Five thousand pilots lied on medical records to hide conditions that would prevent them sitting in the cockpit
The FAA has investigated 4,800 pilots who they believe may receive veterans benefits for disabilities that could bar them from the cockpit. About 600 of the pilots under investigation are licensed to fly for passenger airlines: the rest fly cargo or corporate clients
By Harriet Alexander
Daily Mail
Aug 27, 2023
Almost 5,000 pilots have been investigated for failing to disclose receiving disability benefits, which could bar them from the cockpit.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed to The Washington Post on Sunday that 4,800 pilots had been investigated.
Of those, 600 are licensed to fly passenger planes. The rest fly cargo or corporate clients.
Half the cases have been closed, said FAA spokesman Matthew Lehner.
Experts said the inquiry has exposed long-standing vulnerabilities in the FAA's medical system for screening pilots, and that the sheer number of unreported health problems presents a risk to aviation safety.
Pilots must pass regular health screenings, but the FAA asks pilots to self-report mental health issues and disability benefits.
Rick Mangini, 52, from Texas, lost his license to fly cargo in May after it emerged he failed to disclose sleep apnea
Noah Felice, a 72-year-old Navy veteran, was convicted in December of making false statements to the FAA after he crashed a Cessna
The FAA used a risk-based approach to identify veterans whose medical conditions posed the greatest risk to safety and instructed them to cease flying while the agency reviews their cases,' said Lehner.
'The vast majority of these pilots may continue to operate safely while we complete the reconciliation process.'
Court records obtained by The Washington Post show at least 10 pilots have been prosecuted since 2018 on federal charges of lying to the FAA by hiding their veterans disability benefits and obscuring their health histories.
Two of those cases were discovered only after they crashed aircraft.
Noah Felice, a 72-year-old Navy veteran, was convicted in December of making false statements to the FAA after he crashed a Cessna during an aborted takeoff in Rochester, New York.
Officials discovered he had failed to disclose that he had six prior criminal convictions and was collecting $2,900 a month in veterans benefits for post-traumatic stress disorder.
He is scheduled for sentencing in September and faces up to five years in prison.
Matthew Jones, a 35-year-old Army veteran who served in Iraq, pleaded guilty to fraud charges in December after he ignored weather warnings and flew a helicopter into a Tennessee mountainside, killing a passenger and leaving him paralyzed below the waist.
He had failed to disclose to the FAA that he was receiving veterans benefits for seizures and also had a history of strokes and marijuana usage.
Rick Mangini, 52, a former Army pilot, lost his license to fly cargo after he failed to disclose sleep apnea.
Mangini, from Texas, said he checked the box on his application that asked if he receives any government disability benefits but was not aware he had to provide specifics.
'If they're going to shine a light on veterans, they need to shine a light everywhere,' he said.
'I know of a lot of pilots who have told me about [medical conditions] they aren't telling the FAA about.
'What they're doing to veterans? That's the definition of harassment.'
In January 2020, a Navy veteran was convicted of lying to the FAA after he failed to disclose his VA benefits for depression.
Nicholas King Beyer, 37, of Discovery Bay, California, worked as a flight instructor.
He was sentenced to one year probation.
The report comes amid a series of near-misses at U.S. airports.
There were 46 'close calls' in July, according to reports shared by the Federal Aviation Authority, and airline workers fear it's only a matter of time before a devastating incident in the US.
Recent examples include several cases of aircraft almost colliding during take-off or landing at major US airports. Others include a mid-air near miss between two planes traveling in excess of 500mph.
Industry workers have blamed a shortage of air traffic controllers which has forced many in the profession to work mandatory overtime. The demands of the job have left some burned out and even using alcohol and sleeping pills to relieve stress.
A shocking 99 percent of air traffic control facilities in the US are understaffed, according to the New York Times, which found 310 out of 313 do not have enough workers.
Some, including New York's regional facility and a Philadelphia tower, are operating at around 60 percent of staff or less.
On July 2 when a Southwest Airlines flight landing at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport came just seconds from hitting a Delta Airlines 737 that was preparing to take off from the same runway
On July 11 in San Francisco, two planes that were taking off nearly crashed into a Frontier Airlines plane which had just landed. The Frontier jet was waiting to cross a runway with its nose perilously close to the path of the two jets
A third incident two-and-a-half weeks later involved a near-miss between an American flight and a United Airlines aircraft near Minden, Louisiana
Incidents uncovered by the Times' review of preliminary FAA incident reports from July include one on July 2 when a Southwest Airlines flight landing at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport came just seconds from hitting a Delta Airlines 737 that was preparing to take off from the same runway.
The Southwest flight aborted its landing and narrowly avoided a crash.
On July 11 in San Francisco, two planes that were taking off nearly crashed into a Frontier Airlines plane which had just landed. The Frontier jet was waiting to cross a runway with its nose perilously close to the path of the two jets.
Officials said the encounters were 'skin to skin'.
A third incident two-and-a-half weeks later involved a near-miss between an American flight and a United Airlines aircraft near Minden, Louisiana. The American pilot, flying at more than 500mph, had to quickly yank the Airbus A321 aircraft up 700ft to avoid a collision.
There has not been a major plane crash in the US for more than a decade.
While fatal incidents involving small, personal aircraft can occur several times per year, the last fatal crash involving a US airline was in 2009, when Colgan Air Flight 3407 from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, crashed into a house in Clarence Center, New York, killing all 49 people on board and one person on the ground.
Last week footage emerged of a senior airline pilot, only years short of his retirement, attacking an airport car park barrier with an ax.
United Airlines pilot Kenneth Jones, 63, has been suspended by his employers and charged with criminal mischief after flying off the handle at Denver International Airport in Colorado.
Airport video footage shows the uniformed pilot striding towards the barrier in the staff car park carrying an ax which he is thought to have had in his vehicle.
As motorists look on open-mouthed he vigorously swings the ax at the gate 23 times until it finally flips off its hinge, leaving the exit open.
Police deputies in Adams County say he told them he 'just hit his breaking point', and was 'trying to get rid of issues for everyone'.
The pilot took 23 vigorous swings at the gate that had infuriated him
Authorities at the airport admitted to CBS News Colorado that there was an issue with delays at the gate because many users do not have the correct permit.
Jones told police he launched his August 2 attack after seeing six cars in line at each of the three exit gates as he was trying to leave.
The airport footage shows a man in a high-visibility jacket grappling with the pilot in a different area of the car park before successfully wrestling the ax off him.
A second man intervenes before police catch up with the pilot in a field by the runway and march him in handcuffs to their vehicle.
Jones marched off after the gate finally yielded to the blows and flew off its hinges
Jones has qualifications to fly some of the biggest passenger aircraft including Boeing's 767 and 757.
While the senate is currently considering raising the retirement age of pilots from 65 to 67 - a measure that has already passed a vote in congress - the international retirement age for pilots is currently 65. It is unclear if 63-year-old Jones will see his pension impacted by his erratic outburst.
He does not have a criminal record in Colorado and the video shows him being released from custody,
But he is due to face an arraignment hearing in Adams County Court on September 25.
'He was removed from the schedule and is on leave while United conducts an internal investigation,' a spokesman for the airline said.
1 comment:
Most former military pilots depend on the VA for BP meds and sleep apnea equipment. If they are grounded, we will be losing the cream of the crop. They were probably recruited by the airlines and had to pass yearly physicals.
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