Former Republican Senator Ted Stevens was among 5 people that died in a plane crash today. Senator Stevens' aviation career started when he flew cargo planes over "the hump" in the Himalayas during WWII and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service.
I have more aviation news over on my website iloveplanes.com
Amplify’d from www.newsweek.com
A former senior federal aviation safety official says that former GOP Sen. Ted Stevens, who is reported to be among the missing in the crash of a small plane on Monday night in a remote area of Alaska, was “very protective” of an “aviation culture” in Alaska, which sometimes involved risky flying practices that might not be tolerated elsewhere in the United States. CBS is reporting that Stevens died in the crash.
Peter Goelz, who served as managing director of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) during the Clinton administration, told Declassified that Stevens made it clear to government safety agencies, both in private and sometimes during public hearings, that regulators ought to be willing to allow a little leeway when it came to aviation in the state. Stevens argued for the exception because aviation is so essential to the economic well-being of Alaska, but flying conditions there are “unique” due to extreme weather and terrain.
“He wanted us to understand that guys didn’t always follow the rules,” Goelz said. Stevens felt that because of the “very challenging” aviation environment in Alaska, regulators had to tolerate a certain amount of risk taking by aviators that they might not tolerate elsewhere in U.S. airspace. “He wanted to make sure that we understood the special role that aviation played in Alaska.”
Read more at www.newsweek.com
John Olafson / APAn undated photo of the DeHavilland DHC-3T with tail number N455A.
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