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Air Safety Board--- A Very Live Issue The outstanding aviation legislators and air safety champions of Congress year after year- Pat McCarran (D., Nev.) in the Senate and Robert Crosser (D., Ohio) in the House- are again teaming up in their respective spheres of influence to add impetus to efforts to reestablish the Independent Air Safety Board. In the Senate, Bill S. 8, McCarran's Independent Air Safety Board Bill, has already been introduced, while, in the House of Representatives, at the insistence of Representative Crosser, legislative counsel has been working on a companion bill, H.R. 5561, for introduction on July 8, 1949. [[image - photograph, -Acme Photo]] Representative Crosser For Greater Air Safety Added encouragement likewise came at the conclusion of Mr. Behncke's testimony before the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, in which he made a strong and repeated plea for the Board's revival, on June 16 when Committee Chairman Senator Johnson told the press that his Committee would report favorably on Sen. McCarran's Bill. (See Editorial on Page 2) Historic Hearings End The North Atlantic Route Transfer case (AOA-PAA merger), one of the most extensive proceedings ever held by the Civil Aeronautics Board, came to a close on Jun 23. Six weeks were consumed in the process of the hearings, a transcript of 3873 pages was developed, and untold thousands of dollars were spent in lawyer fees, exhibits, traveling expenses, witness fees and other related items- all while the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, ironically enough, was holding hearings of its own on the economic instability of the air lines. Probably more air line presidents appeared to testify than have ever appeared in a CAB hearing. For U. S., A Feat - For Them, Food [[image - photograph]] For the United States, the Berlin Airlift represented a monumental achievement and a feat never before equaled in history; for Berliners it meant the winning element in the fight for survival - the food that stood between them and starvation, the fuel that stood between them and the bitter cold, and the promise that stood between them and the loss of all hope. Its feats of near miraculous proportions like the Airlift that is winning the "cold war" for the democracies by keeping communism from spawning in its natural breeding ground of squalor, misery, hunger, want and lost hope. Here, jubilant residents of Berlin, children of a generation that has known nothing but war and conflict, wave to an American Airlift plane approaching Templehof Airfield for a landing after official announcement that the eleven-month old blockade was about to end. Such "cold war" victories should prove to the Russians that the United States can't and won't be whipped in a "hot" war either. [[image]] 4th Executive Board Tops All Predecessors Once again, seemingly almost overnight with the speed that only time can have in the face of a busy calendar, the date for another ALPA Executive Board Meeting--the fourth--has rolled around and advance facts and figures concerning it show that it will outstrip all of its predecessors and take its place as the largest in ALPA history. The Fourth Executive Board meeting convenes at the Hotel Sherman, Chicago, III., at 10a.m., July 13, 1949, and will be composed of a total of 62 delegates, equally divided between first pilots and copilots, representing 32 air lines. Not only will the Fourth Executive Board meeting be the largest since the Executive Board was set up by the Ninth Convention in 1947, but it will also be the first to meet under the Tenth Convention resolution which revised the time interval between Conventions and Executive Board meetings so that two Executive Board meetings and one Convention is held during each two-year period with each meeting spaced eight months apart. A Comparison--In size, the Fourth Executive Board will exceed the first by 21 delegates, the second by 17 delegates, and the third by 7 delegates; in volume of work facing it, it will equal, and is almost a certainly to exceed, that which faced the first three Boards. The growth of the Executive Board is directly related to the growth and expansion of ALPA, each new air line to enter the Association meaning two additional delegates, one a copilot and one a first pilot. The First Executive Board was composed of 41 delegates representing 21 air lines and processed 32 resolutions. The Second Executive Board was attended by 45 delegates from 23 air lines and handled 61 resolutions. The Third Executive Board meeting was even larger with 55 delegates from 28 air lines processing 49 resolutions. Faces Policy Decisions--Facing the Fourth Executive Board will be the necessity of making many important and far-reaching decisions, particularly respecting policy. Listed on the already lengthy agenda, to which many more items will undoubtedly be added, are the following important subjects: • Reduction in flying hours for air line pilots. • Three engine ferry flights. • Employment agreement negotiations. • Insufficient funds for smaller councils. • Ceiling and visibility limitations regarding landing of aircraft and relationship of these limitations to GCA, ILS and approach lights. • Retroactive pay and its relation to dues. • Establishment of a more definite policy respecting merging of system seniority lists in mergers, purchases, and other forms of acquisitions. • RTCA assessment of ALPA for the fiscal year 1950. • Air Line pilots seniority and organizational problems generally. • Notification to Legal and Conciliation Department prior to filing grievances in the field. • Revisions of Parts 41 and 61 of the Civil Air Regulations. • Minimum ceiling and visibility limitations. • Pilot expenses in connection with grievances. • Aircraft distress communication problems. Page 8 The Air Line Pilot
