Happy Veterans Day to all, thanks for your service

The call to serve. It has no sound, yet I have heard it.
In the whispered retelling of honorable sacrifices made by those who have served before me.

The call to serve has no form, yet I have clearly seen it.
In the eyes of the men and women infinitely more courageous and more driven than most.

The call to serve has no weight, yet I have held it in my hands.
I will commit to carry it close to my heart, until my country is safe,
and the anguish of those less fortunate has been soothed.

The call to serve, is at once invisible and always present, and for those who choose to answer the call, for their country, for their fellow man, for themselves. It is the most powerful force on earth.

Remember freedom is not free.................

More pilot issues has some officials concerned

Police arrested a United Airlines pilot Monday who flunked a Breathalyzer test at London Heathrow Airport minutes before his Boeing 767 jet was to take off for Chicago.

Scotland Yard later charged Erwin Washington, 51, with having too much alcohol in his system while working as a member of aviation staff, The Associated Press reported.

His arrest is the latest in a recent spate of pilot mishaps that has some aviation observers questioning whether the physical stresses of flying, combined with personal financial pressures, are beginning to take a toll on the profession.

Washington is the third U.S. pilot to be arrested at Heathrow for unacceptably high alcohol levels in little more than a year. Two flew for United, the third for American Airlines, and two of the three flights were bound for Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.

In other incidents, Delta Air Lines pilots risked catastrophe when they landed a Boeing 767 on an active taxiway at Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport on Oct. 19. Two days later, two Northwest Airlines pilots overflew their destination of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport as they pored over their laptops. On Oct. 25, a Midwest Airlines regional jet almost taxied into the path of a Northwest Airlines Boeing 757 that was taking off at Los Angeles International Airport.

One United pilot, who asked not to be identified, suggested the spate of near-disasters points to an "industry that is running on the ragged edge. ... It's a completely different life than people think."

Many pilots have seen duty hours increase, pay decline and pensions disappear since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks sent airlines into a tailspin from which they haven't fully recovered. That's on top of the chronic jet lag and strained family ties that come from spending days on the road.

"What's different this time than in the past is the duration of the stress," said John Goglia, independent safety consultant and a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board. "In past times, we've hit downturns ... then we've bounced back in 6 months or 9 months. This one has been so prolonged."

Addressing pilot fatigue is a top priority for Randy Babbitt, a former airline pilot who took over the top job at the Federal Aviation Administration this year, said FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette. The FAA gathered industry input on the issue over the summer and expects to issue a proposed rule by Dec. 31.

But despite the recent rash of negative publicity, pilot mishaps remain rare occurrences.

"Obviously, you shoot for zero, but it's still a very low rate," said aviation consultant Robert Mann.

Thirteen pilots violated the FAA's version of drunken-driving rules in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available.

Federal regulations prohibit pilots from flying if they have an alcohol concentration of 0.04, about half the legal driving limit. An average 180-pound man would reach that limit with about two drinks, according to the Web site Blood Alcohol Calculator (bloodalcoholcalculator.org).

Pilots who have a drink must allow eight hours to lapse before entering the cockpit, according to the FAA. United has a 12-hour "bottle-to-throttle" policy.

Washington was one of three pilots onboard United Flight 949, which was scheduled to depart shortly after noon. Chicago-based United canceled the flight and routed the plane's 124 passengers to other flights, said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.

"Right now the pilot has been removed from service pending a complete and full investigation," McCarthy said.

Getting caught drinking can end a pilot's career. But some still imbibe, especially in stops like London where they are fighting body clocks set to North American time, said the United pilot. "It's the thing to do."

US GOV could change Union rules for Airlines and Railroad

One of the first acts of President Obama’s new appointee to the National Mediation Board, Linda Puchala, former leader of the flight attendants’ union, was to join with NMB member Harry Hoaglander, former leader of the airline pilots union, in proposing a new rule for union elections in the railroad and airline industries. Under a procedure dating back to 1934, airline and railroad workers not voting in union elections are counted as votes against unionization. In all other industries, a majority of those voting is sufficient to require a company to bargain with the union. Because of the 1934 ruling, airline and railroad unions must get “yes” votes equal to a majority of all workers in the bargaining unit or there is no union required.

While Republicans insist that only Congress can change the rule for airline and railroad workers, Hoagland and Puchala insist the NMB can change its own rules to bring labor relations in these two transportation industries into line with NLRB rules governing truckers, and workers in other industries across the country.

