MARSHFIELD, Wis. (AP) – Authorities in Wisconsin say a small airplane has crashed in the backyard of a house in Marshfield, killing the three people on board the aircraft.
No one on the ground was injured.
Officials said the plane had caught fire after the crash late Saturday and burned the back wall of the house.
Marshfield Fire Department Deputy Chief Roy Dolens told WSAW-TV that it wasn’t immediately clear whether the pilot was trying to land at the Marshfield airport or if the plane had just taken off.
Federation aviation investigators were expected to examine the crash scene.
Marshfield is located about 40 miles southwest of Wausau, Wis.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Feds: FAA worker took plane, yachts as perks
Date: 11/21/2008
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) _ A Federal Aviation Administration employee from Southern California took illegal perks from his job — including a plane, yachts and heavy-duty trucks — and an investigation continues into how widespread the practice was, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Steven Bradley Smith, a field technician with the FAA in San Diego, abused an internal computer system to claim surplus items from other government agencies, according to charging papers unsealed Thursday in federal court in Tacoma, Wash.
“There’s a great concern about who knew what about this — about whether it’s something that was systemic, or one guy who managed to find the seam in the zone defense of the FAA,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jennings told The Associated Press.
He said he could not comment further on the investigation.
The computer system is run by the General Services Administration and is designed to allow federal agencies to list items they no longer need, so that other agencies can acquire them free of charge. Prosecutors said Smith should not have been authorized to acquire items but managed to anyway — purportedly on behalf of the FAA — using another agency’s code number.
Among the 215 items Smith obtained since 2004 were a Cessna 210 from the Forest Service, a Boston Whaler from the Coast Guard, several computers and a 44-foot Navy yacht that had been used by the ROTC at the University of Washington, the charging document said.
Smith and his half-brother, Bradley Garner — who owns Royal Limousine Service in Bermuda Dunes, Calif., and is accused of receiving some of the goods — are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft of honest services.
Smith made an initial appearance Thursday in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., and was ordered to post a $200,000 bond before he could be released on electronic home monitoring, Jennings said. It was not immediately clear who Smith’s lawyer was.
Garner was scheduled for a detention hearing Friday. A public defender who represented Garner at his initial appearance, Joan Politeo, was out of the office Thursday afternoon and did not return a message seeking comment.
Investigators said they determined that Smith turned the yacht, a fiberglass yawl called the Lively, over to Garner, who took it to Canada, where it remains. He also gave Garner the Cessna, and even though the plane remained owned by the government, Garner managed to take out an insurance policy — and received a $45,000 payment when the plane was damaged in a storm while parked at a Louisiana airport in 2007.
The Boston Whaler was found on a trailer in front of Smith’s home in Blue Jay, Calif., along with a boat previously used by the Border Patrol and a Chevrolet K2500 truck once used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Attached to that truck was a 600-gallon tank trailer formerly used by the Air Force, according to an affidavit filed by Christopher M. Bjornstad, a special agent with the GSA’s inspector general.
Smith also arranged for transfer of another yacht and several other trucks, officials said. Other items, including several Apple computers, were sold on eBay, Bjornstad wrote.
Smith’s activity came to the attention of the GSA when someone else in the Transportation Department reported he had been using their code number to try to claim the Lively this year. Investigators allowed him to continue the practice to build a case against him, the court documents say, and the Lively episode is the reason charges were filed in Washington.
It’s unclear how Smith would have obtained such items from around the country while keeping his day job. After agencies claim items through the computer system, they must physically acquire them.
“It’s not like UPS shows up with a boat on your doorstep,” Jennings said.
In some cases, such as with the yacht, Smith sent Garner to pick up the items.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the FAA in Los Angeles, confirmed that Smith still works for the agency.
“Speaking generally, and not in relation to any specific case, the FAA has no tolerance for anyone misusing the funds of the United States of America,” he said in a written statement. “We expect excellence and professionalism from all of our 46,000 employees.”
Jennings said the government would try to reclaim its property — if it can find it.
“There’s another Boston Whaler missing and a bunch of other boats we’re still looking for,” he said.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Associated Press Writer
SEATTLE (AP) _ A Federal Aviation Administration employee from Southern California took illegal perks from his job — including a plane, yachts and heavy-duty trucks — and an investigation continues into how widespread the practice was, federal prosecutors said Thursday.
Steven Bradley Smith, a field technician with the FAA in San Diego, abused an internal computer system to claim surplus items from other government agencies, according to charging papers unsealed Thursday in federal court in Tacoma, Wash.
