The Southwest Tempest In A Teapot Continues
I want to refer you to an article that can help make clear what you want to know. First, were any passengers endangered? The answer is "no". Second, should you have any hesitation to fly on Southwest? Again, the answer is "no".
See this article. The article makes it clear. Boeing, Southwest, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univeristy, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Univeristy of North Dakota, and I all agree as follows:
Consultant Mike Boyd says the case is more about paperwork than safety. "This
is a regulatory issue, it's not about safety. And it's also
about the FAA showing (Congress) how tough it can be, and Southwest
ended up as the sacrificial lamb."
More On Cracks
When the plane is pressurized, the fuselage very slightly expands. Cracks almost always develop over time where metal of different thicknesses intersect. Panes are checked in several ways, visually, using x-rays, oils with fluorescent dye (wiped on, wiped off; lights turned off, special lights that react to the fluorescent dye are turned on; if there is a crack, oil collecting there shows up) and magnetic sensors.
==========
Our Videos On YouTube
The 2007 YouTube Video Awards are up for votes. If you like ours, please vote for them at www.youtube.com/ytawards07
Our videos are at http://youtube.com/user/CaptTomBunn.
==========
Southwest Decides Against Outsourcing
See this link
to read the full story.
Southwest Airlines Co., under fire for missing required aircraft inspections, has dropped a plan to move some maintenance operations to El Salvador from the U.S. Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz confirmed that the maintenance-outsourcing plan had been shelved.
The carrier has an agreement with contractor Aeroman Corp., which has facilities in El Salvador, "that would allow us to send them work in the future," Mainz said. "We have decided to re-evaluate that relationship. We just feel like this is the right thing to do under the circumstances."
==========
Business Travel Coalition Speaks Out On Outsourcing
The Business Travel Coalition today lauded Southwest Airlines for reversing its surprise plans to outsource aircraft structural repairs to El Salvador. BTC Chairman Kevin Mitchell said the decision was prudent as the airline would no doubt have received deeper scrutiny about its maintenance outsourcing practices. Southwest's stock price spiked up after the decision was announced, underscoring the market's growing unease about cut-rate aircraft maintenance outsourcing that has exploded in recent years, and the flying public's growing awareness and alarm over it.
Mitchell said "Once corporate travel managers and individual consumers are fully knowledgeable about the increasing scope and risks associated with outsourcing as well as an utterly failed Federal Aviation Administration oversight program, they will likely curtail air travel and otherwise shift their contracts and bookings to those carriers committed to continuous expansion of safety margins."
The problem, according to Mitchell, is not an airline per se; it is a culturally dysfunctional FAA that has long ago lost its regulatory and oversight bearings. When exposed to an unforgiving marketplace, some airlines have and will continue to subordinate passenger safety to other commercial priorities, sometimes just to survive. That's why there is a federal regulator. The Southwest debacle is merely a symptom of a grave and systemic illness at the FAA that indicts the entire system where "Exhibit A" is FAA administrators referring to the airlines as their "customers."
A BTC report states, for the 10 years ending 2006, U.S. airlines outsourced maintenance expenses increased from 26% to 64%; the number of foreign FAA-certificated repair facilities has grown from 344 to 698 over a comparable period of time.
BTC says there are two sets of maintenance standards.
What Can You Do? Write your senator and congressperson demanding all maintenance done by airliners be done by FAA licensed mechanics, and inspected and signed off by an inspector who is licensed by the FAA.
Remember Robert Crandall?
Robert Crandall is the rather outspoken former chairman and chief executive of American Airlines. Mr. Crandall is urging that U.S. lawmakers require that maintenance on U.S. airlines be done inside the country. "What we are doing is sending good jobs offshore for no purpose other than to lower airline fares. I think that is stupid policy."
Meanwhile, a political propaganda specialist for the FAA, Alison
Duquette, reassures the public that everything is just fine by saying "The
quality of the work and the standards are the same for foreign repair
stations as they are for domestic repair stations."
Full store at this link.
Decision Anxiety
The
decision to travel can trigger a predictable set of psychological repercussions. Dr. James Masterson, M.D., describes how decision-making causes anxiety in his book, "Search For The Real Self". In Masterson's view, self-hood can be impaired if the
mother withholds (or is unable to give) emotional support to a child when the child attempts to follow its own interests. The mother who seeks to hold onto the child usually does so to avoid the feeling of being alone. Thus, even as an adult, the person remains oriented to what the mother
wants, often to the point of not being able to distinguish his or her own wants from those of the mother.
Just as a person who is physically crippled may not easily walk away, the person who is emotionally crippled and must cling to the mother, cannot easily go away. Leaving home base can result in high anxiety or panic both because it involves an adult decision and means being away from the mother.
Examples:
1. "Why should I put myself through this? After all, it is not as if my
mother is ill in some distant city and I need to fly there to be with
her. And then my other self says, 'Yes, you can do this'."
2. "The band has a tour booked in Europe. When I told my mother about
it, she said, 'But what if I have a heart attack and you are so far
away'."
After completing SOAR, a client had a different view. He said, "There are two parts of me. One says, 'Why bother', and the other
wants to do this, but doesn't see how. After a while, the part that
says 'why bother' finally starts to listen, and then I know I can do
this."
Dr. Masterson teaches that there is a three step process involved.
This pattern finds expression in many areas of a persons
life. Decision-making is dominated by regressive influences, such as not going to college or going to a college nearby, living nearby, not marrying, staying tied to
family, sabotaging of a marriage, using suffering or claims of health
problems to manipulate, etc.
When you go against regressive family influences, the family pulls the
emotional rug out from under you; you no longer seem to have
the emotional strength to follow through with plans.
"I Can't Believe It! . . . I Can't Believe It"
Hello Captain Tom!
I have to tell you how much you helped me! I can't believe it! I flew four times this week for work!! FOUR TIMES!
I got your fast track program and it worked! 100%! I actually ENJOYED my flights!!!!
I have three more this week and then I'm done for a little while.
I can't believe it. I listened to you the WHOLE time from New York to LA, to San Fran and to Seattle and then back to New York again. I kept listening to the turbulence segment over and over and guess what... on the way back to NY - I SLEPT!!!
I hope this continues. I leave for Chicago on Tuesday, then to Detroit and then (2 flights on Thurs)!
Different planes, different sizes, but it was all great!
I want to refer you to an article that can help make clear what you want to know. First, were any passengers endangered? The answer is "no". Second, should you have any hesitation to fly on Southwest? Again, the answer is "no".
See this article. The article makes it clear. Boeing, Southwest, a professor of safety science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univeristy, a professor of mechanical engineering at the Univeristy of North Dakota, and I all agree as follows:
- Cracks routinely develop on airplanes over time.
- The cracks
discovered were the kind that routinely develop.
- None were a problem. Cracks
found ranged from 1 to 3.5 inches in length, well within safety
limits.
The article quotes George Bibel, of the University of North Dakota, "They're
nit-picking over how well Southwest followed the rules, which is
probably a good thing."
William Waldock, of Embry-Riddle, is quoted as saying, "This is a compliance issue, not a safety-in-flight issue," he said. "At no time was the traveling public in danger."
Meanwhile, the FAA keeps pounding its propaganda drum to shift blame elsewhere. Jim Ballough, director of the
FAA's flight standards service, said "The (rules) should have been complied
with 100 percent." He doesn't, of course mention that the FAA pulled off their strict inspectors and replaced them with inspectors who allowed Southwest to delay the inspections.
Consultant Mike Boyd says the case is more about paperwork than safety. "This
is a regulatory issue, it's not about safety. And it's also
about the FAA showing (Congress) how tough it can be, and Southwest
ended up as the sacrificial lamb."
Southwest
estimates that planes receive at least 86 inspections annually, not
including regular visual inspections that take place daily.
==========
More On Cracks
When the plane is pressurized, the fuselage very slightly expands. Cracks almost always develop over time where metal of different thicknesses intersect. Panes are checked in several ways, visually, using x-rays, oils with fluorescent dye (wiped on, wiped off; lights turned off, special lights that react to the fluorescent dye are turned on; if there is a crack, oil collecting there shows up) and magnetic sensors.
==========
Our Videos On YouTube
The 2007 YouTube Video Awards are up for votes. If you like ours, please vote for them at www.youtube.com/ytawards07
Our videos are at http://youtube.com/user/CaptTomBunn.
==========
Southwest Decides Against Outsourcing
See this link
to read the full story.
