Explosion rocks Moscow's Domodedovo Airport

by B. N. Sullivan

A large explosion rocked the international  arrivals hall at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport (DME) earlier today, January 24, 2011.  Local officials say that the blast, which was caused by a suicide bomber, killed at least 35 people and left more than 100 injured.

Amateur video and photos shot on site showed a grisly scene, with bodies and body parts strewn about, and heavy smoke hanging in the air.  ProducerMatthew.com has posted links to several photos from inside the Domodedovo Terminal.

Air traffic at DME was disrupted immediately after the bombing.  Some flights were diverted to Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, or to St. Petersburg.  Other en route flights returned to their departure cities.

Here is a news video about the incident, posted on YouTube by Russia Today:



If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Flight attendants honored for response to the Christmas Day 'underpants bomber'

by B .N. Sullivan

The flight attendants who dealt with the infamous 'underpants bomber' on Northwest Flight 253 this past Christmas Day have been honored by their union. The Detroit-based flight attendants were given the prestigious C.B. Lansing Award for successfully thwarting the terrorist attack on December 25, 2009. The award ceremony took place earlier this week at the annual board meeting of the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) in Las Vegas.

Quoting from the AFA press release about the award:

“A catastrophe was averted on Christmas day because of the professionalism of the flight attendants on Northwest flight 253,” said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. “Their quick responses were nothing short of heroic as they identified and mobilized the necessary resources on board and saved the lives of 290 passengers and crew. They exemplify what it means to be a flight attendant in 2010, a front-line safety and security professional.”

The C.B. Lansing Memorial Award was established following the tragic and heroic events aboard Aloha Airlines flight 243 on April 28, 1988 when Aloha flight attendants faced a sudden and serious aircraft incident. C.B. Lansing did not survive the incident; however her fellow flight attendants persevered, rendering life-saving first aid in-flight as they planned for an emergency landing.

“On the eve of the anniversary of the heroism of C.B. Lansing and the Aloha crew, we honor our fellow flight attendants for their service to the flight attendant profession and once again reminding the public of our true mission,” said Friend.

AFA notes that the C .B. Lansing Award is not an annual presentation; rather it is "presented to a crew or crewmember who displays heroism beyond the call of duty."

There have been seven prior recipients of this honor in the history of AFA-CWA.

9/11 flight attendant Cee Cee Lyles memorialized by her home town

Cee Cee Lyles, a United Airlines flight attendant who was killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was honored by her home town of Fort Pierce, FL, yesterday. A post office in Fort Pierce was dedicated in her memory, in a ceremony conducted by Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL), and attended by family members, community leaders, and her fellow flight attendants.

Ms. Lyles was born and raised in Fort Pierce, FL. Prior to pursuing a career as a flight attendant with United Airlines, she was a Fort Pierce police officer for six years. She died at age 33, when United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into a field outside Shanksville, PA.

A delegation from the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), of which Cee Cee Lyles was a member, attended the ceremony in Fort Pierce.

"Today's dedication of the Fort Pierce Post Office is a wonderful way to celebrate the professionalism and the memory of our flying partner and friend," said Patricia Friend, AFA-CWA International President. "Her memory will live on through the Fort Pierce community for generations to come."

Last year, Congress passed a resolution, sponsored by Senator Martinez and Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL), which officially designated the local U.S. postal facility to be named in honor of Lyles. In 2003, Fort Pierce erected a bronze statue in Liberty Garden in Veteran's Memorial Park to memorialize the United flight attendant and Fort Pierce native.

Click here to read about the life of Cee Cee Lyles, from the archives of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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Flight Attendants and 9/11 - Nothing Will Ever Be the Same

by B. N. Sullivan

Seven years have passed since September 11, 2001, yet the tragic events and their aftermath are burned indelibly into the minds of everyone who was working in commercial aviation on that day. Crew members, in particular, were acutely pained by 9/11. They realized immediately that the crew members on the hijacked aircraft were among the very first to be murdered by the terrorists. They understood that -- but for fortune -- they could have been working on one of the hijacked flights that morning.

When the U.S. airspace re-opened several days after the attack, most crews returned to work. No one knew what was going to happen, and no one could guarantee their safety, yet flight attendants and pilots courageously put on their uniforms, boarded the planes, and carried on.

In the weeks following 9/11, much media attention and well-deserved praise was focused on the firefighters and other first responders who rescued victims and put their lives on the line in New York and Washington. At the same time, though, little attention or recognition was given to the airline crews and their role on 9/11 and during its aftermath.

Then, as the airline industry suffered a huge economic downturn after 9/11, many crew members were furloughed, or lost their jobs outright. Most of those who remained employed did so by agreeing to huge cuts in pay and benefits, including the loss of their pensions.

To this day, the pervasive emotional and economic effects of 9/11 and its aftermath on airline crews remain largely under-reported by the media and ignored by much of the flying public. In fact, nothing has been the same in the aviation industry since 9/11.

As a researcher who has spent years studying the health and well-being of people who fly for a living, I can say that no event in recent history was more acutely stressful to more people in aviation than 9/11. Awhile back, I set out to document some of the experiences of airline flight attendants working in the United States at the time of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. I collected their stories by means of focus groups, structured interviews with individuals, and responses to an on-line survey.

In 2005 I wrote a paper based on these personal narratives. The paper was presented at a meeting of the British Association for American Studies, held at Cambridge University, England. Here is the link to the text of my oral presentation: "Nothing will ever be the same again." - How flight attendants in the US coped with '9/11.'

I want to assure the crew members in the United States and around the world who experienced 9/11 so personally, and who still grieve, that some people do indeed notice you, do admire your courage, and do appreciate all you have done and continue to do for all of us.

9/11 Flight Crew Memorial dedicated

A memorial to the pilots and flight attendants who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks was dedicated today in Texas. The 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial, which is located in Grapevine, TX, was created to commemorate the heroism of the 33 crew members who lost their lives after their aircraft were hijacked by terrorists on that awful morning in 2001.

The memorial depicts two pilots, two flight attendants, and a child passenger. The sculpture also includes two eagles, signifying the two airlines -- United and American -- that lost aircraft and crew on 9/11. Unveiled today, July 4, 2008, the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial is the only memorial dedicated solely to the flight crews who lost their lives on September 11, 2001.

Sculptor Dean Thompson created the memorial, which is 18 feet high. His wife, Valerie, is an American Airlines flight attendant. Speaking about the memorial to a reporter at CBS 11 TV, Valerie Thompson said, "I hope people recognize that we were the first responders on that day. We had a very important role in helping protect the public."

A message on the website of the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation explains:

The name of the bronze art is VALOR – COMMITMENT – DEDICATION. The valor was demonstrated in the professionalism and courage shown by those who perished on that fateful day from the most vicious attack ever on American soil. Their names will always be engraved into stone and history and in our hearts. The crews who climbed back aboard when the sky was reopened demonstrated unparalleled valor going into the unknown to bring everyone home to their loved ones.

Commitment was later demonstrated along with the same courage when their companies called upon them to keep their companies alive by giving up pay that they earned, to keep solvency available in the terrible years following. They still have not been repaid for this courageous effort, but they demonstrated commitment and continue to work under conditions worse than ever.

Dedication to their jobs making safety in the sky their number one issue is paramount. They have been pushed to the limit with rest time barely reaching minimums. Flying safe aircraft has been questionable as recently demonstrated by actions taken by FAA to this regard.

We are honoring all flight crews of all airlines internationally. We are placing this memorial under the flight path into one of America’s largest and busiest airports, Dallas Fort Worth International. It will be visible from the sky when approaching from the North or departing to the North.

For information about the memorial, and more photos, visit the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial Foundation website.

