Dear Friend,
At the Annual
Meeting people were saying, "NADA/F has clout," "very
impressive that Jane Garvey spent so much time talking with our
members on Friday and Saturday afternoon," "terrific
meeting, a real step up," and, most important, "thank you
for bringing us together!"
NADA/F is
growing. Year 2000 has been our busiest and most productive year. But,
we truly do need your help to continue the momentum. Please renew your
membership NOW for 2001 at just $20 per person (per year). And, since
membership donations are used to cover costs of printing and postage
to members, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE consider an additional
tax-deductible contribution to the NATIONAL
AIR DISASTER FOUNDATION (NADF).
Our only way
to be effective is to network and communicate with our members, the
media, and other organizations. And, unfortunately, these costs rise
each year. Costs for telephone, printing and mailing continue to rise,
with our numbers and with time. We really need to have an office in
the Washington DC-area, and are working toward that goal. A special
gift of $100,000, in your name, or in memory of your loved one, would
make that dream a reality. A reality to help accomplish our goals.
Last year the
NATIONAL AIR DISASTER FOUNDATION (NADF)
established a trust account to hold larger donations, where the
interest from the trust is used as an endowment to cover the annual
expenses of a particular project, and the principal is held in trust.
We were fortunate to receive endowment gifts of $10,000 each to endow
the Air Safety Award and the new Journalism Award. We encourage
members to also consider making a similar donation in memory of a
loved one that will endow our work for the future.
Each of us
knows that what happened to us, should NEVER happen to anyone! As time
goes on, we all painfully learn that most air crashes are very
preventable disasters. Our organization is the only non-profit working
to prevent these tragedies. Please know that your gift WILL make a
difference!
Yours truly,
Gail Dunham,
President
P.S. Your
membership renewal, and your additional contribution of the most that
you can do WILL make a difference. Thank you !!!
Be a Shareholder! Mary
Schiavo's Special Donation to NADA/F !
NADA/F has made great
inroads with government, however the lawyers and insurance companies
that represent the airlines do not get it. The missing link is getting
corporations to accept their responsibility.
You have earned your place
at the table for corporate accountability. You need to ask the
questions that make a difference at the aviation Shareholders Annual
Meetings. Corporate Directors need to be reminded that safety sells
and tragedies do not. Those corporate directors do not answer the
questions in the courtroom, however at their Annual Meetings you can
ask them directly, and they are required to provide an answer.
I am making a donation
to NADA/F of aviation corporate stocks that will be held in NADA/F's
trust account, which will enable your members as shareholders to
attend those corporate meetings and publicly ask the tough
questions. By law the Board of Directors is required to answer
shareholder questions. If they do not know the answer they are
required to find out and provide the answers to you. You can be a
force for change directly to the corporate officers who are
responsible for the answers.
I hope that others will also
donate airline and manufacturers' stocks to NADF. You have earned your
place at the table and this donation is so that you can directly ask
those important questions.
Mary Schiavo
(We hope to have the
entire text of Mary's speech on our website soon: www.PlaneSafe.org)
Thank you Mary! How
This Will Work!
Stock donations to the NATIONAL
AIR DISASTER FOUNDATION,
a 501 (c)(3), are tax-deductible, and will be held as part of the
endowments in the NADF Trust Account at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. We
encourage members to call for the details about how easy it is to make
a stock donation to NADF. Perhaps you already hold airline stocks (or
other stocks) that you would like to transfer and donate as a
tax-deduction to NADF, or perhaps you would like to donate funds to
purchase a particular airline or manufacturer's stock so that NADF
members can monitor that company and have a member at every Annual
Shareholder Meeting. As shareholders NADF will receive notices of
those Shareholder Meetings, and we will contact members in that area,
or you, to ensure that our members and our mission are represented at
those meetings.
Bill & Linda Beckett,
from England, reported that they purchased British Airways stock
almost ten years ago, and confronted BA at the Royal Albert Hall at
the shareholders meeting. They had a voice and information was
provided to them. Bill Beckett said, "We know this works,
this is a terrific donation and we encourage you to become
stockholders in as many airlines as possible."
Let's not stop there!
Keep in mind that we need financial help to continue our work. We urge
our members to consider a tax-deductible donation of stock--airline or
any publicly traded company, as one of the ways that you can help NADF.
Gail Dunham, President
FAA MEETING - FRIDAY,
October 27, 2000
Over 35 NADA/F members met
with the FAA about ARAC (Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committees) and
we discussed the process and ways the FAA could expedite the process
for safety. Congress passes the laws that govern rulemaking, and the
NADA/F call is right on target about the need for Congressional
Hearings about the FAA lack of compliance with NTSB fatal air crash
derived recommendations. We made our point that the system is not
doing the best job of serving the public, and it is complicated by the
industry pressure.
Our ARAC representatives are
generously covering their own travel expenses at this time, however,
we used this meeting to again lobby the FAA to put funds into their
budget to offset travel expenses for people like us representing the
traveling public.