Southwest Airlines Co., under fire for missing required aircraft inspections, has dropped a plan to move some maintenance operations to El Salvador from the U.S. Southwest spokesman Chris Mainz confirmed that the maintenance-outsourcing plan had been shelved.
The carrier has an agreement with contractor Aeroman Corp., which has facilities in El Salvador, "that would allow us to send them work in the future," Mainz said. "We have decided to re-evaluate that relationship. We just feel like this is the right thing to do under the circumstances."
==========
Business Travel Coalition Speaks Out On Outsourcing
The Business Travel Coalition today lauded Southwest Airlines for reversing its surprise plans to outsource aircraft structural repairs to El Salvador. BTC Chairman Kevin Mitchell said the decision was prudent as the airline would no doubt have received deeper scrutiny about its maintenance outsourcing practices. Southwest's stock price spiked up after the decision was announced, underscoring the market's growing unease about cut-rate aircraft maintenance outsourcing that has exploded in recent years, and the flying public's growing awareness and alarm over it.
Mitchell said "Once corporate travel managers and individual consumers are fully knowledgeable about the increasing scope and risks associated with outsourcing as well as an utterly failed Federal Aviation Administration oversight program, they will likely curtail air travel and otherwise shift their contracts and bookings to those carriers committed to continuous expansion of safety margins."
The problem, according to Mitchell, is not an airline per se; it is a culturally dysfunctional FAA that has long ago lost its regulatory and oversight bearings. When exposed to an unforgiving marketplace, some airlines have and will continue to subordinate passenger safety to other commercial priorities, sometimes just to survive. That's why there is a federal regulator. The Southwest debacle is merely a symptom of a grave and systemic illness at the FAA that indicts the entire system where "Exhibit A" is FAA administrators referring to the airlines as their "customers."
A BTC report states, for the 10 years ending 2006, U.S. airlines outsourced maintenance expenses increased from 26% to 64%; the number of foreign FAA-certificated repair facilities has grown from 344 to 698 over a comparable period of time.
BTC says there are two sets of maintenance standards.
- Airlines are governed by FAA Part 121 Regulations; these regulations require mechanics and inspectors to be licensed by the FAA. Airline-owned maintenance bases are held to the most stringent standards
- Certified repair facilities in the U.S. are governed by FAA Part 145 Regulations which are less stringent and do require mechanics to be licensed by the FAA.
-
Mechanics at foreign repair states are not required to have a FAA license. In fact, the inspectors who certify the work has been done properly are also not required to have a FAA license.
What Can You Do? Write your senator and congressperson demanding all maintenance done by airliners be done by FAA licensed mechanics, and inspected and signed off by an inspector who is licensed by the FAA.
==========
Remember Robert Crandall?
Robert Crandall is the rather outspoken former chairman and chief executive of American Airlines. Mr. Crandall is urging that U.S. lawmakers require that maintenance on U.S. airlines be done inside the country. "What we are doing is sending good jobs offshore for no purpose other than to lower airline fares. I think that is stupid policy."
Meanwhile, a political propaganda specialist for the FAA, Alison
Duquette, reassures the public that everything is just fine by saying "The
quality of the work and the standards are the same for foreign repair
stations as they are for domestic repair stations."
Full store at this link.
==========
Decision Anxiety
The
decision to travel can trigger a predictable set of psychological repercussions. Dr. James Masterson, M.D., describes how decision-making causes anxiety in his book, "Search For The Real Self". In Masterson's view, self-hood can be impaired if the
mother withholds (or is unable to give) emotional support to a child when the child attempts to follow its own interests. The mother who seeks to hold onto the child usually does so to avoid the feeling of being alone. Thus, even as an adult, the person remains oriented to what the mother
wants, often to the point of not being able to distinguish his or her own wants from those of the mother.
Just as a person who is physically crippled may not easily walk away, the person who is emotionally crippled and must cling to the mother, cannot easily go away. Leaving home base can result in high anxiety or panic both because it involves an adult decision and means being away from the mother.
Examples:
1. "Why should I put myself through this? After all, it is not as if my
mother is ill in some distant city and I need to fly there to be with
her. And then my other self says, 'Yes, you can do this'."
2. "The band has a tour booked in Europe. When I told my mother about
it, she said, 'But what if I have a heart attack and you are so far
away'."
