Important Airline Whistleblower News!

Illegal Licensing of Aircraft Mechanics/Outsourcing of Maintenance Work to Foreign Countries

As many are aware, there have been numerous news reports of late concerning the retesting of aircraft mechanics, and other airline maintenance irregularities by news reporter Byron Harris and investigative producer Mark Smith of WFAA News 8, an ABC News affiliate in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Harris and Mr. Smith have contacted our association seeking additional information from any airline employee, but especially pilots and mechanics, regarding this critical safety issue. Additionally, they are soliciting comments from active airline employees and others. Anonymity is guaranteed if so desired.

Please contact Mr. Harris at 214-748-9631 or bharris@wfaa.com and Mr. Smith at 214-748-9631 or msmith@wfaa.com.

Additionally, at a June 17th hearing held by Senator Dorgan concerning the Colgan Air disaster, Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Mo) raised issues regarding the outsourcing of maintenance to foreign repair stations citing concern over the lack of U.S. government oversight of this maintenance work. She pointed out that there are airlines flying narrow-body aircraft without passengers to some of these stations solely for the purpose of performing this maintenance work. This should give cause for alarm by every aircrew member flying the line, and not just international crews. Please contact Senator McCaskill's office by phone/email/fax and advise her of your concerns. She needs to hear from you.


Suppression of Airline Employee Whistleblowers is Systemic

As promulgated yesterday, the OpEd News article, Suppression of Airline Whistleblowers is Systemic, addresses the issue of the wrongful suppression of safety whistleblowers in the airline industry through airline-forced medical or psychiatric evaluations, which denigrates the level of air passenger safety. It is hopeful that this article was broadly disseminated to all.

This article has been placed in the General News category with tags: Airline Airplane Crashes, Airline Security, Airlines, Airlines, Conference, Crashes, Hearings, Other, Psychiatry, Radio, Transportation, Trauma, Whistleblowers-ing, Workplace. Please be advised that the article will be carried by more newspapers if we get people to include comments on the bottom of the article. This increases it's rating and thus increases the number of newspaper outlets it will be sent to.

Also, at the bottom of the article you are given the opportunity to click on the link labeled Airline Safety Whistleblowers Express Concerns, providing you with a communications avenue to send your comments to your local newspapers and congressional representatives. It takes but a few minutes to complete the form. Congress and the traveling public needs to understand your expressed outrage over the dismantling of airline employee contracts, which resulted in horrific scheduling practices, and diminishment of safety concerns over the past several years, while airline employees have been intimidated with threats of liquidation of their airline and their safety voices stifled. Speak out loudly NOW, or forever hold your peace.

Rob Kall, the editor of OpEd News, has recently petitioned his readership for funding during these troubled financial times. If you can spare the money, please contribute to this honest online news site!


Medical Whistleblower Blog Talk Radio Show

This Saturday evening at 5 p.m. Central Daylight Time, Dr. Janet Parker will once again host former United Airlines Captain Dan Hanley and hopefully another guest airline whistleblower on her Blog Talk Radio Show Medical Whistleblower as we discuss issues concerning the suppression of airline whistleblowers through the practice of hostile workplace forced psychiatric and medical evaluations. Call-ins to the program are welcomed at (347) 857-4599 and you may remain anonymous if you desire. We would particularly like to hear from airline employees who have endured this wrongful practice or know of someone who has.

This 'gun to the head' intimidating and implicit threat to would-be whistleblowers must be exposed, as it grossly diminishes airline safety for the millions who travel by commercial air. For obvious reasons, this concern will never be discussed in the halls of Congress, nor will it be addressed by members of the current ongoing DOT meetings taking place in Washington in the aftermath of the Colgan Air disaster. Revamped safety reporting processes are of little value, if this threat remains.

Ideally, commercial aviation safety must necessarily be sustained in a vacuum unimpeded by external financial, legal, and political pressures. Anyone who has endured the past eight years in the industry fully realize that this has been far from the case. Collectively, we must 'unload this gun' of suppression through media or other exposure means. Passenger and aircrew lives are at stake. Politicians must deal with pressures exerted by K-Street and Wall Street lobbyist, and labor unions must live by labor law, while immersed in the cesspool of 'special interests' of Washington politics. Our independent grassroots association have 'special interests' also...our special interests are the millions who travel by commercial air and the dedicated safety professionals who serve them...the airline employees. Do your part...speak out!


Senate Hearing Tomorrow

This Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 10 AM in Russell Senate Office Building Room 253, Senator Byron Dorgan, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security, will hold a hearing concerning Aviation Safety: The Relationship Between Network Airlines and Regional Airlines. Schedules permitting, it is strongly encouraged that all airline employees living in the Washington DC area attend this important hearing in your uniform. There is a media table located in the hearing room, which gives you access to news reporters both before and after the hearing. This provides airline employees the opportunity to bend the ears of the mainstream media with your comments and concerns face-to-face. It's your career...go bend some ears!

The witnesses for this hearing conveniently excludes the voice of airline employees or union leaders, and for some strange reason, the hour and a half hour hearing isn't being carried on televised C-Span 1, but is available for viewing online on C-Span 3. C-Span 1 will be covering the status of the U.S. Postal Service during this same time frame.

Opening Remarks

Captain Stephen M. Dickson
Senior Vice President Flight Operations
Delta Air Lines, Inc.



Captain Don Gunther
Vice President for Safety
Continental Airlines, Inc.



Mr. Peter Bowler
President and Chief Executive Officer
American Eagle Airlines



Mr. Philip H. Trenary
President and Chief Executive Officer
Pinnacle Airlines Corp.