"we are working very hard at figuring out where we go next" United Airline's spokesman

Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #197..........................................December 8, 2002 Past newsletters can be accessed at: http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm Affiliated with, but not a publication of, the U.S. Citizen's Aviation Watch http://www.us-caw.org/ 

  Airline Stocks Getting Shot Down!!!

As Bill Sees It: (Editorial): Tail Falling Off Airline Stock: United Airlines stock dropped TWO THIRDS in one day. Newspapers are predicting that they will go into bankruptcy as soon as today. But of course that doesn't mean that there will be any fewer planes flying overhead or that United's executives with their "golden parachutes" will lose any money. It probably only means that the airline will be able to free itself of union contracts and personnel. Even Boeing is feeling the pinch as it dropped plans to build the "sonic cruiser." The futuristic high-speed polluter was meant to be the U.S. aircraft manufacturer's answer to European rival Airbus' A380 super jumbo. In the next few weeks it will be interesting to watch what happens next to United and the rest of the polluters as investors "bail-out."  Yet ANOTHER Concorde Near Disaster!!! Speaking of high-speed planes, a piece of rudder  was torn from the supersonic jet's tail fin on a BA flight from London to New York 10 days ago while it was flying at Mach 2!!! Although it looked like the Concorde came close to completely losing  it's tail, British Airways downplayed it saying that "the plane had many backup systems and that the damaged rudder was one of four." This follows another Concorde incident only a few weeks ago.  This "incident" was apparently kept from the public and the media didn't report it until a week after it happened. After the Concorde crash in France the fatality rate of the Concorde plane became FOUR TIMES higher than the next most dangerous plane type. It is becoming clear that England and France are not going to get rid of this highly polluting, unsafe, old dinosaur until there is another crash...if then!!! What's Behind The FAA "Proposed" Fine On United Airlines For TAPE Repair?  While United Airlines spiraled down closer to bankruptcy this week, the FAA let out a little press release that they were "considering" a $850,000 fine for them for a safety violation!!!  Why only considering? If they violated a safety regulation why aren't they fined immediately? Who knows? Maybe the FAA sees United Airlines as dead in the water so they might as well make themselves look like they  are doing their job while United goes down the drain. Or, maybe the politicians are angry with United for not keeping up with their political "donations" (AKA bribes) because of their financial problems. FAA's Blakey Names New Management Team:  I see the new Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs went to my brother's old school, Mount St. Mary's College. Maybe I'll give him a call to see if there is any change in the FAA's attitude of ignoring the victims of aviation, while catering to the polluters. Actions speak louder than words.

United Airlines May Go Into Bankruptcy TODAY!!! The 11-member United Airlines board of directors met Saturday to discuss the carrier's precarious financial position, but did not disclose whether the company will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today, as is expected. United Airlines' stock sank below a dollar share Friday as investors anticipated a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the nation's No. 2 airline. Shares in parent UAL Corp. fell 12 cents to 88 cents a share in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange the second day of a selloff following the rejection of its request for a $1.8 billion loan guarantee. The carrier was completing the terms of a $1.5 billion debtor-in-possession loan, the sources said. The loan would enable the airline to keep flying in bankruptcy. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/12/08/MN114439.DTL  http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Business/ap20021206_767.html 

Boeing Joining The Airline Industry Crash? Boeing shares fall on United Airlines exposure: NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Shares of Boeing Co. fell on Thursday after the Air Transportation Stabilization Board rejected United Airlines' $1.8 billion loan application, raising new questions about product demand in the battered commercial aerospace market. Boeing's stock dropped $1.09, or over 3 percent, to $32.84, making it the largest percentage loser in the Dow Jones industrial average on Thursday morning. United, whose request for federal loan guarantees was denied Wednesday, owes Boeing Capital Corp. $1.3 billion in financing for the purchase of about a dozen Boeing jets. The planes are mostly late-model 777s. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/apbiz_story.asp?category=1310&slug=United%20Boeing  http://www.komotv.com/stories/21800.htm 

Can The FAA Be Trusted With A New Inspection Role? WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) yesterday proposed a more active federal role in the inspection of older commercial airliners, anticipating that aircraft will remain in service longer. The FAA generally performs an auditing and oversight function in aircraft inspections, relying on airlines to ensure their planes are safe. Yesterday's proposal would have FAA inspectors or their deputies conduct checks for problems such as cracks and corrosion in older planes. The proposal, which is open to public comment, would take effect in December 2003, but the first inspections of planes in service at least 24 years wouldn't be conducted until 2006!!! http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/134591294_faa07.html 

Another Safety "Incident" For The Concorde!!! Last month an Air France Concorde flying from New York to Paris frightened passengers with a steep descent after an engine malfunction. In July, a British Airways Concorde en route to New York turned back to London after an engine problem made it difficult for the plane to fly straight. It was the fifth time (that got reported)  in the past 13 years that the supersonic jet has lost part of a rudder and the incident came just 12 months after British Airways and Air France Concordes returned to passenger services following the crash of an Air France Concorde near Paris in July 2000 in an accident which claimed 113 lives.   http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Travel/ap20021204_377.html 

FAA Proposes $805,000 Fine For United Airlines For TAPE Repairs!!! WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators have proposed an $805,000 fine against financially ailing United Airlines for improperly using tape for wing repairs on three Boeing 757 aircraft, the Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday. The agency claimed that the No. 2 carrier, a unit of UAL Corp. that is trying to avoid bankruptcy, performed temporary repairs on aircraft ground spoilers that did not meet its own maintenance standards or those included in the manufacturer's maintenance manual.  http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/reuters20021204_449.html 

Indianapolis Airport To Make A "Noise Map:"

Plane Engines Die, Use The Parachute!!! Just outside of Dallas on October 4, Lionel Morrison was in his four-seat plane 2,000 feet above ground and in serious trouble. Morrison was flying his 11-month-old Cirrus SR22 when he realized that the left wing flap was hanging by a single hinge point, rendering the wing virtually useless. The pilot says he then realized he'd have to deploy his parachute. But his chute wasn't strapped to his back. It was attached to his plane. The Cirrus plane Morrison piloted that day was equipped with a Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) -- a unique parachute that's embedded in the plane's fuselage. The parachute's Kevlar harness is located just behind the baggage compartment, forward of the tail. However, one question remains: Could this technology ever be used on commercial planes? Andrews is reluctant to say. "I'm no engineer," she said. "That's a question for Boeing." http://www.techtv.com/news/scitech/story/0,24195,3409691,00.html 

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 Aviation News Stories

FRESH doubts were raised yesterday about the future of Concorde after part of a rudder fell off the jet as it flew from London to New York.

It was the fifth time in the past 13 years that the supersonic jet has lost part of a rudder and the incident came just 12 months after British Airways and Air France Concordes returned to passenger services following the crash of an Air France Concorde near Paris in July 2000 in an accident which claimed 113 lives.

No-one was injured in the latest incident and the plane landed safely at JFK airport in New York. But it will do little to boost the confidence of passengers already unnerved by a rising number of mechanical problems suffered by an aircraft which first flew 33 years ago.

Last month, the crew of a New York-bound BA Concorde with 82 passengers on board shut down one of the engines and turned back to London after a warning light came on in the cockpit, and, in October, another BA Concorde flying from New York to London had to slow down after three cracks appeared in one of the cabin windows.

Jim Ferguson, an aviation expert based in Aberdeen, said the latest incident could have turned into a disaster if more of the rudder had come away.

"I don’t think it will do a lot for passenger confidence. It’s happened before and it shouldn’t happen," he said.

"It is not going to help but while you have got Concorde flying, you are going to get the great and the good flying in it."

David Learmount, the operations and safety editor of Flight International magazine, said efforts would now be made to strengthen the rudders, which are made in Toulouse.

But he said: "Concorde is an enormously high-profile plane, so anything that happens to it is big news, but really, all that happened in this latest incident was that a bit of the bottom quarter of the rudder was lost.

"Operationally, the loss had no effect on the plane. I understand the pilots felt a little ‘pop’ as they accelerated, but thought little of it as there was no apparent fault.

	‘A lot of people who fly Concorde fly it because of status’ PROFESSOR LUIZ MOUTINHO

"They then noticed more sounds as they decelerated at the end of the flight. Although BA will want to get the rudder situation sorted out, rudder design for Concorde can cope with problems of this kind and the aircraft is completely controllable during such incidents."

BA said the missing part did not affect the flight of the aircraft or the safety of the aircraft. Denny MacGee, a BA spokesman, said he doubted there would be any impact on passenger confidence.

"Today’s Concorde left with 100 passengers, which is full, so that would seem to indicate that the flying public still wants to fly in Concorde," he said.

"There is a huge market for it. It is obviously a premium product but it is a very successful part of the operation and it is a highly popular mode of transport. The Air France accident obviously had a general effect but there is still an enormous amount of kudos in flying Concorde."

Mike Bannister, the chief Concorde pilot, dismissed the latest incident as a "non event" because the loss of the lower part of one of the four sections which make up the rudder had no effect on the control of the aircraft.

Experts agree that Concorde is one of the best-maintained aircraft in the world and its reduced flying times mean that it is a relatively young aircraft in terms of flying hours.

Professor Luiz Moutinho, a tourism expert from Glasgow University, said he doubted whether the type of passengers who used Concorde would be deterred from flying.

"A lot of people who fly Concorde fly it because of the status. If you were just talking about the convenience and the speed, then people would analyse it and ask, ‘What about safety? What about security? What about the very old technology?’ But I feel that for the segment that flies on Concorde, the other attributes will be more preponderant in their decision."

BA replaced all the rudders on its Concorde fleet in 1993/1994 after a series of incidents, but that did not prevent another scare in 1998, when crew members on board one of the planes flying to New York reported "vibrations plus a thump".

They later discovered that the plane had lost up to 70 per cent of the lower part of its rudder.