After completing SOAR, a client had a different view. He said, "There are two parts of me. One says, 'Why bother', and the other
wants to do this, but doesn't see how. After a while, the part that
says 'why bother' finally starts to listen, and then I know I can do
this."
Dr. Masterson teaches that there is a three step process involved.
-
Step One, Self-Activation: we recognize how limiting that is, and
decide to "self-activate"; in this case, to take a flight someplace we
want or need to go.
-
Step Two, Dysphoric Affect (meaning emotional distress): as soon as we
decide to do the flight, we begin to think about what others are going
to say. That causes anxiety. And when we tell them what we are going to
do, they - indeed - engage in some form (covert or overt) of sabotage
of our plans. There may be hinted or actual emotional mistreatment; anger.
coldness and distancing, or abandonment or the more manipulative, "look
what YOU are doing to me (by doing what you are doing); you don't care
about anyone but yourself."
-
Step Three, Defense: Now we are stuck with conflict between what a part
of us wants to do and our regressive part that is linked to strong
regressive influences. To deal with these feelings we engage in what
psychologists call "defense" (against feeling the feelings). Here there
are many options, such as "Screw you, I don't care," or engaging in
some self-destructive behavior (reckless sex, use of drugs, getting
drunk) or withdrawal (focus on work, internet, exercise), or deciding
to give in and cancel the plans.
This pattern finds expression in many areas of a persons
life. Decision-making is dominated by regressive influences, such as not going to college or going to a college nearby, living nearby, not marrying, staying tied to
family, sabotaging of a marriage, using suffering or claims of health
problems to manipulate, etc.
When you go against regressive family influences, the family pulls the
emotional rug out from under you; you no longer seem to have
the emotional strength to follow through with plans.
==========
"I Can't Believe It! . . . I Can't Believe It"
Hello Captain Tom!
I have to tell you how much you helped me! I can't believe it! I flew four times this week for work!! FOUR TIMES!
I got your fast track program and it worked! 100%! I actually ENJOYED my flights!!!!
I have three more this week and then I'm done for a little while.
I can't believe it. I listened to you the WHOLE time from New York to LA, to San Fran and to Seattle and then back to New York again. I kept listening to the turbulence segment over and over and guess what... on the way back to NY - I SLEPT!!!
I hope this continues. I leave for Chicago on Tuesday, then to Detroit and then (2 flights on Thurs)!
Different planes, different sizes, but it was all great!
==========
You, Too, Can Fix The Flying Problem Now
Get started with the program that works. SOAR
was established in 1982 because no programs existed which could help
people with moderate to severe difficulties. Even today, no other
program offers help that is effective except for mild difficulties. No
matter how difficult flying is for you, we can help.
Full Length Course
We have the full length SOAR Video Course on 11 DVDs and we have the accelerated FastTrack course. The full length course provides the maximum help possible. More info.
FastTrack
FastTrack is for you if you have a flight coming up soon, even tomorrow! It includes three hours of the most important video clips from the full length course. More FastTrack info.
Get started now. The SOAR FastTrack program can be on your computer's screen in two minutes.
- Fast Track is inexpensive.
- Fast Track gives you the most help possible in the shortest time.
- A twenty-minute private session and unlimited group counseling sessions are included.
- What you pay for Fast Track is 100% transferable to the complete SOAR Course DVD or CD.
iPod Or Other Media Players
Complete a compact (about five hours) version of the SOAR Course on the go. Download it to your computer. Play it on
your computer, iPod or other media player. More info.
Which To Choose
If you are unsure which is best for you, please call me at 877 332-7359 so we can talk it over. You will feel better as soon as you decide to act.
We
are always here to help. As you go through the program, call or email whenever you
have a question or a concern.
==========
Spare The Rod And Spoil The Masochistic Sex
Research has long shown that spanking can lead to delinquent and anti-social
behavior in childhood along with aggression, criminal and anti-social
behavior and spousal or child abuse as an adult. Now, new research shows children who are spanked are more likely to develop sexual problems as adults such as physically or verbally coercing a sexual partner, engaging in risky sexual behavior, and masochistic sex.
Murray Straus, who has studied spanking for thirty years says, "Parents should never, ever spank; it's no better than non-hitting methods that don't have harmful side effects. If there was an FDA for spanking, they'd say use an alternative that doesn't have harmful side effects."
Full article at this link.
==========