I_Money
Moderator
The story below is of a Boston Medflight flight in March - the airport was closed, however the pilots determined they had ample runway to take off and fly a live saving organ donation flight.
Should their license be suspended, or did they evaluate the situation and should be able to use their judgment?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Air Charter pilots ignored the recent closing of Norwood Airport due to flooding and took off last Wednesday to deliver human organs to Boston for transplant.
The Norwood Airport Commission voted, 4 to 1, Tuesday afternoon to look into the case further before making a disciplinary decision. Commission member Kevin Shaughnessy voted against the motion.
“I think they should have their license suspended immediately,” he said. “It seems really reckless and careless. Though the intention seems good, there are rules here and the reason we have them is for safety.”
Two Boston Air flights took off from Runway 35, one at 4:40 p.m. and the other at 5:06 p.m.
“Boston Air Charter refused to obey the closure of the airport,” Airport Manager Russ Maguire said.
Boston Air’s chief pilot Douglas Lyons and attorney Paul Baccari defended the pilots’ actions Tuesday.
“We saw we had sufficient length and needed to get the organs out,” Lyons said. “I thought the runway was safe. Four pilots said it was dry.”
Boston Air Charter routinely flies organ donor flights, Lyons said.
The airport had been closed to all airplanes starting on the evening of March 15 after the Neponset River surged over the runways and taxiways during a multi-day rainstorm.
It’s the airport manager’s decision whether to close or not, according to local and state regulations, Maguire said.
“Our job is to protect the neighbors,” Shaughnessy said. “I think this is pretty serious.”
At 5:30 a.m. on March 15 all of the airport’s businesses, including Boston Air Charter, received an email about flooding of the Neponset River. After watching the river closely, Maguire sent out a second email at 9:13 p.m. saying that the airport was closed to all planes.
On March 16, the airport remained open only to helicopters because the runways, taxiways, and lights were still underwater.
The following day, Maguire said, three Federal Aviation Administration inspected the structural integrity of the runways. The FAA officials advised closing Runway 35 because of the water and debris on the ground, Maguire said.
Lyons disputed this. The runway was clear of debris, he said.
“I presumed that (Boston Air President Al Bishop) tried to talk to Russ Maguire,” Lyons said.
At 3:30 p.m. on March 17, Maguire said, he received a call from the tower telling him the two pilots wanted to depart.
“The control tower never gave them clearance,” Maguire said.
Maguire said he was concerned for the neighborhoods the planes flew over, including Ellis Avenue, Ellis Garden Playground, Washington Street, Neponset Street, and the Oldham School.
“All of those neighborhoods that they flew over could have been in danger hypothetically,” Maguire said.
Maguire asked why Boston Air Charter had not moved its planes elsewhere because the rain had been predicted for the area about a week ago.
“Aircraft should have been out of here before [the airport] was closed,” Commission member Leslie Leblanc said. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
The federal director of airport safety, Michael O’Donnell, contacted Maguire less than a day after the incidents, “concerned with the action of the Boston Air Charter,” Maguire said. “This underscores the lapse of judgment.”
Airport officials were also worried about birds getting caught in plane engines, which could cause them to fail.
“Birds are pretty common,” Lyons said. “We deal with bird concentration all the time.”
The state Department of Transportation and the FAA are investigating the situation.
“You save lives, we do the same things,” Maguire said. “We’re preventing loss of life. That is what we were doing when we closed the airport.”
Should their license be suspended, or did they evaluate the situation and should be able to use their judgment?
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Boston Air Charter pilots ignored the recent closing of Norwood Airport due to flooding and took off last Wednesday to deliver human organs to Boston for transplant.
The Norwood Airport Commission voted, 4 to 1, Tuesday afternoon to look into the case further before making a disciplinary decision. Commission member Kevin Shaughnessy voted against the motion.
“I think they should have their license suspended immediately,” he said. “It seems really reckless and careless. Though the intention seems good, there are rules here and the reason we have them is for safety.”
Two Boston Air flights took off from Runway 35, one at 4:40 p.m. and the other at 5:06 p.m.
“Boston Air Charter refused to obey the closure of the airport,” Airport Manager Russ Maguire said.
Boston Air’s chief pilot Douglas Lyons and attorney Paul Baccari defended the pilots’ actions Tuesday.
“We saw we had sufficient length and needed to get the organs out,” Lyons said. “I thought the runway was safe. Four pilots said it was dry.”
Boston Air Charter routinely flies organ donor flights, Lyons said.
The airport had been closed to all airplanes starting on the evening of March 15 after the Neponset River surged over the runways and taxiways during a multi-day rainstorm.
It’s the airport manager’s decision whether to close or not, according to local and state regulations, Maguire said.
“Our job is to protect the neighbors,” Shaughnessy said. “I think this is pretty serious.”
At 5:30 a.m. on March 15 all of the airport’s businesses, including Boston Air Charter, received an email about flooding of the Neponset River. After watching the river closely, Maguire sent out a second email at 9:13 p.m. saying that the airport was closed to all planes.
On March 16, the airport remained open only to helicopters because the runways, taxiways, and lights were still underwater.
The following day, Maguire said, three Federal Aviation Administration inspected the structural integrity of the runways. The FAA officials advised closing Runway 35 because of the water and debris on the ground, Maguire said.
Lyons disputed this. The runway was clear of debris, he said.
“I presumed that (Boston Air President Al Bishop) tried to talk to Russ Maguire,” Lyons said.
At 3:30 p.m. on March 17, Maguire said, he received a call from the tower telling him the two pilots wanted to depart.
“The control tower never gave them clearance,” Maguire said.
Maguire said he was concerned for the neighborhoods the planes flew over, including Ellis Avenue, Ellis Garden Playground, Washington Street, Neponset Street, and the Oldham School.
“All of those neighborhoods that they flew over could have been in danger hypothetically,” Maguire said.
Maguire asked why Boston Air Charter had not moved its planes elsewhere because the rain had been predicted for the area about a week ago.
“Aircraft should have been out of here before [the airport] was closed,” Commission member Leslie Leblanc said. “It shouldn’t have happened.”
The federal director of airport safety, Michael O’Donnell, contacted Maguire less than a day after the incidents, “concerned with the action of the Boston Air Charter,” Maguire said. “This underscores the lapse of judgment.”
Airport officials were also worried about birds getting caught in plane engines, which could cause them to fail.
“Birds are pretty common,” Lyons said. “We deal with bird concentration all the time.”
The state Department of Transportation and the FAA are investigating the situation.
“You save lives, we do the same things,” Maguire said. “We’re preventing loss of life. That is what we were doing when we closed the airport.”