“There’s a great concern about who knew what about this — about whether it’s something that was systemic, or one guy who managed to find the seam in the zone defense of the FAA,” Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jennings told The Associated Press.
He said he could not comment further on the investigation.
The computer system is run by the General Services Administration and is designed to allow federal agencies to list items they no longer need, so that other agencies can acquire them free of charge. Prosecutors said Smith should not have been authorized to acquire items but managed to anyway — purportedly on behalf of the FAA — using another agency’s code number.
Among the 215 items Smith obtained since 2004 were a Cessna 210 from the Forest Service, a Boston Whaler from the Coast Guard, several computers and a 44-foot Navy yacht that had been used by the ROTC at the University of Washington, the charging document said.
Smith and his half-brother, Bradley Garner — who owns Royal Limousine Service in Bermuda Dunes, Calif., and is accused of receiving some of the goods — are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and theft of honest services.
Smith made an initial appearance Thursday in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif., and was ordered to post a $200,000 bond before he could be released on electronic home monitoring, Jennings said. It was not immediately clear who Smith’s lawyer was.
Garner was scheduled for a detention hearing Friday. A public defender who represented Garner at his initial appearance, Joan Politeo, was out of the office Thursday afternoon and did not return a message seeking comment.
Investigators said they determined that Smith turned the yacht, a fiberglass yawl called the Lively, over to Garner, who took it to Canada, where it remains. He also gave Garner the Cessna, and even though the plane remained owned by the government, Garner managed to take out an insurance policy — and received a $45,000 payment when the plane was damaged in a storm while parked at a Louisiana airport in 2007.
The Boston Whaler was found on a trailer in front of Smith’s home in Blue Jay, Calif., along with a boat previously used by the Border Patrol and a Chevrolet K2500 truck once used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Attached to that truck was a 600-gallon tank trailer formerly used by the Air Force, according to an affidavit filed by Christopher M. Bjornstad, a special agent with the GSA’s inspector general.
Smith also arranged for transfer of another yacht and several other trucks, officials said. Other items, including several Apple computers, were sold on eBay, Bjornstad wrote.
Smith’s activity came to the attention of the GSA when someone else in the Transportation Department reported he had been using their code number to try to claim the Lively this year. Investigators allowed him to continue the practice to build a case against him, the court documents say, and the Lively episode is the reason charges were filed in Washington.
It’s unclear how Smith would have obtained such items from around the country while keeping his day job. After agencies claim items through the computer system, they must physically acquire them.
“It’s not like UPS shows up with a boat on your doorstep,” Jennings said.
In some cases, such as with the yacht, Smith sent Garner to pick up the items.
Ian Gregor, a spokesman for the FAA in Los Angeles, confirmed that Smith still works for the agency.
“Speaking generally, and not in relation to any specific case, the FAA has no tolerance for anyone misusing the funds of the United States of America,” he said in a written statement. “We expect excellence and professionalism from all of our 46,000 employees.”
Jennings said the government would try to reclaim its property — if it can find it.
“There’s another Boston Whaler missing and a bunch of other boats we’re still looking for,” he said.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Brazil police: 10 at fault for air crash
Date: 11/20/2008
By BRADLEY BROOKS
Associated Press Writer
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) _ A police investigation found that 10 government and airline officials were to blame for Brazil’s worst air disaster, saying they failed to properly train pilots, implement rainy day procedures or fully repair the airport’s drainage system, authorities said Wednesday.
It will be up to Brazilian prosecutors, however, to file formal charges — which could result in up to six years of prison.
An investigation by Sao Paulo state civil police blamed officials from Brazilian regulators and TAM airlines for the crash, a police investigator on the case said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the matter.
TAM Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, landed in driving rain at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport in July 2007, speeding down the runway and crashing into a gas station and air cargo building at 109 mph (175 kph).
All 187 people aboard and 12 people on the ground died.
The police report blames government officials for the failure to set stricter rainy-day landing rules for the short runway or to fully repair its drainage system. Airline officials were blamed for poor pilot training.
Among those named in the report are: Denise Abreu, former director of Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency — known as ANAC; Jose Carlos Pereira, former president of Infraero, which oversees airport infrastructure; and Marco Santos, TAM’s safety director, among others.
The police official also said the report confirmed that one of the thrust reversers on the plane — which help to slow aircraft upon landing — was not functional.
