[simpits-chat] Fwd: Fw: Flight Safety Information (11JAN03-018) (fwd)

[Gene Buckle]

>Flight Safety Information (11JAN03-018)
>_________________________________
>
>*Wreckage of Peru Jet Found in Jungle
>*Medical Helicopter Crashes in Utah
>*S.F. Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing
>*Air Passenger Group Attacks TSA for
> Decision To Bar Collective Bargaining
>*Thai PM presses Singapore on no-frills airline JV
>*Polish airline PLL LOT to buy Embraer planes
>**********************************************
>
>Wreckage of Peru Jet Found in Jungle
>
>LIMA, Peru (AP) - Rescue teams on Saturday found the wreckage of a plane
>that disappeared into Peru's high mountain jungle nearly two days ago
with
>46 people on board.
>
>Air force Col. Juan Rodriguez said rescue helicopters found the wreckage
on
>the side of a 11,000-foot high mountain 10 miles north of the jungle
town of
>Chachapoyas.
>
>``The plane is apparently destroyed,'' Rodriguez told reporters.
Rescuers
>said they feared there were no survivors. There were eight children
among
>the passengers.
>
>``It is impossible that people are alive. The impact must have been
>tremendous,'' said David Reina, fire chief of the Amazonas region.
>
>Heavy rains hampered efforts to locate the missing TANS Airlines Flight
222,
>a Fokker 28 jetliner, which lost radio contact with the Chachapoyas
airport
>minutes before landing Thursday morning. The flight originated in Lima.
>
>The plane flew Thursday from Lima with 38 passengers and a four-member
crew
>to the coastal city of Chiclayo. There it picked up four more passengers
>before continuing to Chachapoyas, which is 400 miles north of Lima, TANS
>spokesman Lizandro Toro said.
>
>It was not raining when the plane disappeared but low-hanging clouds
covered
>the mountains near Chachapoyas, meteorologists said.
>
>Three foreigners were on the plane - a Spanish woman and a Belgian
husband
>and wife, TANS said.
>
>Despite bad weather, three 12-man rescue squads, with jungle rescue
experts,
>set out Friday into the mountains, Rodriguez said.
>
>Police Maj. Medardo Escobedo said the foot patrols were trying to reach
an
>area eight to 16 hours from Lamud, a town 10 miles northwest of
Chachapoyas,
>where the plane was believed to have crashed.
>
>The ground teams where virtually blind without the four available
>helicopters overhead to guide them and had based their routes on reports
>from local farmers who said they had heard an explosion or had seen a
low
>flying plane, he said.
>
>Chachapoyas, a city of 20,000 people, is located at an altitude of 7,700
>feet in a region of thick jungle on the eastern slope of the Andes
>Mountains.
>
>In 1987 it took rescuers 10 days to find a plane carrying 46 people that
>went down near the jungle town of Saposoa, about 90 miles southeast of
>Chachapoyas.
>
>TANS began offering weekly flights to Chachapoyas in October. The city,
>which is close to the towering Kuelap ruins popular with tourists, had
been
>without regular air service for years.
>
>The state-owned airline was set up 40 years ago to fly to remote jungle
>towns that private airlines did not service because the routes were not
>profitable.
>*****************
>
>Medical Helicopter Crashes in Utah
>
>SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - A medical helicopter responding to an emergency
>crashed in dense fog, killing two hospital employees and leaving the
only
>survivor in critical condition, authorities said.
>
>The helicopter crashed about 9 p.m. Friday with a nurse, paramedic and
pilot
>on board, said Salt Lake City Fire spokesman Scott Freitag. The survivor
was
>hospitalized at LDS Hospital, where the victims worked.
>
>Their LifeFlight helicopter was going to pick up a patient, Freitag
said.
>When the pilot determined the fog was too thick to continue, the
helicopter
>turned back and the pilot asked to land at the Salt Lake City airport.
>
>``They were waiting for clearance when something went wrong and they
>crashed,'' Freitag said.
>
>An emergency helicopter from another hospital had been called first to
>respond to the same emergency, in Wendover, but it had returned to the
>helipad because the fog was too thick, said University of Utah hospital
>spokeswoman Ann Brillinger.
>
>The nature of the emergency they were responding to wasn't immediately
>known.
>
>``We are absolutely devastated,'' said Jess Gomez, a spokesman for LDS
>Hospital. ``That's part of a family up there. Those crews put their
lives on
>the line every day.''
>
>The area where the helicopter crashed, just south of Great Salt Lake, is
>vulnerable to thick winter fog. Nearly 60 vehicles collided in the same
area
>Wednesday in fog and black ice, resulting in 11 injuries.
>
>Freitag said the National Transportation and Safety Board and Federal
>Aviation Administration were investigating the helicopter crash.
>*****************
>
>S.F. Helicopter Makes Emergency Landing
>
>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A sightseeing helicopter made an emergency landing
>Friday in the choppy waters near the Golden Gate Bridge and all four
people
>on board were rescued within half an hour, according to the U.S. Coast
>Guard.
>
>The helicopter went down near the center span of the bridge, said Petty
>Officer David Connor. The cause was not immediately known. The pilot,
John
>McClelland, said the helicopter had some sort of mechanical problem.
>
>The tourists and pilot declined medical attention, the Coast Guard said.
>
>The helicopter was towed to a nearby Coast Guard station.
