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April 23, 2010—In This Issue:
ALPA Invited to Present at NTSB Professionalism Forum

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has asked the chairs of three ALPA groups—Capt. John Sluys (ALA) of the Professional Development Group; Capt. John Rosenberg (DAL) of the Professional Standards Committee; and Capt. Tim Flaherty (DAL) of the Air Traffic Services Group—to serve as panelists at a safety forum on professionalism. As practitioners in their respective fields, each of these ALPA leaders will address the subject of enhancing professionalism.

The purpose of the forum is to gather information on the screening, selection, and training of pilots and air traffic controllers and on methods to reinforce professionalism and excellence. The forum is scheduled for May 18–20 in Washington, D.C., and will be chaired by NTSB Chairman Deborah A. P. Hersman.

Other panelists participating in the forum will represent industry, government agencies, academia, and professional associations. A technical panel composed of NTSB staff from the Offices of Aviation Safety and Research and Engineering, and all board members who will make up the Board of Inquiry will question the panelists. The forum will be made available via webcast on the NTSB’s website. The agenda will be provided once NTSB makes it available.

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Safety Steering and Oversight Committee Meets
The Steering and Oversight Committee (SOC) of ALPA’s Executive Air Safety Committee convened for its spring meeting in Herndon April 19–20. During the two-day event, each of the safety technical groups provided updates on current activity and proposals for continuing safety work, reviewed 2010 and 2011 budget issues, and selected safety award honorees for this year’s Air Safety Forum.

Topics of discussion spanned the entire scope of safety committee work and included ALPA’s involvement with legislation to improve pilot training, accident/incident investigation progress, safety training programs, runway safety initiatives, industry partnership programs such as ASAP and FOQA, SMS, low-visibility operations in Canada, wake turbulence separation issues, and NextGen. The full text of the meeting minutes, outlining specific discussion topics and action items, will be published when finalized.

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ALPA Participates in Runway Safety Council Meeting

Representatives of ALPA’s Airport and Ground Environment (AGE) group participated in a meeting of the Runway Safety Council (RSC) on April 21. The FAA’s director of runway safety noted that there have been four serious runway incursions to date in FY 2010 but that the trend was down from previous years.

The Air Transport Association (ATA) briefed the group on a new initiative to provide air traffic controllers with a presentation and aircraft simulator time to explain certain operational issues that can pose problems for pilots, especially as they relate to aircraft type. The ATA also discussed threat and error management relating to improved ground movement procedures.

The Root Cause Analysis Team, an RSC working group, forwarded to the RSC for its review and approval recommendations that were developed in response to an investigation of an operational error (i.e., an erroneous clearance) at Charlotte (CLT) in May 2009.

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H.R. 4788 and the ATA
ALPA has been working with Rep. Tim Bishop (D-NY) and others in Congress to promote the enactment of H.R. 4788, the Aviation Outsourcing Prevention Act. United and Delta pilots together with ALPA Government Affairs staff visited Capitol Hill this week to support this vital legislation.

If passed, the bill would amend Title 49 of the U.S. Code to require that any approval of revenue-sharing agreements be conditioned on U.S. airline employees doing a fair share of the flying covered by the agreements.

Recently, the Air Transport Association circulated a paper to congressional offices that mischaracterizes and distorts the purpose of H.R. 4788. ALPA has responded to these inaccuracies in a letter sent to members of both the House and Senate. Thirty-four members of the House have already co-sponsored this legislation, and more will join them. Please keep up your efforts in support of this bill.

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Senate Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010 Update
Earlier this week, the House Agriculture Committee reported on the Wall Street Transparency and Accountability Act of 2010. This comprehensive commodity reform legislation would close the loopholes that have allowed banks and speculators to drive up the price of oil, which results in high energy costs to businesses and consumers alike.

The bill places clear limits on the amount of speculation that individual traders and massive hedge funds can undertake and requires that these trades be made through a regulated exchange or trading facility. These trades must then be cleared through a central clearinghouse to ensure the stability and transparency that the market has been lacking in recent years. This legislation will likely be folded into a larger financial regulation reform bill, which could be taken up in the Senate as early as next week.

Click here to visit the Stop Oil Speculation Now Coalition’s grassroots site and to contact senators immediately in support of this important legislation.

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CIRP Volunteers Attend Training at CAL MEC Office

The CAL MEC Critical Incident Response Program (CIRP) Committee hosted recurrent and new participant training for CIRP volunteers this week at the CAL MEC office in Houston.

“We’re glad to have an extensive group of pilot volunteers from Continental, United, ExpressJet, Jazz, Colgan, Spirit, and US Airways participating,” said Capt. Bill Cheney, CIRP Committee chairman. “CIRP is an important pilot resource for pre-incident education and post-incident/accident crisis intervention services.”

The CIRP program trains and certifies line pilots to provide support in critical incident stress management. The purpose of CIRP is to mitigate the psychological impact of an incident or accident and to aid in the normal recovery from these events before harmful stress reactions affect job performance, careers, families, and health.

Pilots attending recurrent training included (left to right): Eric King (CAL), John Elwell (CAL), Pete Rose-Molina (XJT), Karen Kahn (CAL), Murray Munro (Jazz), Frey Shiller (CAL), Mike Snowden (CAL), Mark Berg (XJT), Lucy Young (US Airways), Jim Patton (CAL), Bill Cheney (CAL), Chris Carey (CAL). Not shown: Gwen Schallow (CAL).

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Don’t Let this Happen to You
ALPA HIMS Committee chairman Capt. Dana Archibald (EGL) is warning ALPA members that financial scams are on the rise. The increasingly easy access to personal data using the Internet and social networking applications, coupled with a challenging economy, has created a breeding ground for those who would use this information for criminal purposes.

This admonition comes from experience. Someone posing as Dana’s college-aged son, Matt, recently called Dana’s father (Matt’s grandfather). The individual (posing as Matt) claimed that he had been in a car accident, was in possession of illegal substances, had been arrested by the police, and needed $6,000 wired to avoid spending at least a week in jail. The imposter provided a plethora of personal details—including the make of Matt’s car—and added that he did not want to burden his father with the bad news. Another individual, posing on the telephone as a state trooper, confirmed the story. Fortunately, the grandfather contacted Dana, who determined that the accident was a fabrication. The HIMS chairman later called the police and Matt’s university, which are currently investigating this case.

“So much of our life is publicly available, and, more and more, hustlers are acquiring this information to take advantage of others, particularly the elderly,” says Dana. “Think carefully about the information you post on the Internet, and verify any requests, claims, and solicitations before you blindly wire finances or send someone a check. A little investigation can save you a fortune.”

Scams can have a devastating effect on pilots and their families. HIMS, or the Human Intervention and Motivation Study, provides resources within ALPA, the medical community, and individual airlines to address addictions, dependencies, and other issues that can disrupt a pilot’s personal or professional life. Click here to learn more.

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This Week’s ALPA Press Releases/Other ALPA News
If you missed ALPA’s news distribution this week, check out this link:

Other ALPA News
Top News for members only from www.alpa.org.

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FastFact

This week in ALPA History: ALPA signs its first contract with Pennsylvania-Central Airlines on April 22, 1940. Eight years later, the airline changes its name to Capital Airlines, and then merges with United Airlines in 1961.

 

 

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Feedback & E-mail Address Changes
Questions or comments on this FastRead? Give us your feedback at communications@alpa.org.

If you have moved or changed your ISP or e-mail address, please update your ALPA records. If you don’t, you will no longer receive the ALPA FastRead and other e-mail bulletins and notices, and once your postal forwarding order expires, you’ll no longer receive the magazine and other ALPA mail. You can do it yourself by going to www.alpa.org and logging in. Go to “My ALPA” in the menu at the top of the page, and from there, you’ll be instructed how to make the necessary changes.

If you don’t have access to the members-only section of www.alpa.org, you can e-mail your requests by sending them to membership@alpa.org. Be sure to include your member number or enough other information so that we can identify you in the membership database, and tell us what information needs to be updated.

Please note that it is not sufficient just to notify your LEC or MEC of these changes—you should register them with the ALPA Membership Department in Herndon.

Can’t remember your member number or how to log in? Need information about your ALPA insurance programs? These and other questions about ALPA services can be answered by contacting membership@alpa.org.

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