TAM has said it had allowed planes to fly without a thrust reverser based on government-approved safety measures. It also said it followed Airbus maintenance rules that said the plane was safe to fly.
ANAC, Infraero and TAM Linhas Aereas SA declined comment, saying they had not yet received a copy of the investigative report.
A separate investigation into the crash is being conducted by Brazil’s Air Force.
___
Associated Press writer Marco Sibaja contributed to this report from Brasilia.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
By BRADLEY BROOKS
Associated Press Writer
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) _ A police investigation found that 10 government and airline officials were to blame for Brazil’s worst air disaster, saying they failed to properly train pilots, implement rainy day procedures or fully repair the airport’s drainage system, authorities said Wednesday.
It will be up to Brazilian prosecutors, however, to file formal charges — which could result in up to six years of prison.
An investigation by Sao Paulo state civil police blamed officials from Brazilian regulators and TAM airlines for the crash, a police investigator on the case said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to discuss the matter.
TAM Flight 3054, an Airbus A320, landed in driving rain at Sao Paulo’s Congonhas airport in July 2007, speeding down the runway and crashing into a gas station and air cargo building at 109 mph (175 kph).
All 187 people aboard and 12 people on the ground died.
The police report blames government officials for the failure to set stricter rainy-day landing rules for the short runway or to fully repair its drainage system. Airline officials were blamed for poor pilot training.
Among those named in the report are: Denise Abreu, former director of Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency — known as ANAC; Jose Carlos Pereira, former president of Infraero, which oversees airport infrastructure; and Marco Santos, TAM’s safety director, among others.
The police official also said the report confirmed that one of the thrust reversers on the plane — which help to slow aircraft upon landing — was not functional.
TAM has said it had allowed planes to fly without a thrust reverser based on government-approved safety measures. It also said it followed Airbus maintenance rules that said the plane was safe to fly.
ANAC, Infraero and TAM Linhas Aereas SA declined comment, saying they had not yet received a copy of the investigative report.
A separate investigation into the crash is being conducted by Brazil’s Air Force.
___
Associated Press writer Marco Sibaja contributed to this report from Brasilia.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Chicago EMS Responds to CTA Accident
11/18/2008 9:30 AM
CHICAGO – A morning accident involving a bus and two vehicles sent over two dozen people to the hospital. EMS instituted a Plan II response to the incident, which occurred at West Roosevelt Road and South Blue Island Avenue on the Near West Side.
According to CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski, the bus was stopped at an intersection when it was struck by a car. The driver of the car was taken in serious to critical condition to the hospital.
23 passengers on the bus were taken to the hospital. They were listed in fair to serious condition and none had life threatening injuries. A total of 13 ambulances were called to the scene.
FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
CHICAGO – A morning accident involving a bus and two vehicles sent over two dozen people to the hospital. EMS instituted a Plan II response to the incident, which occurred at West Roosevelt Road and South Blue Island Avenue on the Near West Side.
According to CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinski, the bus was stopped at an intersection when it was struck by a car. The driver of the car was taken in serious to critical condition to the hospital.
23 passengers on the bus were taken to the hospital. They were listed in fair to serious condition and none had life threatening injuries. A total of 13 ambulances were called to the scene.
FROM STNG WIRE REPORTS
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
GUYANA: Officials suspend search for missing US survey plane with 3 aboard
Date: 11/18/2008
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana has suspended its search for a U.S.-registered plane with three people aboard that disappeared over dense Amazonian jungle two weeks ago.
Transportation Minister Robeson Benn says government teams have unsuccessfully scoured mountainous forests near the Venezuelan border to find the Beechcraft King Air plane that was conducting aerial surveys for a Canadian mining company.
American pilots James Barker and Chris Paris and Canadian technician Patrick Murphy were doing uranium survey work for Prometheus Resources Guyana Inc., a subsidiary of U308 Corporation of Toronto, Canada, when the plane went missing.
Benn said Monday that the plane’s owners planned to continue limited ground searches.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP) — Guyana has suspended its search for a U.S.-registered plane with three people aboard that disappeared over dense Amazonian jungle two weeks ago.
Transportation Minister Robeson Benn says government teams have unsuccessfully scoured mountainous forests near the Venezuelan border to find the Beechcraft King Air plane that was conducting aerial surveys for a Canadian mining company.
American pilots James Barker and Chris Paris and Canadian technician Patrick Murphy were doing uranium survey work for Prometheus Resources Guyana Inc., a subsidiary of U308 Corporation of Toronto, Canada, when the plane went missing.
