All Hopped Up

The study was cut short by funding issues during the less-halcyon Bush regime, but its story is instructional of life in the TeamBush era. The study found that the numbers of near disasters in the air over our fair nation is far, far greater than estimated by the FAA. But as the AP reports this information was buried because "(r)elease of the requested data, which are sensitive and safety-related, could materially affect the public confidence in, and the commercial welfare of, the air carriers and general-aviation companies whose pilots participated in the survey" (emphasis mine).

So lets be clear: An agency of our government (the one that works for us and should serve first and foremost the interest of citizens) buried a report because it could undermine the financial bottom line of our nation's air carriers. Utterly outrageous!!

But wait, there's more. . . when NASA got wind that information about this report had been leaked to the media by a whistleblower, they immediately ordered the company who compiled the pilot survey to destroy any and all traces of the data or reports taken from it. Only the intervention of Democratic members of the House Science and Technology Committee prevented it all from being deleted.

Weighing in themselves, the FAA said that they were concerned the study showed a much higher incidence of aviation problems than their own statistics. But nuggets buried in this article revealed why that may be the case. FAA compiles voluntary data from pilots that is, one assumes, not anonymous. Given the precarious state of job security for these folks, is it any wonder that pilots didn't voluntarily choose too often to complain and in doing so just perhaps add their own name to the list for next round of layoffs?

In contrast, the surveys were anonymous and very detailed, asking pilots a range of standard questions about their recent experiences. The response rate of over 80% (pretty unheard of in the survey world) shows that a large number of pilots were indeed interested in documenting these issues.

Late Word: The head of NASA apologized for the statement of his subordinate. "I regret the impression that NASA was in any way trying to put commercial interests ahead of public safety. That was not and will never be the case."

Seems reasonable enough. . . but then why did NASA try to have all information related to this project deleted and destroyed?

Let the hearings begin!