Re: FAA Wants to Keep Bird Strike Records Confidential - NYTimes.com

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Brock N Meeks <bmeeks () cox net>
Date: March 27, 2009 10:54:14 AM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: [IP] FAA Wants to Keep Bird Strike Records Confidential -  
NYTimes.com

For crying out loud; I guess the FAA didn't get the "openness" memo  
either?  WTF is up with folks in these agencies.  We've just been  
through this B.S. with the USTR; however, we've also seen the USTR do  
a complete 180 on withholding non-classified documents but only  
concerned advocates got in their face.

For the FAA to now want to keep these records secret is beyond the  
pale.  The FAA "fears that if the public found out.. airports and air  
carriers wouldn't report the damage from birds."  As if reporting bird  
strikes has done a lot of good??  As if bird strikes have caused a  
whole lot of damage?  (Perhaps bird strikes HAVE caused a lot of  
damage, if so, then we really need that info so someone's feet can be  
held to the fire!)

And... if airports and airlines refuse to report, crank out a  
regulation that compels them to report, if  it is as serious a problem  
as the FAA seems to hint at in wanting all this kept secret.

Remember eons ago when telephone network outages were kept secret by  
the FCC?  There was no way to judge the reliability of any network.   
Then we suffered some big outages and Rep. Markey brought the hammer  
down on the FCC for not being able to tell Congress the "state of the  
networks" and so regulations were put in place compelling the  
telephone companies to report their outages.

Perhaps the White House will call these idiots at the FAA and remind  
them of the President's ORDER to open up access to government info;  
that each agency is to PRESUME something is first open and viewable by  
the public and to remind them that the heinous Ashcroft memo was  
RESCINDED in no uncertain terms by AG Holder just a week ago.

I can only image that these FAA folks are career civil servants still  
drinking the Kool-Aid of secrecy, a leftover by-product of the  
paranoid tyranny gifted to us by the Bush II Administration.




On Mar 27, 2009, at 10:33 AM, David Farber wrote:

> Just in case you want to be aware, your GOVERNMENT will not tell  
> you. djf
>
>
> March 27, 2009
> FAA Wants to Keep Bird Strike Records Confidential
> By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
> Filed at 10:12 a.m. ET
>
> WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Aviation Administration has reversed  
> itself after promising to disclose records about how frequently  
> commercial planes are damaged by hitting flying birds.
>
> The agency now wants to keep those government records secret from  
> air travelers because it fears that if the public found out the  
> information then airports and air carriers wouldn't report damage  
> from birds.
>
> The FAA had promised The Associated Press, in a conference call with  
> senior FAA officials on Feb. 18, that it would turn over the data  
> within days. Since then, the FAA has said only that the AP's request  
> for the data under the Freedom of Information Act was ''under  
> review.'' The AP asked for the information in January.
>
> Last week, the FAA quietly proposed keeping the data secret.
>
>
>
>
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