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Eight Adjustment Board Hearings Held in AA Ardmore Grievances THE [[image]] AIR LINE PILOT Vol. 16—No. 7 Published by The Air Line Pilots Association, International, 3145 W. 63rd St., Chicago, Ill. August, 1947 Current ALPA Contract Negotiating Cycle Nears Completion LATE NEWS Introduced Recently introduced into the House by Hugh A. Meade (R., Md.) was H. R. 3994, which provides an amendment to the Civil Aeronautics Act requiring the insurance, registration, and instruction in the use of safety devices of passengers transported by air carriers in interstate air transportation. Extension Another of the long series of extensions of the deadline for compliance of DC-3 and other old type airplanes with provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Board transport category regulations is in prospect with a proposal pending before the CAB to extend this deadline, now scheduled to expire in 1948, until 1951. The previous deadline was 1947. "What the Devil?" Just about everyone was seeing them—those flying saucers, floating disks, men from Mars, and what have you—but few people had a ringside seat to the short-lived national pastime of now-you-see-them-now-you-don't like that of Captain E. J. Smith, of Local Council No. 27, UAL-Seattle. What the [[Image]] phenomena was none still seem to know, but while every one else was becoming stiff-necked looking at them from the ground, Captain Smith soared to national fame by catching an aerial glimpse of them from several thousand feet while on his regular air line run for United Air Lines. For anyone who doubted that there were such things, Captain Smith had his copilot and stewardess to back him up that they were right there floating along the horizon at an out-of-this-world speed. One thing was certain: whatever they were, they sure got around. While Captain Smith was sighting them near Boise, Idaho, hundreds of other people were spotting them all over the world and rushing hurriedly to phones to report their finds. In the accompanying photo, Captain Smith demonstrates his amazement as he spotted the much-discussed mysterious disks sailing through the air with the greatest of ease. DEATH'S SENTRY [[Image on top —Acme Photo]] Like a silent sentry of death, the tail assembly of an air liner which crashed at Leesburg, Va., stands in silhouette atop a mountain casting the shadows of a tragic sunset where 50 humans perished. Far below can be seen the valley from which rescue workers had to make their way up a rugged mountainside to reach the wreckage. The same trail was followed by ALPA's crash representatives who took a half day to reach the site, traveling partly by jeep and the remainder of the long, weary way by foot. The trail assembly is all that remains of the rear section of the plane, but from the debris like this the CAB drew a hasty hypothesis of "pilot error." Such hasty and often inaccurate opinions will continue to characterize our air accident investigation until the voice of the air line pilots is heeded and the non-political, unbiased independent Air Safety Board revived by legislative action. For an industry to disregard the recommendations of the men who perform the work is inviting trouble, and in air line transportation such invitation, it appears has been extended and accepted. Climax AA Ardmore Grievances American Airlines' sunbaked experiment in pilot harassment-their now notorious "Ardmore Screening Program"-reached an anti-climax in late July and early August at the final American Airlines Pilots system Board of Adjustment hearings in a series of individual and group grievances growing out of the injustices of the Ardmore program. Four individual and two group grievances held in Memphis, Tenn., on July 29, 30, and 31, and August 4, capped a total of ten grievance cases brought about by the Ardmore Program which has proved to be little more than stepbrother in nefarious purpose to such previously ill-willed ventures as the so-called Stanine and psychological tests on other air lines. While up-grading and transition training schools have been accepted as part of the air line training picture, American Airlines alone has pioneered the operation of a program devoted exclusively to downgrading and in which a man has no progressive alternative but can only stand still or go down, the latter at Ardmore meaning "out". The history of the Ardmore Screening grievance case dates back to March 15, when, over the protestations of the Air Line Pilots Association, the first men were sent to Ardmore by company orders to inaugurate the program. What the exact purpose of the program was has never been definitely divulged by the company, but dressed up under the chemical-sounding name of C-2 it has been variously identified by company witnesses throughout the hearings under an assortment of names ranging from "Screening Program" to "Re-check Program." Of the first six men sent to Ardmore, yanked from their air line flying jobs of from three to five years duration, four were lopped from the American Airlines payroll under the weakest of pretexts and the flimsiest of excuses. All together, a total of eight of the 48 men singled out to take the Ardmore Program felt the wrath of the Ardmore check pilot's whims, a final total of 25 per cent - a comedown from the 66 per cent failures at the offset, but still a figure that condemns a program that purports to be similar to a CAA ATR check. A significant factor belying the latter company claim is that all of the men involved, five copilots and three captains, (Continued on Page 6, Col. 4) Hdqrs. Swelters, But Carries On Midsummer's near-tropical heat wave - three of them, as a matter of fact - which turned the Chicago area into a virtual blast furnace and sent the thermometer soaring like an updraft over a mountainside unitl it hit a sweltering one hundred degrees, was no deterrent to Headquarters whose productivity chart, like the mercury, remained at a high level during late July and early August. With the majority of agreements closed since the first of the year, the accent of Head- INVEST IN AMERICA BUY U.S. SAVINGS BONDS quarter's activity was still on the completion of those agreements which remained unsiqned as direct negotiation conferences were held with Pan American Airways, Northwest Airlines, Mid-Continent Airlines, United Air Lines, and Delta Air Lines, and mediation conferences with American Overseas Airlines. One of the high lights of the month was the addition of Empire Airlines to the ALPA fold - the first feeder air line to have a pilots' employment agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association. A working agreement was reached with Empire on July 31 after a series of conferences held in the Headquarters city of the company, Boise, Idaho, on July 27, 28, 29, and 30. Although this was the first pilot's agreement with the company, it embodied many high-light features, among them being the use of 160 m.p.h. speed (Continued on Page 3, Col. 2) WHERE'S OUR ACES? HERE'S THE ANSWER Here's one answer to the oft-asked question, in which the so-called Military Pilots Association was one of the leading questioners, as to whether the air lines have been giving the military pilots an even break. Many of those who wanted to fly and could make the grade have been absorbed by the air lines in the two years since V-J Day. On United Air Lines at least, more than 50 per cent of its Mainliner captains and first officers saw service in World War II. Of the 1,115 pilots on United's roster, approximately 500 are veterans who have been employed since August of 1945. One hundred others were with the company before the war and were on military leave with various branches of the armed services. Air Safety Inquiry Touches All Fields Air safety, perenially the topic of much discussion, publicity and theorizing, but seldom the object of action, is today being viewed with a candor and objectivity that is making even the politically astigmatic sit up and take notice of what is happening. As the result of degeneration of our air safety program to a point where it merited drastic Presidential consideration, the political "hot potato" of air safety became an issue which couldn't be sidestepped. Now, within two months after its inception and with the results of its exhaustive study unfolding with revealing frankness, President Truman's Special Board of Inquiry into Air Safety, is bringing about the realization that air safety is something that goes far deeper that some mere mechanical or slight human failure at the moment of a crash. ALPA Representatives Many of the recommendations submitted in the several interim reports submitted thus far by (Continued on Page 8, Col. 1) [[image]] OBJECTIVE SAFETY A razor edge awareness of the magnitude of the air safety problem has been shown by CAB Chairman James M. Landis, shown here in a recent press conference in Washington, in his post as chairman of the President's Special Board of Inquiry into Air Safety. Despite finding himself in an admittedly difficult position as chairman of both the CAB and the Special Air Safety Board. Mr. Landis has exhibited an open-mindedness, diligence, impartiality, and objectiveness that is unusual for political Washington. ALPA's representatives who have worked closely with him on the Board of Inquiry have been impressed with his ability to "have a quick grasp of the practical side of problems and to appreciate all sides of the air safety problem, including the problem of the air line pilots."
