Quote of the Week: "After safety, quality of life should be a primary
factor in any airspace redesign but it was not even considered in this
case." from a story this week on how Rep. Shay's (D-Conn.) amendment to
block FAA funding until the "noise issue"
in the Airspace Redesign Plan was defeated
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Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter
#439................................................................................July
29, 2007 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]
Air****t Security Alert For "Cheese Bombs!!!"
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As Bill Sees It (Editorial): TSA Alert: Is It A Pizza Or A Terrorist Bomb?
Is it mozarella or high explosive C4? The Trans****tation Safety
Administration (TSA) issued a memo this week to air****t screeners that
suggests Islamic terrorists may be "probing" air****t security by
trans****ting items like cheese which have similar mass and density to a
high
explosive material like C4. The issue was brought up a couple of years
ago
when experts showed it would be very simple to put an high explosive on an
airplane by disguising it as cheese or some other dense material and
detonating it with a blasting cap. Terrorists could bring the components
separately on board an airplane and quickly assemble it to cause a massive
explosion which would bring down not only a plane but the entire "infidel"
aviation industry!!! Frankly I'm surprised the terrorists haven't already
tried doing it (although there was the famous "shoe bomb" incident). It
seems that there are so many ways of bringing this stuff on board, even by
implanting it on the terrorists themselves, that I don't see how the
government can stop it without massive, intrusive security measures, like
checking women for real or explosive breast implants.
Phony Politicians And The Airspace Redesign Plan Opposition: This week an
effort to get the FAA to pay attention to the noise impacts of the
Airspace
Redesign Plan by putting a amendment in their appropriations bill failed
65
to 360. Its hard to know whether politicians who sup****ted this amendment
are sincere about the increased noise from the Airspace Redesign Plan or
if
they are just covering their backsides against community outrage. A good
indicator of their sincerity is whether or not they have ever shown any
interest in the noise pollution issue before. If they REALLY cared about
the
noise pollution issue they would be fighting for things like getting the
EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) funding restored. But
of
course they don't do things like that. Most just content themselves with
making meaningless gestures that they know will fail in order to impress
their constituents, but do nothing else. I hope this Election Day, and
especially in November 2008 , there is another House (and Senate)
clean-out
of these political rats that will make last year's Election Day upset look
like a tea party!!!
Airspace Redesign: Congress Tells Connecticut To Drop Dead!!! Fairfield
County municipal leaders are reeling over the resounding defeat of a
congressional amendment that would have cut off funding for a
controversial
Federal Aviation Administration airspace redesign project until the agency
addresses quality of life concerns about the new routes. The U.S. House of
Representatives voted 360 to 65 Tuesday night against the amendment, which
was co-sponsored by Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn., as part of a huge
$46.5
billion appropriations bill for trans****tation and housing. The amendment
would have blocked the FAA from spending any of its $11.2 billion budget
for
the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 on the redesign. Implementation of the
plan
is scheduled to start later this year. New Canaan First Selectman Judy
Neville called the result a "huge blow," saying the amendment's demise
gives
the FAA a green light to increase noise for Connecticut and the four other
states in the region that were included in the redesign project. "We knew
this was going to be a huge fight, but this is clearly a setback," said
Neville, who met with FAA officials in Wa****ngton, D.C., in April to voice
her concerns about the project. Aimed at reducing air traffic congestion
from Connecticut to Pennsylvania, the FAA's plan includes ****fting an
arrival pattern for LaGuardia Air****t eastward over Fairfield County from
its current track over Westchester County. It also calls for planes
departing Westchester County Air****t to the north to turn back over
Connecticut, abandoning the current route that takes them west over the
Hudson River and other parts of New York.
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-faa7.25jul26,0,7216988.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines
Editor's Note: Clever how the FAA did not include Connecticut (and
Delaware)
in their title of the New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania Airspace
Redesign Plan. That's the FAA, always thinking of ways to obscure, deflect
and mislead the public.
TSA Security Re****t Meant To Raise Awareness, Not Alarm, TSA Says!!!