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Glasgow airport terrorist had aviation connection

The man believed to have been the driver of the burning Jeep Cherokee that was intentionally crashed into the Glasgow Airport terminal building on June 30, 2007 reportedly has -- or had -- a connection to the aviation industry. The man, identified as 27-year old Kafeel Ahmed, had worked in Bangalore, India at a company called Infotech, a large outsourcing firm.

According to the New York Times, Kafeel Ahmed worked as an aeronautical engineer at Infotech between December 2005 and July 2006. Infotech's clients in the aviation industry include Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier, and Pratt & Whitney. In a telephone interview with a New York Times reporter, a company spokesman declined to name the clients whose projects Mr. Ahmed worked on while employed at Infotech. It was noted that "there has been no suggestion that Mr. Ahmed did anything untoward while at Infotech."

Kafeel Ahmed, who suffered burns to over 90% of his body as a result of his actions at Glasgow, remains in critical condition at Glasgow Royal Infirmary's burn unit. He is not expected to survive.

Ahmed's 26-year old brother Sabeel, a medical doctor, is among eight suspects being detained in connection with the failed car bomb plot. According to an  article published in the International Herald Tribune, Sabeel Ahmed is being held in Liverpool.

Kafeel Ahmed's alleged accomplice in the Glasgow incident, 27-year old medical doctor Bilal Abdullah, was arrested at the scene and is so far the only suspect who has been charged. The Cambridge Evening News reported on the proceedings at City of Westminster Magistrates' Court in central London this past Saturday morning, during which Bilal Abdullah was formally charged:

The court clerk told him: "The charge against you is that between January 1 and July 1 this year within the jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court, you unlawfully and maliciously conspired with others to cause explosions of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the United Kingdom."

Abdulla, 27, stood in the dock while the charge, which carries a maximum life sentence, was read out to him but had earlier failed to stand when District Judge Anthony Evans entered the room.

The Cambridge Evening News article says that Abdullah was charged under the 1883 Explosive Substances Act.

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Burning car crashes into Glasgow airport terminal

Scotland's Glasgow International Airport has been closed in the wake of an incident in which a sport utility vehicle -- described by some eyewitnesses as a Jeep Cherokee -- crashed into an entrance to Terminal One. The incident happened shortly after 3 PM local time. The airport has been evacuated and all incoming and outgoing flights have been suspended for the rest of the day.

While official statements have not yet verified that this was an intentional act, many eyewitnesses quoted by various news media believe that it was no accident. Reports say that the car was on fire but did not explode. The terminal building subsequently caught fire as well.

Some eyewitness reports quoted by the BBC say that there were two people in the car, one of whom was on fire when he tried to run away after the crash. A bystander tackled the man. Police later arrested both occupants of the car.

Strathclyde police issued an official statement a short time ago, which said:

Statement issued at 1645 (BST): At 1515 hours this afternoon, Saturday 30 June 2007, a car was driven into the front of Terminal One at Glasgow International Airport.

Police and Fire Service were immediately summoned and four people arrested and detained meantime.

It is unclear if any person has been injured.

Local roads have been closed and police are advising members of the public not to travel to the airport.

Incoming and outgoing flights have been suspended until further notice and the airport has been closed.

Strathclyde Police would like to reassure the public that it is unknown at present if this is connected with the incidents in London as enquiries are at an early stage.

However, we would ask the public to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious activity to the police.

Of immediate interest to aircrews, the following NOTAM has been issued for Glasgow:

Q)EGPX/QFALC/IV/NBO/A/000/999/5552N00426W005

B)07/06/30 15:24 UTC C)07/06/30 19:40 EST AGA (A1534/07)

E)AD CLSD DUE RFF DEPLETED TO CAT 4

My translation: Airside operations have had to be suspended because sufficient fire and rescue resources are unavailable for the airfield. They're all occupied with fighting the fire at the terminal entrance.

To be continued...

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