The FAA also gave us an
overview of a new expanded portion of their website, which allows
people to make Public Comments via the Internet about their Notices of
Rulemaking. Their general website is http://www.faa.gov
and the ARAC portion is the following: http://www.faa.gov/avr/armhome.htm
The FAA has adopted the NADA/F recommendation of being able to post
comments and recommendations on-line.
NADA/F still
needs a volunteer to help with the paperwork and telephone
coordination with the FAA. This is an opportunity to make a
difference! Thank you again to our terrific volunteers and to everyone
who attended the meeting and represented our members and the flying
public!
SEEN AND HEARD AT THE
ANNUAL MEETING…
"Garvey Meetings
with Air Disaster Families and Survivors"
Arlington, VA - 29Oct00
- Increasing prominence of the National Air Disaster Alliance /
Foundation (NADA/F) as a strong united voice for airline safety led to
a visit by the FAA Administrator Jane Garvey. Ms. Garvey met with
families of the victims of Alaska 261, TWA 800, Pan Am 103, ValuJet,
NW 255, USAir 427, United 232, United 585, Japan Airlines 123, and
many more, including the survivors of United 232. NADA/F represents
well over 75 major airline crashes around the world.
Ms. Garvey was "very
focused" on the crash of Alaska 261 which has become a
benchmark for a reevaluation of FAA oversight. "We made
some mistakes in the case of Alaska 261 and we are going to make it
right," said Garvey. Alaska Airlines which has been under
a grand Jury investigation prior to the crash, has made Ms. Garvey
very "frustrated." "The Grand Jury has
information that we (the FAA) want to know about," said
Garvey.
Reported in AirJet Airline
World News - Email: Airjet@AirlineBiz.com
What is IREI Safety?
IREI, represents International
Rally of Endeavors to Improve,
and the Japanese word IREI means "prayer for the peaceful rest of
souls of the dead." IREI is a union of the family members of
Japan Airlines 123, the largest single air disaster in history, August
12, 1985. We were honored that Dr. Kawakita could be with us to share
information about their very extensive memorial site on Osutaka Ridge,
and their work toward air safety.
Thanks to IREI and Dr. K.,
Japan Airlines is now the only airline (that we know of) that posts
their monthly safety data on their website. http://www.jal.co.jp/operate/
In Japanese language only at this time.
"The sky is one, the
air safety standards internationally should be the same….I work
everyday to honor the souls of the 520 victims….. they (the
industry) must know that we can 'bark' and 'bite.'" Dr.
Takao Kawakita
"Dr. Kawakita is my
hero and role model. I want to live to be 80 and still climb the
mountain." Tom O'Mara, NADA/F Board Member and recipient
of the prestigious year 2000 NADA/F Air Safety Award.
"You are turning
your grief into a powerful force to make the world safer." Maureen
Dobert, NADA/F Board Member, CT-43, U.S. Air Force 737, Croatia
"Mary Schiavo was
far more impressive in person than I ever imagined. She knows and
understands what's going on." Greg Neberding, representing
Baby B'Air, for safer flight for children under 2, and NADA/F Member
representing us at the FAA Regulatory Course on the Rulemaking
Process.
"NADA/F is an honest
organization in town and the only group that can stand up to
government and say 'prove it!'" Ira Rimson, NADA/F Member,
and with Veridata, Air Safety Accident Prevention Specialist.
"One error is not
supposed to cause an air disaster. TWA 800 had no redundancy, no back
up system." Christine Negroni, author of the book "Deadly
Departure: Why the Experts Failed to Prevent the TWA 800 Disaster and
How it Could Happen Again."
"I asked Ms. Garvey:
Where was the FAA while this critical position of safety inspector at
Alaska Airlines was left open for over two years? She replied, 'we
screwed up.'" Earlene Shaw, NADA/F Board Member, and widow
of Don Shaw, Alaska 261 1/31/00
"Carolyn
Coarsey-Rader's videotapes should be used as required training at the
FAA." Ken Dobert, Tom O'Mara, and many others…
"God is not
malevolent; God does not cause airplanes to crash, People cause
airplanes to crash." Dr. Robert O. Besco, Retired Airline
Captain, bbesco@properf.org www.properf.org
"NADA/F is obviously
gaining momentum and there is a lot of enthusiasm-very positive
meeting." Bill Kauffman, Ph.D., Aerospace Professor at
University of Michigan, and NADA/F representative on the FAA ARAC
Executive Committee, and Fuel Tank Inerting Committee. Email: cwkauff@engin.umich.edu
"I am truly honored
to be the first recipient of NADA/F's journalism award. It means a lot
more than any journalism prize that I've received because it
represents the good that has come from tragic, unnecessary loss of
lives. NADA/F has provided a vehicle for family members to take
advantage of their unique access to government regulators and insist
that the flying public have a place at the aviation safety
table." Byron Acohido, Pulitzer Prize winning Aviation
Journalist with "Seattle Times," and recipient of the first
NADF Corboy & Demetrio Award for Journalism Contributions To
Improving Aviation Safety. The award was made possible by a very
generous $10,000 donation to endow the award from Corboy &
Demetrio, an aviation firm in the Chicago area.