Passengers mentioned in a security re****t describing suspicious items at
air****ts are not terrorism suspects and were included in the do***ent only
to help air****t screeners think more broadly about potential threats, the
nation's top aviation security official said yesterday. The re****t, issued
by the Trans****tation Security Administration and titled "Incidents at
U.S.
Air****ts May Suggest Possible Pre-Attack Probing," was obtained by the
news
media and cited widely on cable news programs yesterday. It describes
several incidents, including one at Baltimore Wa****ngton International
Thurgood Marshall Air****t last year, in which screeners stopped items that
looked like bombs. "A surge in recent suspicious incidents at U.S.
air****ts
may indicate terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and 'dry
runs' similar to dress rehearsals," according to the re****t. The re****t
cited items found on passengers, including "wires, switches, pipes or
tubes,
cellphone components and dense clay-like substances. The unusual nature
and
increase in number of these improvised items raise concern." It did not
identify the passengers. TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said yesterday that
the do***ent was not a "threat bulletin" but was meant to get screeners to
be more open-minded about potential threats. He said he wants them to look
for materials that are not banned but could be dangerous.
http://www.wa****ngtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25/AR2007072502072.html
****t Authority Of New York/New Jersey Board Moves Closer To Takeover Of
Upstate Stewart Air****t: New York - The purchase of the operating lease
for Stewart Air****t at Newburgh will have no adverse financial impact on
the
operations of the ****t Authority of New York and New Jersey, ****t Chief
Financial Officer Paul Blanco told the agency's board Thursday. Following
a
re****t, the Board approved the facility certification for the purchase of
the remaining 93 years of the air****t's lease from National Express Corp.
On
July 17, the ****t Authority and NEG signed the purchase agreement for
Stewart as was re****ted by MidHudsonNews.com. Blanco Thursday said that
after analysis, he determined the takeover of the 2,400 acre Newburgh
air****t will not negatively impact the ****t's operations. And, he worked
up
projections for the air****t's growth. "Passenger activity will grow at 3.5
percent annually," he said. "Facility revenues include recovery of capital
and maintenance costs, concessions, parking and terminal tenant
agreements.
Facility revenue growth averages approximately four percent annually.
Facility expense growth is at 3.5 percent. Facility operating lease
purchase
is the $78.5 million and we have $150 million in our capital plan through
2016." Based on those assumptions, Blanco said the ****t expects Stewart's
net revenues to cover its costs over the 30-year period. ****t Executive
Director Anthony Shorris told the board they are shooting for a November 1
takeover the Stewart lease.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/SWF_PA_cert-26Jul07.htm
One Year Later: Comair Co-pilot Never Spoke To NTSB!!! WA****NGTON - The
agency investigating last summer's deadly Comair plane crash in Lexington,
Ky., took the rare step of subpoenaing the lone survivor - the co-pilot -
but never interviewed him because his doctor said his injuries were too
severe. Deborah Hersman, the National Trans****tation Safety Board member
who
was on the scene at Blue Grass Air****t in the days after the Aug. 27 crash
that killed 49 people, confirmed the subpoena Friday. Hersman said the
board
seldom issues subpoenas because witnesses are usually forthcoming with
information, but it did in James Polehinke's case in an attempt to learn
more about why the pilots of Comair Flight 5191 tried to take off from the
wrong runway, which was too short for their plane. Comair is based in
Erlanger, Ky. Even if Polehinke had talked with investigators, Hersman
said
she didn't think there would have been any change in the probable cause
the
board determined Thursday - that the pilots were most responsible for the
accident because of their failure to recognize signs they were going the
wrong way. "It was our expectation, our hope, to interview him," Hersman
said. "That didn't happen, but we did have the cockpit voice record. We
relied on that factual information."
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070728/NEWS01/707280357
Wa****ngton, DC "Mickey Mouse" No-Fly Zone Ending? The restricted airspace
over the Wa****ngton region will be modified next month to make it easier
to
regulate, the Federal Aviation Administration announced Thursday. The zone
is currently made up of three 60-mile wide overlapping rings that resemble
Mickey Mouse ears on a map. The current, irregular airspace will be
replaced
by a 30-nautical-mile-radius restricted area. Pilots flying in the area
will
be able to use a single navigational aid instead of the four in use today.
The change, which will take effect on Aug. 30, also reduces restrictions
on
general aviation, freeing 33 air****ts and helipads from the current
restrictions in about 1,800 square miles of airspace. The new measures
will
make it easier to track authorized flights and identify any aircraft that
is
not complying with the rules, FAA officials said. They are also expected
to
reduce the number of unintentional violations on the outer edges of the
zone. The FAA coordinated the changes with the Homeland Security and
Defense
departments, which enforce the restrictions. "Our aim is to balance
vigilance with new measures that make it easier to track who belongs in
this
airspace and who does not," said FAA Administrator Marion Blakey.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/26/ap3958602.html
A Nut That Makes Noise Complaints For You: Tad Hirsch, a researcher in the
Smart Cities Group at MIT's Media Lab, debuted a project last year that
took
a look at air****t noise between San Jose International Air****t and
downtown
San Jose. Tripwire features custom-built sensors hidden inside coconuts
that
are hung from trees at several public locations. They monitor aircraft
noise, which when detected to be excessive, triggers an automated
telephone
call to the air****t's complaint line. Tripwire debuted at ZeroOne San
Jose:
A Global Festival of Art on the Edge & the Thirteenth International
Symposium of Electronic Art (ISEA2006) August 7-13, 2006. Tad's site
features some of the sample complaints.
4 Killed In Phoenix Helicopter Crash: PHOENIX (AP) - It is an aerial dance
familiar to residents of many large cities as television news helicopters
share the sky, jockeying to position their cameras for live shots of
fires,
car chases and other breaking news events. Typically air traffic
controllers
clear helicopters into an area where they can cover a chase like this,»
Gregor said. «Once they are in the area, the pilots themselves are
responsible for keeping themselves separated from other aircraft. Pilots
generally use a dedicated radio frequency to talk to each other, he said.
http://www.pr-inside.com/tragedy-like-the-4-deaths-in-r187814.htm
Pilot
Dies In Air Show Disaster: THIS is the moment two World War II fighter
planes collided at a US air show, killing one of the pilots. The US
Federal
Aviation Administration said the two P-51 Mustangs collided after the
planes
finished a performance at the annual AirVenture show in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin.
US National Trans****tation Safety Board spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said
one
pilot had died and the other had escaped with minor injuries. The Mustangs
are single-seat fighter planes. AirVenture is considered one of the
world's
biggest gatherings of recreational flyers. It draws more than 600,000
people
and 10,000 planes from around the world. Last week a veteran pilot trying
to
break a speed record en route to Oshkosh was killedin Switzerland.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/world/pilot-dies-in-air-show-disaster/2007/07/28/1185339318736.html
@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Im****tant Aviation
News
Stories This Week
Security Re****t Meant To Raise Awareness, Not Alarm, TSA Says
By Del Quentin Wilber Wa****ngton Post Staff Writer
http://www.wa****ngtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25/AR2007072502072.html
Thursday, July 26, 2007; Page D02
Passengers mentioned in a security re****t describing suspicious items at
air****ts are not terrorism suspects and were included in the do***ent only
to help air****t screeners think more broadly about potential threats, the
nation's top aviation security official said yesterday.
The re****t, issued by the Trans****tation Security Administration and
titled
"Incidents at U.S. Air****ts May Suggest Possible Pre-Attack Probing," was
obtained by the news media and cited widely on cable news programs
yesterday. It describes several incidents, including one at Baltimore
Wa****ngton International Thurgood Marshall Air****t last year, in which
screeners stopped items that looked like bombs.
"A surge in recent suspicious incidents at U.S. air****ts may indicate
terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and 'dry runs'
similar
to dress rehearsals," according to the re****t.
