European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 04, 1967, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 4 the stars and stripes monday september 4, 1967 air traffic problem grows steadily despite figures Many say flying9 s unsafe by Robert Buckhorn Washington up com Mercial aviation is suffering one of the penalties of Success criticism. The newest attack could be summed up in three words is flying Safe on the record the answer has to be very Safe. The argument does t end there. The airlines in 1966 set a record Low death rate0.7per million Revenue passenger Miles. Put it another Way the airlines carried 110 million Pas sengers in 1966 and there Werea total of 273 deaths. But the statistics mean Little when they Are placed alongside a picture of a burned Patch of Woods in North Caro Lina showing the wreckage froma collision that claimed 82 lives in july or the scar Markson a Field near Urbana Ohio where 25 persons died four months earlier in another collision. After such accidents the questions come Why did it happen will it happen again experts agree there is no simple answer. Each disaster i different. Each investigation can find different probable causes for crashes. When two planes collide docs that mean air space is congested not necessarily. The collision involving the jetliner near Hendersonville n.c., too place near a lightly used air port. In March the crash of a Light plane and a trans world air lines Jet also happened in relatively uncrowded airspace. Should private planes be kept away from airports used by commercial airlines again experts say there is no Flat yes or no answer. The Light plane owners argue that they have a right to use tax supported airports. For the most part they claim they operate under the same restrictions commercial planes do when they land and take off atthe same airports. Also they say the record does not show general aviation to be reckless. Max Karant a vice presi Dent of the 136,000-member air Craft owners and pilots association says it is foolish to consider building separate air ports for Light planes just to separate them from Commer Cial planes. He says that there is a need for More Small air ports but you would not improve safety at Large Airport simply by removing Light he gets some support fro the head of the Federal aria t i o n administration William Mckee who says he does not have the Power to order private planes out of a heavily used government run Airport. He could act he said if he considered them a safety yet he does t. Others do. Rep. Samuel stat ton d-., said the Hender Sonville Accident must con Vince us that we must take Small planes away from Gen eral another con Gressman rep. C 1 a r a Ebrown a Ohio asked How Many persons have to die be fore we decide to really dig into the problem of safety Congress has begun to investigate. The ii o e Commerce committee recently held air safety hearings at which Mckee testified that the airways an the aircraft Are Safe and getting safer. He conceded he could use More Money for Airport financing research and traffic control but he said there is no Way to guarantee 100 per Cen Safe his Deputy David Thomas agreed. He said there was no dramatic solution to the prob Lem of air crashes. Others Don t agree. Congress Man Richard z. Ottinger d . Said Mckee was derelict in his duty. According to Ottinger Mckee should Bemore aggressive in searching for ways to improve air was the Faa s responsibility to define the needs of air safety whether Congress approved the budget or not he of Mckee s strongest critics were found in the National association of govern ment employees an Organiza Tion claiming to represent 8,000 of the nation s 14,000 air traffic controllers. The group urged president Johnson to fire Mckee. It claimed that the prob bogged Down nothing could have looked hovered until he could get a handhold the better to this . 9th inf div Soldier trapped went up gently until he had been pulled free of in Mekong Delta mud than a helicopter. It his Sticky surroundings. Up photos advocate of Strong nato Schroder s absence Felt keenly an a news analysis by Carl Hartman Bonn a the illness of defense minister Gerhard Schroeder has threatened to upset the balance in both the Atlantic Alliance and the West German government. Schroeder 56 years old suffered a heart flutter last tues Day. Doctors say he is Bette now but have not yet predicted when he May return to is a firm advocate of a tightly unified Atlantic Al Liance and of Britain s entry into the european common Market. Others in Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger s govern ment incline More to Compro Mises with French preside Tcharles de Gaulle who opposes both these defense minister s absence will be particularly Felt now with the Alliance in the midst of revising its future an with negotiations about to Start on Britain s Effort to get into the common Market. Within the framework of the budget cuts that the West Ger Man government has decide to make Schroeder would rather reduce manpower than Gerhard Schroeder save Money on new equipment much of which would be bought in the United has been expected to appear before a meeting of the bundestag defense commit tee sept. 7. . Defense Secretary Robert Mcnamara has also been invited to Bonn atthe end of the month. Early in october a full dress debate has been scheduled on defense policy in the bundles is More sparing of speeches and interviews than most West German politicians and the Public expression of his views has been eagerly await december a major meet ing of the Atlantic Alliance Issue to take up a revision of its whole defense concept. The North Atlantic treaty will be 20 years old in 1969 and the ques Tion is whether it is to be re Vised and to what his illness Schroeder is represented in the cabinetry Kai Uwe von Hassel minis Ter for refugees. Von Hasse was Schroeder s predecessor As defense minister and share Many of his ideas. But he does not swing the same weight i politics that Schroeder does. Last december when Kies Inger was chosen As his party s candidate for Chancellor Schroeder was runner up. He had a Strong Block of votes and his strength grew on each of the three is important to his Christian democratic party a spokesman for heavy Industry in the Ruhr area and also be cause he is a protestant. His chief political rival finance minister Franz Josef Strauss is a Catholic and so is Kies Inger. In the past the party has been attacked As leaning top much toward Catholic Doc Trine and some politicians con Sider Schroeder s presence in an important Job As indispensable in meeting this criticism. Lem of air traffic had reached crisis there is no doubt about the size of the air traffic problem. It is big and growing bigger every year. Ten years ago there were 62,886 private and Busi Ness planes in the United states. Today there Are 107,085. By 1976, the total is expected to reach 180,000. Statistics on commercial air lines show the same Type of growth. There Are now about 2,000 airliners. By 1976, observers predict there will be More than 3,000. With the increase i planes comes the increase in the number of air year s total was 110 Mil lion a figure expected to reach450 million before 1976. Huge 500-passenger jetliners rescheduled to go into service before 1970. By 1974, 2,000-Miiean hour supersonic planes May be carrying travellers from new York to London in three hours. With the traffic problem comes the collision threat. According to Faa statistics near misses in the airways Are being reported at an average rate of532 a year. But Many go in reported mainly because pilots fear punishment. According to the National association of government employees unreported near misses in the High density corridor be tween Boston and Washington run As High As 25 a week. The Faa says however that even among the near misses re ported every year few fall into critical area. What is being done to solve the safety problem considerable especially in the safety Field. An electronic collision avoidance system is being developed and is expected to be installed on commercial airline sin the Early 1970s. The Faa is stepping up it Grants to airports program better radar is being installed stricter Altitude controls Are being requested scientists retrying to perfect a device to solve the problem of Clear air turbulence an invisible and Little known Phenomena spawned by air currents. There Are experiments underway on the value of rear facing seats in aircraft better fire proofing and smoke hoods for passengers. Studies have Bee made on the problem of alcohol and the private Pilot. The health of the commercial pilots is Al ways under close scrutiny. If there is any general description of aviation problems it would be that they Are no Dif Ferent from those of the rest of the Economy. They Are caused by the explosive growth of Man and the answers Are being sought and found by Man. These ripes european edition col. James w. Campbell Usa editor in chief it. Col. F. S. Michael jr., Usan Deputy editor in chief Arnold Burnett managing editor Elmer d. Frank production manage Henry s. Epstein. Circulation Mana ran unofficial newspaper of and for the . Armed forces printed Dally at Darmstadt Germany under the auspice of the office of the chief of Public affair he Usa eur. Military address the stars and stripes Apo 09175. International mail the stars and stripes Postrach 1034, 61-Darmstadt, Germany. Tel Grid Helm c prefix 06155 2071 j m Darmstadt air strip prefix 2376 741. New York office 641 Washington St new York 10014, Tell area code 212 620-6771. Second claw postage paid at new York . ". The United states is an open society in which the people s right to know is cherished and president Lyndon a Johnson
