The Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund
Captain Jason Dahl was at the controls of United Flight 93 on Sept 11th 2001 and was one of the first to give his life in a valiant attempt to protect the customers and crew of his aircraft.
A scholarship fund was established under IRS 501-3(C) rules in his name to financially assist young men and women who seek a career in aviation. Currently the fund awards two $5000 aviation scholarships annually – one to Jason Dahl’s alma mater San Jose State University and one to Metro State University in Denver, Colorado. The Dahl Fund plans to offer scholarships on a national basis.
For more information about the scholarships, visit http://dahlfund.org/ and you can read more details about Captain Dahl and the scholarship fund. Donations can be made on the web-site via PayPal or by check mailed directly. You can help young aviators achieve their dreams. For additional information about the fund, you can email the fund at: [email protected] or contact them at: The Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund
9956 West Remington Place
Unit A-10 Suite 93
Littleton, CO 80128
phone: 360-239-2458
In Memoriam
Captain Ralph Demeritt
Passed July 13, 2010 in Miami, FL. He had just returned to flying the line after a long medical leave, and was very happy to be back amongst his fellow crewmembers. He was hired at Atlas Air in October 1995, and later became a Check Airman. Ralph was easy going, had a great sense of humor, and was held in high regard by his colleagues.
Prior to joining Atlas Air, Captain Demerritt was a Major in the U.S. Air Force, based at the Beale AFB. Though he had a wide range of achievements, his duties in the Air Force included, T-38 Instructor, KC-135 Commander and was a Tanker Pilot for the SR-71 Blackbird.
He lived in Concord, NH, and is survived by his wife, Ellen, and son John. A celebration of life in honor of Captain Ralph Demeritt will be held on Saturday September 11th, 2010 at 11:00 in Miami. For more information, please contact AAWW TEC co-Chairman Captain Steven Richards at: [email protected]
Daniel Harvey Beck
Passed away on Monday, August 9, 2010. Born in Crawford County, Ohio on May 21, 1943 to the late Joseph Beck and Mary Jacobs Beck. He served his country in the United States Air Force and was a flight engineer for Atlas Air.
He is survived by his wife; his daughters, Andrea Cutlip and husband, Gilbert and Kimberly Beck and Emmett; his son, Todd Beck and Tammy; his brothers and sisters, Tiana, Tammy, Joe of Texas and Darlene of Ohio; and grandchildren, Adrienne Watkins, Daniel Beck, Christopher Beck, Gabrielle Beck-Pelt, Dakoda Cutlip and Madison Cutlip.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at
www.seymourfuneralhome.com
Week In Review News Items
Labor Developments
IBT General President James Hoffa opines in The Detroit News, “In the U.S. free enterprise system, corporations are not supposed to use the government as a weapon to punish their competitors. They certainly aren't supposed to manipulate federal law so they're treated differently than every other company in America. And yet that is exactly what FedEx CEO Fred Smith has been getting away with for 14 years”…full flights? Get used to them. Stressed flight attendants and call centers in India? Get used to those, too. While the current state of the U.S. airline industry can be frustrating for passengers, it's bad for employees, too — and some suggest it's getting worse. U.S. airlines have cut jobs for two straight years, the government said Wednesday, an acceleration of a trend since 2001. What's worse for employees: There's no indication that trend will reverse sharply anytime soon.
Over the past few weeks, several TWU members at American Airlines have sent around info on a new union that is trying to represent mechanics and related employees at American. The group, Association of Maintenance Professionals, is collecting signatures in hopes of replacing the TWU…and Mexicana employees are talking with investors in a bid to keep the cash-strapped carrier flying, a union official said on Monday. Mexico's pilots' union said it would meet at least one investor group that might inject cash into the airline, which flies thousands of tourists from the United States and Europe to Mexican beaches every year.
No fed-up worker has ever said ''I've had it'' quite like Steven Slater. Prosecutors say the JetBlue flight attendant flipped out over a fight with an agitated traveler Monday, cursing over the intercom before grabbing some beer from the plane's galley and making a grand exit down the emergency slide at Kennedy Airport…the story of the fed-up flight attendant made its way around the world. And, in one of the more unusual — and humorous — takes on the story, an Asian news service has gone so far as to put together a digital recreation of how the incident may have looked on the plane.
Legislative, Safety & Regulatory
FAA has proposed mandatory fixes to some Boeing 747-400 airliners to ensure that concerns about potentially hazardous takeoffs are addressed. The US air-safety regulator moved to require certain engine-related wiring changes to the Boeings. According to the agency, the fixes are necessary to avoid potentially dangerous retraction of flaps, or panels that deploy from the wings to provide extra lift during takeoffs…FAA is proposing civil penalties ranging from $54,000 to $91,000 against 11 companies for alleged violations of DOT Hazardous Materials Regulations.
Airlines should no longer allow children under the age of 2 to fly in the laps of adults, according to a recommendation by NTSB sent to FAA on Wednesday. The group urged the FAA to require that every occupant of an airplane, regardless of age, have a seat on all flights — commercial, charter and private planes…John Pistole. Good name for a lawman. Conjures up images of Wyatt Earp and Matt Dillon. But this Pistole is no gunslinger, though the 26-year FBI veteran probably knows how to handle one well. In his new role as administrator of the TSA, Pistole runs an agency best known to the public for its airport baggage screeners. Agency workers don't tote guns, but Pistole has been thinking about a plan that would create a new contingent of TSA law enforcement officers.
Miscellaneous
Three Florida children bought tickets with baby-sitting money and flew to Nashville, Tenn., on Southwest Airlines — unbeknownst to their parents. Fifteen-year-old Bridget Brown had $700 saved and asked a 13-year-old friend where he wanted to go. The friend, Bobby Nolan III, suggested Nashville. Together with Brown's 11-year-old brother, the three took a taxicab to Jacksonville International Airport and bought three tickets at the counter. The children say no one asked them for identification…Delta Air Lines said Thursday it's launched a new ''Ticket Window'' on Facebook that will allow passengers to book directly on the social media site…Sabre Travel Network and Cisco are jointly developing a vendor-agnostic distribution system for agencies and corporations to book telepresence suites, the companies announced Thursday, and finally, 2 months does not a trend make, but U.S. airlines reported a dramatic year-over-year decrease in the number of flights with tarmac delays of 3 hours or more in June – from 268 to 3.