Flight 93 Pilot's Widow Sends Open Letter To Congressman Bill Shuster | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-05.05.25

Airborne-NextGen-05.06.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.07.25

Airborne-Unlimited-05.01.25

AirborneUnlimited-05.02.25

Thu, Apr 24, 2014

Flight 93 Pilot's Widow Sends Open Letter To Congressman Bill Shuster

Seeks Immediate Vote On HR 1775, The Saracini Aviation Safety Act 2013

After numerous attempts to speak with Representative Bill Shuster (R-PA), Melodie Homer, whose husband LeRoy ... the First Officer of United Airlines Flight 93 ... was fatally injured when the flight was hijacked on September 11, 2001 and intentionally crashed in western PA, has released an open letter to the Congressman.

In the letter, Mrs. Homer asks Congressman Shuster, the chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, to release HR 1775, the Saracini Aviation Safety Act 2013 from the committee and allow it to be voted on immediately.

"HR 1775 was introduced in an effort to further prevent and deter any attempts at gaining access to the cockpit," Homer writes. "It calls for secondary barriers to be used during times in flight that the cockpit door needs to be opened for crew restroom breaks and meals.

"A secondary barrier is a lightweight gate that can be locked into place when the cockpit door needs to be opened. The current procedure in place on many domestic airlines to protect the cockpit is to have a flight attendant with a food cart block access. In a recent video simulation using this method, individuals were able to gain access to the cockpit in under 2 seconds. This is not acceptable.

"Since this bill was introduced last April 2013, 57 bipartisan co-sponsors have signed on. The Airline Pilots Association(ALPA), Allied Pilots Association, Coalition of Airline Pilots Association, Association of Flight Attendants, Federal Flight Deck Officers Association and the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association have all endorsed this bill.  Most recently at the "Securing the Skies: Aviation Security a Dozen Years after 9/11" conference, ALPA's president Lee Moak emphasized "the need to install secondary cockpit barriers on all airliners".

"In 2001, Flight #93 crashed in your district. You saw the devastation and suffering of our families first hand. This country vowed never again. Never again would we allow airplanes to be used as weapons of mass destruction. America 4 Airlines (A4A), a group which includes most major airlines, and is also one of your largest campaign contributors, maintain they advocate measures to support aviation safety. Each secondary barrier would cost approximately $3,500 per airliner and increase safety by up to 5%.

"I respectfully ask you to release HR 1775 in the House of Representatives for an immediate vote. Do you stand for passenger safety?"

(Flight 93 Memorial pictured in file photo)

FMI: www.leroywhomerjr.org

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (05.05.25): Circle To Runway (Runway Number)

Circle To Runway (Runway Number) Used by ATC to inform the pilot that he/she must circle to land because the runway in use is other than the runway aligned with the instrument appr>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (05.05.25)

Aero Linx: National Aviation Safety Foundation (NASF) The National Aviation Safety Foundation is a support group whose objective is to enhance aviation safety through educational p>[...]

NTSB Prelim: De Havilland DHC-1

At Altitude Of About 250-300 Ft Agl, The Airplane Experienced A Total Loss Of Engine Power On November 6, 2024, at 1600 central standard time, a De Havilland DHC-1, N420TD, was inv>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: The Boeing Dreamliner -- Historic First Flight Coverage

From 2009 (YouTube Edition): Three Hour Flight Was 'Flawless' -- At Least, Until Mother Nature Intervened For anyone who loves the aviation business, this was a VERY good day. Afte>[...]

Airborne-NextGen 05.06.25: AF Uncrewed Fighters, Drones v Planes, Joby Crew Test

Also: AMA Names Tyler Dobbs, More Falcon 9 Ops, Firefly Launch Unsuccessful, Autonomous F-16s The Air Force has begun ground testing a future uncrewed jet design in a milestone tow>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC