Quote of the Week

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

Aviation Conspiracy Newsletter #439................................................................................July 29, 2007 Past newsletters can be accessed at: http://pages.prodigy.net/rockaway/ACNewsmenu.htm The PASSUR airport flight tracking system at many major U.S. airports 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@prodigy.net

As Bill Sees It (Editorial): TSA Alert: Is It A Pizza Or A Terrorist Bomb? Is it mozarella or high explosive C4? The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) issued a memo this week to airport screeners that suggests Islamic terrorists may be "probing" airport security by transporting 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 supported 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 transportation 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 Washington, 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 shifting an arrival pattern for LaGuardia Airport eastward over Fairfield County from its current track over Westchester County. It also calls for planes departing Westchester County Airport 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 Report Meant To Raise Awareness, Not Alarm, TSA Says!!! Passengers mentioned in a security report describing suspicious items at airports are not terrorism suspects and were included in the document only to help airport screeners think more broadly about potential threats, the nation's top aviation security official said yesterday. The report, issued by the Transportation Security Administration and titled "Incidents at U.S. Airports 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 Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport last year, in which screeners stopped items that looked like bombs. "A surge in recent suspicious incidents at U.S. airports may indicate terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and 'dry runs' similar to dress rehearsals," according to the report. The report 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 document 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.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/25/AR2007072502072.html

Port Authority Of New York/New Jersey Board Moves Closer To Takeover Of Upstate Stewart Airport: New York – The purchase of the operating lease for Stewart Airport at Newburgh will have no adverse financial impact on the

operations of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Port Chief Financial Officer Paul Blanco told the agency’s board Thursday. Following a report, the Board approved the facility certification for the purchase of the remaining 93 years of the airport’s lease from National Express Corp. On July 17, the Port Authority and NEG signed the purchase agreement for Stewart as was reported by MidHudsonNews.com. Blanco Thursday said that after analysis, he determined the takeover of the 2,400 acre Newburgh airport will not negatively impact the Port’s operations. And, he worked up projections for the airport’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 Port expects Stewart’s net revenues to cover its costs over the 30-year period. Port 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!!! WASHINGTON - 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 Transportation Safety Board member who was on the scene at Blue Grass Airport 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

Washington, DC "Mickey Mouse" No-Fly Zone Ending? The restricted airspace over the Washington 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 airports 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 airport noise between San Jose International Airport 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 airport'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 Transportation 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

Security Report Meant To Raise Awareness, Not Alarm, TSA Says

Passengers mentioned in a security report describing suspicious items at airports are not terrorism suspects and were included in the document only to help airport screeners think more broadly about potential threats, the nation's top aviation security official said yesterday.

The report, issued by the Transportation Security Administration and titled "Incidents at U.S. Airports 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 Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport last year, in which screeners stopped items that looked like bombs.

"A surge in recent suspicious incidents at U.S. airports may indicate terrorists are conducting pre-attack security probes and 'dry runs' similar to dress rehearsals," according to the report.

The report 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 document 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 report 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 report was nothing unusual and was one of about 90 that have been sent to the field this year.

Although the report 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 report said.

The report 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 report.

Screeners at BWI reported 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 Transportation 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.

"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."

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 Transportation 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 report, 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.”