Granting Immunity…
The first law enforcement for aviation safety was in 1784 when the
police were called in about a balloon flight in Paris. Using law
enforcement to protect the people in aviation is nothing new. However,
the NTSB wants the power to grant immunity during air crash
investigations. One problem is that they have not worked in criminal
law. We use our laws to weed out criminals from the medical profession
and other areas, and the flying public needs to also be protected. You
need "cause" to open a criminal investigation, some
indication there is even a crime to investigate. You need legal
proceedings and a person is called for questioning, and must refuse to
cooperate, taking the 5th Amendment before you would even consider
seeking immunity. Someone needs to refuse to cooperate first, because
they fear prosecution. You must follow the federal, state, and local
laws that apply. Everyone wants to be granted immunity, but keep in
mind it was intended for use with criminal law enforcement, and by
granting immunity a successful criminal might be free.
Mary Schiavo, former
Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, and author
of
"Flying Blind, Flying Safe." (available
on our website under BOOKS)
"To say that Airbus
and Boeing have their own agenda is the understatement of the
millennium. The manufacturers have impeded adequate emergency
evacuation standards. The aviation rule making is controlled in the
U.S., and although Europe is trying to have more influence, we need
your help in the U.S. to demand the highest standards. You (NADA/F)
have achieved an incredible amount in five short years. You have
influence and clout, sadly that will grow partly because of the
ongoing spate of disasters. The question is not "IF," but
when and where the next aviation disaster will be." Bill
& Linda Beckett from England, representing SCI SAFE (pronounced
sky-safe) Survivors Campaign to Improve Safety in Airline Flight
Equipment, since 1985.
"The meeting was a
valuable introduction to NADA/F and gave me a deeper and broader
spectrum of aviation disasters than I ever knew. Meeting United 232
survivors was more valuable than professional trips to Sioux City, IA.
I came to learn and I gained more than I gave." Melvin
Prostkoff, MD, Medical Examiner, New Hampshire, Great Bay
Neurosurgical Associates, Dover, NH
Amazon.com Books Online!
When you link from our website to Amazon.com NADF receives a modest
commission on book orders received from our website. If you are
ordering holiday books go to our website: http://www.planesafe.org
and click on BOOKS,
scroll to the bottom and click on Amazon.com to place your book
orders.
Over 110 people, from age
15 to 80, attended our meeting, representing flights from 40 years ago
to as recent as this year's Alaska 261 and Emery Airfreight 17. Family
members and survivors attended as well as professionals from the
media, academia, social service organizations, the FAA, the NTSB, the
airlines, professionals responsible for crisis response, the American
Red Cross, international aviation safety organizations, and much more.
The comments above are a very small sample from the weekend's events.
Thank you to everyone for coming to the meeting and offering your
support! Our friendships are unique, very special, and always a
highlight of the Annual Meeting.
To better define our
mission our membership overwhelmingly decided to delete the word
"commercial" from our mission statement. The board will
continue to look at ways of using PlaneSafe as an easy acronym, or
"doing business as," or "also known as." Tax
deductible checks should still be written to NATIONAL
AIR DISASTER FOUNDATION,
a 501 (c) (3) organization.
Please make a donation to
the NATIONAL AIR DISASTER FOUNDATION
today. Help us continue our work! Gail Dunham
NOVA * National
Organization for Victim Assistance Crisis Response Team Training (CRT)
February 19?23, 2001 - Monday - Friday 9 AM - 5 PM - Washington DC
For over 25 years NOVA has
offered services and training for victims of crimes and other crises.
Those who complete the training are able to become part of NOVA's
national CRT program and work with disaster professionals in their own
area after a disaster, or possibly work with NADA/F members after an
air crash. NADA/F members agreed that to best help others, volunteers
need to be successfully trained, and NOVA training will help us face
the challenge of offering direct support to victims' families.
The Red Cross tends to rely
on clergy and licensed counselors, however, other organizations have
expressed an interest in using our members as volunteers after an air
disaster. If called to help we understand that transportation and
hotel expenses will be covered, and we look forward to working with
many groups.
To guarantee a place in the
class please send $100 to cover training materials to the NATIONAL
AIR DISASTER FOUNDATION.
This does not include travel, hotel or meals. Hotel will be announced
soon, and rooms are expected to be $115 per night.
Special thanks to NOVA for
making this opportunity available to us, and to NADA/F Board Member
Jim Hurd for working with NOVA to coordinate the training. If you have
additional questions please contact Jim Hurd, 410-551-0459, or call
NADA/F directly.
CALENDAR…
Sunday January 28, 2001 -
Avianca 52 - Annual mass to remember the survivors, and those lost
? St. Dominic's, 93 Anstic Street, Oyster Bay NY 11771, (516)
922?4488. Avianca 52 crashed at Cove Neck NY on January 25, 1990.
Saturday, March 3, 2001 -
United 585 - Colorado Spring CO - 10th Memorial at the Widefield
Park crash site, about 9:30 AM and brunch/lunch following at the
Broadmoor Hotel. Contact Gail Dunham. Everyone is welcome to join
us.