US Airways, American cutting flights, workers

Two airlines, US Airways and American Airlines, are reducing flights and cutting as many as 1,700 workers.

US Airways Group Inc. is cutting 1,000 jobs and will reduce the number of flights out of Las Vegas by nearly half.

US Airways (NYSE: LCC) also is dropping flights to a number of other destinations and postponing a planned flight between Philadelphia and Beijing.

The jobs cuts will occur through the first half of next year and impact 200 pilots, 150 flight attendants and 600 service and ramp positions.

The Tempe-based airline announced the job and flight cuts Wednesday. They include:


Reducing daily flights to Vegas from 64 to 36 by February.
Eliminating service to Wichita, Kan., and Colorado Springs, Colo.
Scrapping a planned flight between Philadelphia and China.
Suspending service between Philadelphia and five European destinations — Birmingham, England; London’s Gatwick International Airport; Milan; Stockholm; and Shannon, Ireland.

The airline cited continued weak demand in the cities, including Vegas, a major destination for US Airways.

“These are difficult decisions to make because of the impact to some of our fellow employees. They are, however, the right decisions. By focusing on our strengths and eliminating unprofitable flying we will increase the likelihood of returning US Airways to long-term profitability, which is in all of our best interests. As we work through these changes, we’ll do all we can to minimize the impact of these reductions on our current employees,” US Airways CEO Doug Parker said in a letter to employees. US Airways has more than 32,300 employees.

American Airlines Inc. will downsize its maintenance operations in St. Louis and close its maintenance base in Kansas City, Mo., in September 2010.

Carmine Romano, American’s senior vice president for maintenance and engineering, said in a letter to employees Wednesday that the airline will downsize line operations at reduced flight schedule.

The changes in St. Louis, Kansas City and other cities, will include a reduction of as many as 700 positions, both management and union, and could affect other employees, the letter said.

In St. Louis, about 80 workers, mostly mechanics, will lose their jobs, leaving about 100 workers in the local maintenance station. About 490 workers in Kansas City will be affected, and the rest of the job cuts are in San Francisco, Minneapolis, Detroit and San Jose.

The Dallas-based airline (NYSE: AMR) will offer an optional separation allowance of $12,500 for eligible employees who choose to leave the company before September 2010.

The letter said the actions are “to move toward a more flexible, cost-efficient operation that improves flow and takes into account the long-term impact of the recession on travel, deep capacity cuts across the industry, and a corresponding decline in the (maintenance, repair and overhaul) business, along with the changes to our network and corresponding fleet size.”

By April, American will cut 46 daily flights from St. Louis and end service to 20 cities.

Pilots error raises other questions at Northwest.

This is a good point the FAA dropped the ball again contacting the military command. if this would have been another hijacking they were to late to respond.

FAA Slow to Warn Military of Wayward Plane
Air Traffic Controllers Waited At Least 4 Times Longer Than Mandated To Advise Authorities of Northwest Flight


CBS) The Federal Aviation Administration took too long to notify the military that they had lost contact with a Northwest flight that eventually ended up overshooting its destination by 150 miles, according to a Wall Street Journal report Thursday.

The Minneapolis-bound flight was out of radio contact with air traffic controllers for over 90 minutes before communication was reestablished. The pilots, who have since had their licenses suspended, told investigators they simply lost track of time while working on their laptop computers.

But the pilots may not have been the only ones violating procedure. According to officials familiar with internal reviews into the matter, air traffic controllers should have notified the military within 10 minutes of losing contact with the flight, in the event of a possible hijacking.

Some officials involved in the reviews said at least 40 minutes elapsed before the military was notified, according to the report. Another indicated the time lag was substantially longer.

Air Force Gen. Victor E. Renuart Jr., who commands the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, told the Journal he was displeased with the breakdown in communications.

In a statement to the Journal, FAA administrator Randy Babbit acknowledged the controllers "should have notified [the military] more quickly." However, the lack of outward signs of a hijacking - the plane stayed on course and transmitted no distress signals - may have contributed to the delay.

Boeing picks SC to build second Dreamliner Assembly line

CHICAGO—Boeing Co. said it would build a second final assembly line for its troubled 787 Dreamliner jet in South Carolina, a move that spurns the powerful aircraft machinists' union that had been negotiating with Boeing to locate the work at the current factory near Seattle.