>******************
>
>Air Passenger Group Attacks Transportation Safety Administration for
>Decision To Bar Collective Bargaining
>
>WASHINGTON, Jan. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- "This is a return to the old,
broken,
>dangerous system that was in place in 2001," said Passenger Security
Alert
>Committee (PSAC) spokesperson David Sailer. "Then, as apparently now,
>whistleblowers and dedicated career federal screeners were scorned. I
fear
>we are heading in the same direction as before -- disrespected and
>dispirited employees who know there are security breaches but are afraid
to
>speak out. It's a recipe for disaster."
>
>"We don't believe that airport screeners should have the right to
strike,
>just like police officers in unions don't have that right," says Sailer.
>"And we want to make sure there are safeguards in place to make sure
that
>airport screeners and managers are fired if they prove to be a security
>risk. But at least there has to be strong language to protect
>whistleblowers."
>
>"Why does the TSA want to cause more problems by denying these workers
the
>rights that other law enforcement personnel enjoy? At a time when the
TSA
>needs to reassure passengers and the public, Admiral Loy should be in a
>dialogue with the thousands of screeners who have expressed a desire for
>union representation and whistleblower protection. This divisive move
seems
>motivated by politics and payback to unions for supporting Democrats in
the
>recent election."
>
>PSAC is a citizens group formed in the wake of September 11th terrorist
>attacks. PSAC was instrumental in the passage of the Aviation Security
>legislation which federalized the airport screeners.
>
>SOURCE Passenger Security Alert Committee
>*****************
>
>Thai PM presses Singapore on no-frills airline JV
>
>BANGKOK, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime
minister
>and a telecoms tycoon, said he was inviting Singapore Airlines to help
set
>up a "no frills" airline to operate out of his hometown, the Thai resort
of
>Chiang Mai. Thaksin appeared frustrated by national carrier Thai Airways
>International's slow progress in creating a network of flights between
the
>northern Thai city of Chiang Mai and southern China, Laos, Myanmar,
Vietnam
>and Bangladesh.
>
>"Thai International cannot expand that fast," Thaksin told a news
conference
>in the southern Thai resort of Phuket, after meeting his Singaporean
>counterpart Goh Chok Tong on a yacht.
>
>"If I have to wait 10 years, then it's too long for me. I want it
tomorrow."
>
>With Thai law only allowing up to 30 percent ownership of an airline,
any
>investment is likely to be through a joint venture, possibly even with
Thai
>Airways, a major competitor with Singapore Airlines especially for
long-haul
>flights.
>
>Goh said he was interested in Thaksin's proposal because a vibrant
economy
>in northern Thailand and bordering regions would give Singaporean
investors
>opportunities in the long run.
>
>But he said Singapore Airways would look carefully at the commercial
>viability of any venture.
>
>"Singapore doesn't want to pour money into a black hole," Goh said,
before
>indicating the issue could come up again during a planned round of golf
with
>Thaksin on Sunday.
>
>"We usually settle a lot of deals after playing golf."
>******************
>
>Polish airline PLL LOT to buy Embraer planes
>
>WARSAW, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Poland's flag carrier PLL LOT SA said on
Friday
>it planned to buy 10 ERJ-170 midsize passenger planes from Brazil's
Embraer
>for over $200 million as it upgrades its fleet despite an industry
slump.
>
>LOT, whose full name is Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT SA, said in a
statement
>its supervisory board had also approved plans to take an option on a
further
>11 of Embraer's 170 or 190 models.
>
>Deliveries of the 70-seater Embraer 170 aircraft will begin in January
of
>2004. The Polish company declined to give further details on the
contract
>which still needs to be signed with the Brazilian group -- the world's
>fourth largest aircraft maker.
>
>Poland has recently provided one of the few bright spots in a struggling
>aerospace market. Last month the government placed a $3.5 billion
contract
>with U.S. Lockheed Martin to build 48 fighter jets in Eastern Europe's
>largest arms deal.
>
>Embraer's new jet, with CF34-8E5 engines from U.S. General Electric, has
>already been ordered by Swiss International Air Lines, U.S. aircraft
leasing
>giant GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), Alitalia, France's Air
Caraibes
>and India's Jet Airways.
>
>Embraer spokesman Stephane Guilbaud said the company was seeking further
>sales of the 70-seat Embraer 170 across Europe. "We're talking to
everyone,"
>he said.
>
>In past years, state-controlled PLL LOT has been investing heavily in
the
>expansion of its fleet to ward off strong foreign competition and meet
>growing demand from domestic clients.
>
>The company, which currently flies 51 planes to 45 foreign destinations,
>already uses 14 of Embraer's small 145 on regional flights. The new
planes
>ordered from Embraer will replace some of its Brazilian-made smaller
>aircraft.
>
>Last year LOT signed an agreement to join German Lufthansa's
>
>Star Alliance to secure its leading position in central Europe's market,
>after its former strategic partner Swissair's Qualiflyer group
collapsed.
>
>Poland's left-wing government, which owns 68 percent of LOT, has said it
>wanted to float a majority of its holding as early as 2003 and
ultimately
>own no more than 10 percent in the firm.
>
>But before any public offering, the company needs to complete its
>restructuring and a buyer must be found for a 25 percent stake formerly
held
>by Swissair.
>
>In the first nine months of 2002 LOT reported a small profit on core
>operations, thanks to job and pay reductions as well as scrapping
>loss-making routes.
>