TV news clip with YBinIN content.

[BEinIN]

For the forum members that don't know who "YBinIN" was on April 20, 2006, Garth "YBinIN" was killed in a small airplane crash in Bloomington, Indiana. You can look him up in the members list and see how active he was on the forum.
The following link is to a TV interview about Garth, his friend Zach, and the need to change aviation laws so more people are not tragically killed as they were. At the top of the text from the interviews is a small little TV camera that you can click on to see the TV spot. This TV spot touches on the need for laws to be changed where air traffic controllers are concerned, but we also feel that there are other things, such as age of pilots, hours required before they are allowed passengers that should be changed too. The FAA needs to take their heads out of the ground and concentrate on the safety of the people in the skies, not the business of it. The first concern should be for people.
The following is a letter sent out by my daughter-in-law and the link to the interview is at the bottom.


Hello Friends and Family,

Monday night, November 12, 2007, Wish TV Channel 8, Indianapolis covered a story on the safety of airplanes in the skies. There are families that want answers and more safety/regualtions for pilots flying. Please read the attached article and realize that five families suffered the loss of their children, and there needs to be more pilot safety regulations, and more people in control towers on earth watching the skies.
I hope that you will feel strongly on this issue and take a moment to help rally for more safety in the skies. Please go to this website http://www.house.gov/writerep/ enter your State and Zip Code and it will tell you what district you are in and who your Representative is. If we all sent them a message, it may get through that we need some kind of legislation passed for more FAA Safety.

Love,
Melissa Eppley
Sister in law of Garth Eppley (1981-2006)


Note: forwarded message attached.



Unsafe in the Skies - An I-Team 8 Investigation
http://www.WISHTV.com/Global/story.asp?s=7350446

[Holly]

Wow, that's a powerful video, Bill. It really makes you aware of the problems while presenting them objectively. Seeing and hearing Garth will warm the hearts of everyone on this forum. I hope the American members of the forum will contact their representatives. I am going to forward this to my American daughter-in-law, so she can weigh in.

Holly

[Hodag]

thanks Bill

[crazydrummerdude]

Being a future pilot, and having taken VFR ground school already, might I cautiosly ask what about the existing FAR/AIM laws is responsible for "unsafe" skies?

[BEinIN]

Being a future pilot, and having taken VFR ground school already, might I cautiosly ask what about the existing FAR/AIM laws is responsible for "unsafe" skies?

Hello, this is Laura Eppley and here is what our family feels needs to be changed.
WE think the age limit should be made older before someone can get a pilot's license. There have been studies in different states done about maturity level of teens and they have come to the conclusion that young teens do not have the emotional capacity to deal with stressful, life-threatening situations, therefore, they have upped driver's license age to 18. If a young teen can't handle the emotions on ground, they certainly can't handle it in the air.
Also, we feel that there should be very strict laws on how many hours experience you have before you are allowed to have passengers and that no one should be allowed passengers unless they have their instrument rating. Also, more air experience, not just on simulaters, should be required for instrument rating. I realize that some would find these rules to be inconvenient and silly, but if you ever lose a family member due to someone else's inexperience, you would understand. Bill had a pilot's license and he has said since this happened, that he didn't have any business with passengers when he was low on experience. I know flying is a rush and is exciting, but reality-wise, it is still a machine that can cause death and one has to proceed with common sense along with the joy of it. I wasn't allowed the luxury of saying goodby to my son because he was so mutilated. I will never have the luxury of hearing his voice calling "mom" as he rushed into the house, ever again. My other son, who thought he would have his brother into his old age, feels alone and lost. Bill and I have lost something that can't be explained to anyone who hasn't gone through this. We have lost a big part of our lives and there will always be a big hole there that can't be filled. I do hope people will understand that this isn't a vendetta against pilots and the FAA, but rather a hope that we can prevent other families from going through this life sentence. That is our motive, nothing else. So if someone looks at me in anger over this, that is ok, because I am also thinking of them and their families. And last, but not least, there do need to be more people at the helm on the ground. I believe that it was about 6 minutes time that is unaccounted for on their plane because the skies were too busy for the controllers on duty. I believe the union rep stated it best in the news clip when he said they need to quit focusing on business and focus on safety. These are our reasons.
And congratulations on your pilot's license. It is quite an accomplishment.
Laura E in IN