Benn said Monday that the plane’s owners planned to continue limited ground searches.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
UK court: No bail for cancer-hit Lockerbie bomber
Date: 11/14/2008
By BEN McCONVILLE
Associated Press Writer
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) _ A court refused Friday to release from prison a cancer-stricken Libyan man convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
The Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland acknowledged that Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi’s cancer was incurable, but it said he could not be freed on bail pending an appeal of his life sentence for the bombing that killed 270 people, most of them American.
Al-Megrahi’s lawyers argued that their client should be released because he recently was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the disease has spread.
“While the disease from which the appellant suffers is incurable and may cause his death, he is not at present suffering material pain or disability. The full services of the National Health Service are available to him, notwithstanding he is in custody,” the three judges stated in a written opinion. They said if al-Megrahi’s condition worsens, they might reconsider their decision.
Al-Megrahi, 56, and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah were prosecuted in The Hague in 2001 for the bombing. Fhimah was acquitted.
Al-Megrahi lost one appeal but has been granted another one. The court is expected to hear the second appeal next year.
Al-Megrahi did not appear in court Friday. In a statement released through his legal team, al-Megrahi said, “I am very distressed that the court has refused me bail pending the hearing of my appeal and the chance to spend my remaining time with my family.”
The statement added: “I wish to reiterate that I had nothing whatsoever to do with the Lockerbie bombing and that the fight for justice will continue regardless of whether I am alive to witness my name being cleared.”
The Libyan government has agreed to pay more than $2 billion in compensation to victims’ families as part of leader Moammar Gadhafi’s campaign to end years of international isolation. But doubt remains over who carried out the bombing, Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack.
Al-Megrahi’s lawyers have claimed British and U.S authorities tampered with evidence, ignored witness statements and steered investigators away from evidence that the bombing was an Iranian-financed plot carried out by Palestinians to avenge the shooting down of a civilian Iranian airliner by U.S forces several months earlier.
Relatives of the victims of Pan Am 103 were divided over al-Megrahi’s conviction. Some British families have said they think he is innocent, but relatives of U.S. victims have said he is guilty and should remain in jail.
Dr. Jim Swire, a spokesman for a group of the British relatives, said it was “tragic” that Scottish justice had “missed a golden opportunity to display mercy.” Swire’s daughter, Flora, 24, was a passenger on the downed flight.
But Bob Monetti, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, whose son Rick was killed, told the BBC before the judgment that al-Megrahi should remain in jail. “I have been really upset because most of the people in Scotland seem to have a different opinion on the whole thing,” he said.
Dan Cohen of New Jersey, whose daughter Theodora was aboard flight 103, said he was “extremely relieved” at the judges’ decision.
“This is a very tough anniversary coming up — the 20th — and it is very important that he will still be in jail for it,” Cohen said.
___
Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
Judgment: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2008HCJAC68.html
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
By BEN McCONVILLE
Associated Press Writer
EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) _ A court refused Friday to release from prison a cancer-stricken Libyan man convicted of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over the Scottish town of Lockerbie.
The Court of Criminal Appeal in Scotland acknowledged that Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi’s cancer was incurable, but it said he could not be freed on bail pending an appeal of his life sentence for the bombing that killed 270 people, most of them American.
Al-Megrahi’s lawyers argued that their client should be released because he recently was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and the disease has spread.
“While the disease from which the appellant suffers is incurable and may cause his death, he is not at present suffering material pain or disability. The full services of the National Health Service are available to him, notwithstanding he is in custody,” the three judges stated in a written opinion. They said if al-Megrahi’s condition worsens, they might reconsider their decision.
Al-Megrahi, 56, and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah were prosecuted in The Hague in 2001 for the bombing. Fhimah was acquitted.
Al-Megrahi lost one appeal but has been granted another one. The court is expected to hear the second appeal next year.
Al-Megrahi did not appear in court Friday. In a statement released through his legal team, al-Megrahi said, “I am very distressed that the court has refused me bail pending the hearing of my appeal and the chance to spend my remaining time with my family.”
The statement added: “I wish to reiterate that I had nothing whatsoever to do with the Lockerbie bombing and that the fight for justice will continue regardless of whether I am alive to witness my name being cleared.”
The Libyan government has agreed to pay more than $2 billion in compensation to victims’ families as part of leader Moammar Gadhafi’s campaign to end years of international isolation. But doubt remains over who carried out the bombing, Britain’s deadliest terrorist attack.