The re****t cited items found on passengers, including "wires, switches,
pipes or tubes, cellphone components and dense clay-like substances. The
unusual nature and increase in number of these improvised items raise
concern." It did not identify the passengers.
TSA Administrator Kip Hawley said yesterday that the do***ent was not a
"threat bulletin" but was meant to get screeners to be more open-minded
about potential threats. He said he wants them to look for materials that
are not banned but could be dangerous.
"The point of this bulletin was not 'this is a threat or not a threat,' "
Hawley said. "This is saying that they should not just be stuck on
lighters
or other prohibited items."
Hawley said the re****t was meant for law enforcement use only and was not
supposed to be released to the public.
In an interview, Hawley at first declined to say whether the four
incidents
were thought to have involved terrorists making dry runs. Later, he said
the
people presented no "current vulnerability" and were "completely covered"
by
law enforcement agencies.
Other law enforcement sources said investigations uncovered no terrorist
ties to the passengers.
A TSA spokeswoman said the re****t was nothing unusual and was one of about
90 that have been sent to the field this year.
Although the re****t noted a "surge" in suspicious activity, it cited four
incidents, including two that occurred last year.
On July 5, a U.S. citizen put clay into two bags that normally contain
blue
ice gel, and the items were discovered in checked luggage, the re****t
said.
The re****t said that on June 4 screeners in Milwaukee discovered items
that
resembled components of a homemade bomb, "such as a wire coil wrapped
around
a possible initiator, an electrical switch, batteries, three tubes and two
blocks of cheese" in a passenger's carry-on bags.
On Nov. 8 in Houston, screeners found a nine-volt battery, wires, pipes
and
a block of brown clay-like minerals in a passenger's checked bags,
according
to the re****t.
Screeners at BWI re****ted a plastic bag containing a block of cheese taped
to a cellphone charger in checked bags Sept. 16. Law enforcement sources
said the couple who were carrying the bag were flying on Southwest
Airlines
and were questioned by police and federal agents. They were allowed to
continue their trip and to keep the items.
"The bottom line, ultimately, was that given what they told us and what
our
investigation determined, the cheese and the charger were not a threat,"
said Cpl. Jonathan Green of the Maryland Trans****tation Authority Police,
which patrols BWI.
Green said the charger actually was for a DVD player, not a cellphone. He
declined to say where the passengers were traveling or to identify them.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the House Homeland Security
Committee, said the re****t showed that the TSA was trying to connect the
dots of potential threats.
"TSA is handling this issue in the appropriate manner," Thompson said in a
statement. "In order for TSA to continue to stay ahead of potential
threats
to our aviation system it must use all of the intelligence available as
part
of its daily operations."
Jul 25, 2007
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/greenwich/20790.shtml
Rep. Shays fights airspace redesign; amendment denied
In response to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Integrated
Airspace Alternative proposal to redesign the New York/New
Jersey/Philadelphia airspace, Congressman Christopher Shays, Republican
representative for District 4, joined Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) and
Scott
Garrett (R-NJ) to offer an amendment today to the 2008 Trans****tation and
Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill to prevent the plan's
implementation.
The amendment failed by a vote of 65 to 360.
Mr. Shays, an outspoken critic of the proposal, called the plan
unreasonable
because it fails to account for the quality of life impact on communities
below the proposed routes. The FAA's proposal has made no attempt to
explore
alternative routes over less populated areas to mitigate noise, nor has it
set recommended restrictions on minimum altitude. According to the FAA
re****t, the plan will re-route more air traffic over southwestern
Connecticut, increasing the air noise levels in some parts of the 4th
district.
"I oppose the FAA's integrated airspace alternative that would route more
air traffic over residential neighborhoods and have repeatedly shared my
deep concerns, and the concerns of area residents, with the FAA," Mr.
Shays
said. "While I am disappointed by the outcome on this amendment, I will
continue to fight this proposal and work to help other members understand
why the FAA simply must consider quality of life. This plan brings more
planes into the region at the expense of our area's quality of life. After
safety, quality of life should be a primary factor in any airspace
redesign
but it was not even considered in this case."
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