Show Notes:
It’s Episode #22 of the Planemadness Podcast with all the standard fixin’s. I’ll try to shed some light on the American Airlines jet that was “detained” in Bolivia last month, we’ll talk a little about the Boeing Blended Wing Body Prototype (see concept pic to the right), and we’ll talk about the teen who buzzed his school’s football stadium last Friday night in a C-172. And last we’ll top it off with a Pan Am commercial from 1958 that gives you a look back into the industry’s glory days.

• American Airlines Jet Detained by Airport Workers in Bolivia
  On Tuesday October 16th, an American Airlines Jet departing Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was held on the runway -reportably for 6 hours- while airport workers demanded up to $2000 in cash from the flight crew. I have done my best to replicate events as accurately as possible, through research of some of the available news reports which I have provided the URL’s to below.
  North County Times Article
  PR-inside.Com Article
  The Garudian Unlimited Article
  International Herald Tribune Article
  Reuters.Com Article
• The Boeing Blended Wing Body Prototype
  Boeing successfully tested it’s Blended Wing Body concept recently. Being that it’s a radically different aircraft design, I’ll tell you a little about what it is and what it means to aviation. Meanwhile you can see a graphic artist’s rendering of the concept in this episode’s pic above.
  Boeing Press Release - July 26, 2007
  Boeing Press Release - Oct. 27, 2006
  Boeing Press Release - May 04, 2006
• Teen Buzzes School Stadium in Cessna 172
  A 17 year old high school student rented a 172 with three friends and buzzed his school’s stadium during a game- Except it was so low that it was below the stadium lights, stunning the crowd, and then he did something which stunned everybody even more.
  AP News Article

Music
Ken Myers Project - No More Tomorrows
Ken Myers Project - The Orange Sky

Filed under: Podcast | |

EDIT***
This story was edited for accuracy on 11/9 & 11/10.
Specifically, I haven’t’ been able to reliably determine if the airport workers who detained the AA Jet were actually armed or not at the time of the it’s detainment.

On Tuesday October 16th, an American Airlines Jet departing Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was held on the runway -reportably for 6 hours- while airport workers demanded up to $2000 in cash from the flight crew. There were 140 passengers on board. Details as to the flight crew’s experience in particular are no where to be found; although it is really where I’d prefer to obtain any information. In lieu of that I have done my best to replicate events as accurately as possible, through research of some of the available news reports which I have provided the URL’s to below.

The men were locals demanding airport landing fees, which are deposited with the federal airport authority - not with the local government. The conflict down there as a whole is really between the local and federal government and is over who owns the airport.

• Wednesday October 17th
  -American briefly suspends service to Santa Cruz and complains to the Bolivian government.
• Thursday October 18th
  -220 Government troops are sent into occupy the airport, as 300 to 400 local protesters line up at the airport gates.
  -American reinstates service? (Unverified)
• Friday October 19th
  -Reports say the number of protesters swells to 7000.
  -The government withdraws some of it’s troops to a military area inside the airport.
  -The government states it plans to operate the airport itself for 90 days.

Email
In the mean time, I was forwarded an unverified email from a reliable source, who also forwarded it, which in part stated that AA sent a flight to Santa Cruz on Thursday but failed to originally notify that flight crew of what happened to the previous crew on Tuesday, or even tell them anything at all before they left the US about the deteriorating situation in Bolivia that they were about to face upon their arrival. There’s more damming detail in the email as well, but because it’s unverified, and until (or if) I actually speak with it’s original author, I’ll refrain from further comment.

The Obvious
-The poor crew that was detained against their will.. What’s their take on it?
-Why in the hell didn’t this story make more news in the United States?
-What if anything did AA do to ensure the safety of it’s employees?

As more updates (if any) come in on this, I’ll post them.
Disturbing.
~Capt’n Chris

Links:
North County Times Article
PR-inside.Com Article
The Garudian Unlimited Article
International Herald Tribune Article
Reuters.Com Article

Filed under: Fast News! | |

Show Notes:
Thanks to a nasty sinus infection this episode was pushed back a little bit, however I think I was able to get the shot at least in the general vicinity of he hole… We’ll briefly touch the topic of the SoCal firestorm, specifically with regard to what it was like to fly in there as the disaster was winding down. In addition to also covering the topics below, I’ll also tell you about ThirtyThousandFeet.Com, as well as site updates to PlaneMadness.Com including the new Email Subscription feature, and last but not least an Episode of PlaneMadness can’t be complete without another Pic-A-Penny Airlines Spot!

• Former UAL Captain to be the Next FAA Administrator
  President Bush nominated former UAL Captain Bobby Sturgell to a five-year term as the head of the FAA. Before United, Mr. Sturgell was an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun). He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Virginia School of Law, and brings a wealth of experience with him to the position.
  AINOnline.Com
• Man Shot 3 Times, Then Flys
  Here’s one about a Florida man who was shot three times in an apparent arguement, but he didn’t let that cause him to miss his flights!
  FoxNews.Com
  FoxNews Tampa Bay
• More Stow-a-Way Stories
  We’ve got two more stow-a-way stories for you, one out of Malaysia, the other out of Russia (again). Unfortunately one proved to be fatal.
  RIA Novosti
  CNN.Com
• Eclipse 500 Breaks VLJ Speed Record
  The Eclipse 500 just shattered the speed record for VLJ’s, pulling no punches and surprising us with something else along the way.
  EclipseAviation.Com
  Aero-News.net

Music
Nurse - On Demand
Barry McCabe - Kissin in Your Sleep

Sign Up Here
Become a Member on the Site!

Filed under: Podcast | |