Al-Megrahi’s lawyers have claimed British and U.S authorities tampered with evidence, ignored witness statements and steered investigators away from evidence that the bombing was an Iranian-financed plot carried out by Palestinians to avenge the shooting down of a civilian Iranian airliner by U.S forces several months earlier.
Relatives of the victims of Pan Am 103 were divided over al-Megrahi’s conviction. Some British families have said they think he is innocent, but relatives of U.S. victims have said he is guilty and should remain in jail.
Dr. Jim Swire, a spokesman for a group of the British relatives, said it was “tragic” that Scottish justice had “missed a golden opportunity to display mercy.” Swire’s daughter, Flora, 24, was a passenger on the downed flight.
But Bob Monetti, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, whose son Rick was killed, told the BBC before the judgment that al-Megrahi should remain in jail. “I have been really upset because most of the people in Scotland seem to have a different opinion on the whole thing,” he said.
Dan Cohen of New Jersey, whose daughter Theodora was aboard flight 103, said he was “extremely relieved” at the judges’ decision.
“This is a very tough anniversary coming up — the 20th — and it is very important that he will still be in jail for it,” Cohen said.
___
Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
Judgment: http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/opinions/2008HCJAC68.html
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Trucker’s toxicology results admitted in Pa. crash
Date: 11/13/2008
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) _ A judge says an expert witness may testify about toxicology test results on a truck driver involved in a fatal May 2007 accident in central Pennsylvania.
Peter Carrara’s truck struck a car that changed direction as he was overtaking it on Route 64 in Walker Township, northeast of State College. Fifty-seven-year-old Bonnie Weaver was killed.
President Judge David Grine ruled that District Attorney Michael Madeira can call an expert witness to testify that having methamphetamine in his system caused Carrara to take risks or lack adequate attention to drive safely. Carrara’s attorney, Brian Manchester, had filed a motion arguing that the expert isn’t qualified.
___
Information from: Centre Daily Times, http://www.centredaily.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
BELLEFONTE, Pa. (AP) _ A judge says an expert witness may testify about toxicology test results on a truck driver involved in a fatal May 2007 accident in central Pennsylvania.
Peter Carrara’s truck struck a car that changed direction as he was overtaking it on Route 64 in Walker Township, northeast of State College. Fifty-seven-year-old Bonnie Weaver was killed.
President Judge David Grine ruled that District Attorney Michael Madeira can call an expert witness to testify that having methamphetamine in his system caused Carrara to take risks or lack adequate attention to drive safely. Carrara’s attorney, Brian Manchester, had filed a motion arguing that the expert isn’t qualified.
___
Information from: Centre Daily Times, http://www.centredaily.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
US experts believe Mexico plane crash was accident
Date: 11/13/2008
By ALEXANDRA OLSON
Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) _ U.S. investigators have found no evidence of foul play in a mysterious plane crash that killed Mexico’s second-most powerful official, the American ambassador said Wednesday.
U.S. National Transportation and Safety Board experts say that, so far, nothing in the flight data recorder, cockpit recorder or other evidence indicates that “sabotage or criminal activity caused the crash,” Tony Garza said in a statement.
“The preliminary evidence indicates the crash was a tragic accident,” he added.
The NTSB team has been in Mexico for a week to help investigate the Nov. 4 crash that killed Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino, who was the equivalent of Mexico’s vice president and the closest confidant of President Felipe Calderon.
Five people on the ground and nine people on the plane were killed when the Learjet 45 suddenly plunged into an upscale Mexico City neighborhood. Also among those on board was former anti-drug prosecutor Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos.
From the start, Mexican investigators have said the crash appeared to be an accident. They ruled out a bomb last week, saying no trace of explosives was found at the crash scene.
Despite the lack of evidence, many Mexicans immediately suspected the crash was another attack by drug cartels, which have increasingly targeted security officials. Vasconcelos had been the target of at least one previous assassination plot.
Garza said the NTSB investigators would leave Mexico on Thursday but the agency would continue to help examine evidence and run simulations to determine what happened.
He gave no indication of whether investigators were close to determining the cause, saying only that “we must now all await the final conclusions” of Mexican aviation officials.
Mexican officials have offered a wide range of possibilities, from human error to turbulence from another plane. They ruled out engine failure last week.
