[Congressional Record: April 24, 2002]

[Congressional Record: April 24, 2002 (Extensions)]
[Page E622]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr24ap02-29]                         



 
                  EMERY FLIGHT 17 (DC-8) NTSB HEARING

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN E. SWEENEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 2002

  Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased that the National 
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has scheduled a hearing for May 9th 
regarding Emery flight 17 (DC-8) that crashed in Sacramento on February 
16, 2000, killing its entire crew. I strongly urge the NTSB to follow 
through with the scheduled hearing rather than postponing it as other 
hearings have been postponed. The Captain of Emery 17 was Kevin P. 
Stables, 43, of Berlin, New York, the First Officer was George Land, 
35, of Placerville, California, and the Flight Engineer was Russell 
Hicks, 38, of Sparks, Nevada. I look forward to the hearings as part of 
the ongoing crash investigation to help prevent future air cargo 
tragedies, encourage government and business accountability, and 
enhance public confidence in the regulatory oversight of the rapidly 
expanding air cargo industry.

  On February 16, 2000, Emery flight 17, a DC-8, took off from 
Sacramento en route to Dayton. Two minutes later, the massive jet 
plowed into a salvage yard. National network news provided live 
broadcasts of the fiery aftermath. The pictures were telling--none of 
the crewmembers escaped alive.

  Mr. Speaker, an exam of the wreckage found indications that part of 
the DC-8's mechanical flight controls may not have been connected prior 
to the flight. Key flight control components of that particular 
airplane had been overhauled by a Federal Aviation Administration-
approved repair station three months before the crash. In August 2001, 
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) finally ``grounded'' Emery 
and cited safety concerns that included ``mechanical irregularities'' 
and ``operating unairworthy aircraft.''

  Mr. Speaker, Emery 17 is not the only DC-8 cargo jet in recent years 
to wipe out its entire aircrew shortly after takeoff. Thirty months 
earlier in Miami, Fine Air flight 101 slammed into the ground, burst 
into flames, and killed five people. The probable cause finding 
included the ``failure of the FAA to ensure that known cargo-related 
deficiencies were corrected.'' Many believe the FAA's failure to 
provide adequate oversight and its failure to enforce Federal Aviation 
Regulations are direct causes of the Emery tragedy.

  Almost immediately after Emery 17 crashed, safety groups and families 
of the crews pushed hard for public hearings on the Emery accident and 
the NTSB announced that official hearings would take place and would 
center on contract maintenance and oversight by ``airline and FAA 
personnel.'' Mr. Speaker, these were the identical issues for which the 
NTSB criticized the FAA in the aftermath of ValuJet's 1996 crash.

  Emery's own aircrews warned the FAA in the months leading up to Emery 
flight 17's crash. In a 1998 letter to the FAA, Capt. Tom Rachford, 
speaking for the Emery pilots' union, wrote, ``Our maintenance has 
dramatically fallen off. . . . I can't say it any clearer: This airline 
is going to put a hole in the ground and kill someone. Please don't let 
this fall upon deaf ears.'' Later, five months before the fatal crash, 
the Emery pilots' group expressed their concern yet again with FAA 
leadership. They wrote: ``EWA is out of the regulator's eye. . . . Why 
are the authorities continuing to turn a blind eye? The lower echelon 
of the regulatory agencies have substantiated our concerns. . . . 
However, it is the upper echelon that appears to be dragging its feet. 
. . . If we have an accident in the near future, the subsequent 
investigation will show sainthood on the part of ValuJet when compared 
to Emery Worldwide Airlines. . . . Emery crews are living on borrowed 
time.''

  Mr. Speaker, it's been two long years since Emery 17 crashed. The 
rapidly expanding air cargo industry is still waiting for the overdue 
hearings. The air cargo industry is the fastest-growing segment of the 
commercial airline industry. Many government and industry experts 
consider oversight of third-party maintenance stations inadequate. The 
NTSB has never before convened public hearings on an air-cargo-only 
accident. I am pleased the board is sticking to its earlier decision 
and promise to convene the Emery hearings. To many, this suggests a 
turning point and an indication that relaxed oversight and maintenance, 
and unsafe operational practices will no longer be ignored. I look 
forward to expedient and thorough public hearings.

  The U.S. government must not wait for another massive air cargo 
disaster to force the NTSB into action. This is a race against time: 
The NTSB must convene the public hearings on Emery 17 before another 
air cargo blunder kills yet again.

                          ____________________