Boeing has been laying the groundwork for a new factory in South Carolina for months and could begin construction at a facility it owns in North Charleston, S.C., as early as Nov. 2. The factory is expected to be operational by July 2011.

Boeing's decision comes after a flurry of lobbying by officials in both Washington and South Carolina. On Wednesday the South Carolina legislature moved to offer Boeing a variety of tax incentives to lure the company to build a massive new factory on the site of an existing facility it owns in North Charleston.

It's the first time since 2006 that Boeing will assemble a commercial airplane outside of the Puget Sound area and provides the company with an assembly line beyond the reach of the labor union that has caused production headaches off and on for decades in Seattle.

Northwest Pilots don't answer radio for over an hour and fly over destination? Were they sleeping? Open for comments>

Safety investigators are highly skilled at solving the mystery of plane crashes. But with Northwest Flight 188, which landed safely, they are tackling a different puzzle: what went on in the cockpit to cause it to fly for 500 miles without radio contact, and well beyond its destination?

On Friday, investigators sought to explain why the two pilots of the Northwest flight, bound from San Diego to Minneapolis-St. Paul, did not begin a normal descent when they should have on Wednesday night.

The pilots, Capt. Timothy B. Cheney, 53, of Gig Harbor, Wash., and First Officer Richard I. Cole, 54, of Salem, Ore., said they had been involved in a heated discussion about airline policy and lost track of where they were.

Skepticism about the explanation resounded through airline and aviation safety circles, which collectively wondered whether the pair had fallen asleep.

“What did they say? What went on? What was the subject of discussion — or weren’t they talking?” asked James L. Oberstar, the veteran Minnesota Democratic congressman and chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Mr. Cole denied that the two had been asleep. “I can assure you none of us was asleep,” he told ABC News on Friday night. He declined to comment further but stated, “I am not doing very good.”

Two aviation officials from separate agencies said that Wednesday’s flight had been the first of the day for both pilots, who had had a layover of approximately 17 hours.

Instead of landing the Airbus A320, with 144 passengers and three flight attendants aboard, the pilots flew past Minneapolis-St. Paul to the skies above Eau Claire, Wis., despite repeated radio calls from controllers and other pilots in the area as well as e-mail messages from the airline’s dispatchers. Finally, when the plane was 110 miles past the airport, they responded, according to a report from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport Police Department. The plane turned around and returned for a safe landing.

The pilots have been suspended by Delta Air Lines, which merged with Northwest last year and operates its flights, pending the outcome of investigations.

Both passed breath analysis tests to check for alcohol, according to the police report. When the plane landed, the report said, Mr. Cheney turned to waiting officers and gave a “two thumbs up” sign through the cockpit window.

Officials at the National Transportation Safety Board said they gave a preliminary listen to the plane’s cockpit voice recorder on Friday afternoon, but that may not provide any answers. The recorder, which runs continuously throughout a flight, has only 30 minutes of sound at any one time, and records over itself. The officials said they would interview the pilots over the weekend and would have something to say as early as Monday.

Federal aviation officials said that the last radio communication with the plane was at 6:46 p.m., Central time, and communication did not resume until 8:14 p.m., a gap of 88 minutes, a long time for a commercial jet over the continental United States that has not had a system failure or whose radio is not tuned to the wrong frequency

Pilots normally wear headsets with microphones, or they transfer controllers’ audio to a loudspeaker. Unless the radio was tuned to the incorrect frequency, “if you’re awake, you’re going to hear,” said the former chief executive of a major airline, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

More than a dozen controllers, including those at three radar rooms tracking the flight — one in Denver and two in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area — tried to contact the pilots, said Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. “It was all hands on deck,” Mr. Church said. One Minneapolis-area room made 13 attempts at contact, an official said. The plane was cruising at 37,000 feet about 400 miles west of Minneapolis when the crew stopped responding to air traffic controllers and airline dispatchers an hour and five minutes before its scheduled arrival time of 8:01 p.m., local time.

When the plane should have been descending, it was still flying at a constant altitude, according to FlightAware, a company that provides real-time tracking of airplanes based on radar data from the Federal Aviation Administration. It showed that the plane flew northeast at constant altitude from 7:13 p.m. to 7:53 p.m., Central time, making one 19-degree turn in that period.