2004 Memo Warned About Ky. Air Staffing

[Omaha Steve]

http://apnews.excite.com/article/20060905/D8JV0RD80.html

2004 Memo Warned About Ky. Air Staffing
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Sep 5, 7:52 PM (ET)

By JEFFREY McMURRAY

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - Nearly two years before the fatal crash of Comair Flight 5191, a control tower supervisor at the Lexington airport reported staff shortages in the tower that "can cost lives."

According to a safety memo filed in September 2004 and obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, the supervisor reported the airport's radar system wasn't working properly but that the air traffic manager refused to call in a mechanical specialist because it would mean paying two hours of overtime.

The memo went on to say the tower was "short staffed, a low priority to the powers above us who would spend their efforts solving the problems of" larger airports in Louisville and Cincinnati.

"Those types of poorly thought out decisions can cost lives," said the supervisor, who made the report anonymously through a NASA system used by tower operators and pilots to list safety concerns, which are ultimately relayed to the Federal Aviation Administration.

FULL story at link above.

[MountainLaurel]

1. Why am I not surprised?

:cry:

[jus_the_facts]

2. I read that a couple of people on that plane were Forensic Accountants....

....I believe some other interesting people were also aboard that plane...or so I've heard....anybody post the passenger list around here since this happened as I'd read about it on another forum and don't recall seeing anything about it on DU?! :tinfoilhat:

[alfredo]

3. A woman who worked the Fayette County Dem headquarters

during the Kerry campaign was on the plane.

[jus_the_facts]

4. Here's more information about some of the victims on that plane.....

.....sure seems fishy to me. :tinfoilhat:

Timothy Snoddy, 51, owner of Snoddy Consulting Inc. in Ashland, where he was a CPA, forensic accountant, business valuator and litigation consultant.

He was a CPA, forensic accountant, business valuator, and litigation consultant through his company, Snoddy Consulting, Inc. Mr. Snoddy's practice, based in Lexington, had branch offices in North Carolina and Florida. His planned flight was to his office near Fort Lauderdale.
http://snoddyconsulting.com/

_________________________

Larry Turner of Lexington, Ky., associate dean for University of Kentucky Extension and Director of Cooperative Extension Service.....
Their mission statement...
Nationally, Cooperative Extension provides educational programming in five key areas: sustaining agriculture and forestry
· protecting the environment
· maintaining viable communities
· developing responsible youth
· developing strong, healthy and safe families
-------------------------------------
Tetsuya “Tetsu” Kono, 34, of Lexington, Ky., an employee of LBX Co.

Nahoko Kono, 31, wife of Tetsuya Kono.

Online Catalog: LBX Company, LLC
Without Specs:
All Terrain Crane
Carrier Mounted Truck Crane
Crawler Excavator
Delimbers
Forestry Excavator


-------------------------------------
Pat Smith, 58, member of Habitat for Humanity International's board of directors.
-------------------------------------

Homer Combs Sr. of Lexington, Ky., vice president of Systems Design Group.

Diane Combs of Lexington, Ky., wife of Homer Combs and an employee of Systems Design Group.

Systems Design Group, Inc. (SDG) is a security consulting & technology company ...
---------------------------------------------

Galls website info... http://www.galls.com/

...in-stock public safety equipment and apparel. We carry the latest in law enforcement equipment.

Erik J. Harris of Lexington, Ky., a sales team leader with Galls.

Priscilla Johnson of Lexington, Ky., an auditor with Galls.

Cecile Moscoe of Lexington, Ky., an account representative with Lexington-based public safety equipment maker Galls, according to the company
------------------------

[alfredo]

5. Gall's also has an outdoor outfitting business. I was turned off

of Galls when they sold and advertised a lead filled glove to give police officers "the hand of authority."

I also didn't care for how one of the Gall's berated employees on the sales floor. At one time he complained to me about employee theft. One way he could have cut theft was to treat his employees as humans. Employee theft and sabotage is how they get even for mistreatment.

[jus_the_facts]

6. I'd never heard of them before today.....

...I understand the air traffic control tower was understaffed....and pilots make mistakes...but there were so many mistakes involved with this one...then I see who the passengers were and well...things that make ya go..hmmmmm?! :shrug:

[alfredo]

7. The FAA wanted to cut costs, so they cut the number of

controllers at smaller airports.


This will have some repercussions in local politics. Our Democratic mayor is under attack over this though she has no control over the FAA decisions. Our airport is run by an independent board of governors. In our fight to buy our water company the current absentee owners RWE says that the city is smart enough to run the water company. They bought a majority of the city council who's job was to vilify our mayor. We on the side of local ownership counter by saying the water company will be run like the airport which is run by an independent board of governors.

Now RWE will say look at how poorly the air port is run, totally ignoring that it was the FAA that cut the number of Air Traffic Controllers.