The crash occurred in clear weather, and in their last recorded radio conversation, the plane’s flight crew calmly discussed radio frequencies and speed with controllers. The tape went silent just as radar lost the plane’s altitude reading.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
By ALEXANDRA OLSON
Associated Press Writer
MEXICO CITY (AP) _ U.S. investigators have found no evidence of foul play in a mysterious plane crash that killed Mexico’s second-most powerful official, the American ambassador said Wednesday.
U.S. National Transportation and Safety Board experts say that, so far, nothing in the flight data recorder, cockpit recorder or other evidence indicates that “sabotage or criminal activity caused the crash,” Tony Garza said in a statement.
“The preliminary evidence indicates the crash was a tragic accident,” he added.
The NTSB team has been in Mexico for a week to help investigate the Nov. 4 crash that killed Interior Minister Juan Camilo Mourino, who was the equivalent of Mexico’s vice president and the closest confidant of President Felipe Calderon.
Five people on the ground and nine people on the plane were killed when the Learjet 45 suddenly plunged into an upscale Mexico City neighborhood. Also among those on board was former anti-drug prosecutor Jose Luis Santiago Vasconcelos.
From the start, Mexican investigators have said the crash appeared to be an accident. They ruled out a bomb last week, saying no trace of explosives was found at the crash scene.
Despite the lack of evidence, many Mexicans immediately suspected the crash was another attack by drug cartels, which have increasingly targeted security officials. Vasconcelos had been the target of at least one previous assassination plot.
Garza said the NTSB investigators would leave Mexico on Thursday but the agency would continue to help examine evidence and run simulations to determine what happened.
He gave no indication of whether investigators were close to determining the cause, saying only that “we must now all await the final conclusions” of Mexican aviation officials.
Mexican officials have offered a wide range of possibilities, from human error to turbulence from another plane. They ruled out engine failure last week.
The crash occurred in clear weather, and in their last recorded radio conversation, the plane’s flight crew calmly discussed radio frequencies and speed with controllers. The tape went silent just as radar lost the plane’s altitude reading.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
Coal train derails in SE Iowa
Date: 11/11/2008
WEVER, Iowa (AP) — A coal train has derailed in southeast Iowa, blocking an intersection of a road and knocking out power to nearby homes.
The Lee County sheriff’s office says the BNSF train derailed early Tuesday afternoon near Wever.
At least 15 coal cars left the tracks, hitting a power pole, which knocked out power to nearby homes and businesses. The derailment has also closed an intersection of a road indefinitely.
No injuries have been reported.
___
Information from: The Hawk Eye, http://www.thehawkeye.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
WEVER, Iowa (AP) — A coal train has derailed in southeast Iowa, blocking an intersection of a road and knocking out power to nearby homes.
The Lee County sheriff’s office says the BNSF train derailed early Tuesday afternoon near Wever.
At least 15 coal cars left the tracks, hitting a power pole, which knocked out power to nearby homes and businesses. The derailment has also closed an intersection of a road indefinitely.
No injuries have been reported.
___
Information from: The Hawk Eye, http://www.thehawkeye.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
NC teen who studied crash deaths dies in wreck
Date: 11/10/2008
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ A North Carolina teenager who studied teen highway deaths as a senior high school project is dead after a crash.
Eighteen-year-old Shannon Nicole Adkins graduated last spring after turning in a report about the risks facing young drivers on the mainly rural roads of Johnston County.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Monday that Adkins was the 27th Johnston County teen to die in a wreck since the start of 2006 and the second in just over a week.
The highway patrol said Adkins was driving a pickup truck when another pickup crossed into her lane Saturday night and struck her head-on.
The other driver was a 29-year-old woman who was hospitalized in fair condition and charged with driving while impaired.
___
Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) _ A North Carolina teenager who studied teen highway deaths as a senior high school project is dead after a crash.
Eighteen-year-old Shannon Nicole Adkins graduated last spring after turning in a report about the risks facing young drivers on the mainly rural roads of Johnston County.
The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Monday that Adkins was the 27th Johnston County teen to die in a wreck since the start of 2006 and the second in just over a week.
The highway patrol said Adkins was driving a pickup truck when another pickup crossed into her lane Saturday night and struck her head-on.
The other driver was a 29-year-old woman who was hospitalized in fair condition and charged with driving while impaired.
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Information from: The News & Observer, http://www.newsobserver.com
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
Past Chair Traumatic Brain Injury Litigation Group, American Association of Justice
g@gordonjohnson.com :: 800-992-9447 :: Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr.