what we
want."
The union has warned that the number of controllers eligible for
retirement
will rise sharply this year, to about 10 percent from last year's two
percent.
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