This is a mass email only sent out to all First Officers on Jan.18, 2013, notifying them the FAA is going to call many of them about their knowledge of "The Draper One Appoach". From what I'm told the FAA cannot contact First Officers directly. The FAA contacts Piedmont, Piedmont contacts the First Officers with the FAA inspector's number.
Also the SBY Rep. who sent out this email was renting a room in Drapers house, (the Pilot in question) and represented Draper in all his meetings with Piedmont.
Do you smell what I smell?
From: "Garbat, Tim, PDT029 Chairman" <Tim.Garbat@alpa.org>
Date: January 18, 2013 1:50:07 PM EST
To: "Garbat, Tim, PDT029 Chairman" <Tim.Garbat@alpa.org>
Cc: "Freedman, Bruce, PDTMEC Chairman" <Bruce.Freedman@alpa.org>, "Small, Jeffrey, Representation" <Jeffrey.Small@alpa.org>, "Schaefer, Charles, PDT029 Vice Chairman" <Charles.Schaefer@alpa.org>
Subject: FAA Contacts
The Association has learned that the FAA may try to interview some First Officers based in SBY.
If the FAA attempts to contact you we recommend that you immediately call your representative: Tim Garbat at 562-773-1535 or Charles Schaefer at (410) 591-1114
We want to remind each of you that you have the right to have representation if you decide to talk to the Inspector.
Thank you,
Captain Tim Garbat
Cover up also by wboc/wmdt.
ReplyDeleteDraper name attached to WBOC OWNER???
ReplyDeleteOk Piedmont, feel free to jump in on all of this....waiting......still waiting....thanks Joe for your reporting...great job!
ReplyDeleteDOCTOR Schaefer????
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see the trolls (JT's minions) come in and say this is a non story now. If you don't feel this is news, jump off a bridge.
ReplyDeleteYeah, 7:41, all 3 of 'em.
ReplyDeleteIt appears that this story is a lot bigger than first reported. Joe - you have done a great investigative job. I am sure there is a lot more to come of this.
ReplyDeleteNow - if SBYNEWS could have a contact within the FAA there might be a lot more to come.
If JT didn't have the Susie Stiltner case to report or Andy's he would be out of business. And he wants people to donate money to his site. PS: I think Andy's must be giving him free meals in exchange for their ads. Sick of seeing all that and his begging for money.
ReplyDeleteThis may be the final nail in the coffin for Piedmont / US Airways here at SBY.
ReplyDeleteSounds to me like Mr. Draper had a lot of Pilots at Piedmont trying to keep the FAA off his track. The translation of all this is, do not return any calls from the Feds. This is just the Pilots Union trying to protect one of their own.
ReplyDeleteGreat find, Joe.
It would seem that the first officers would have wanted to talk and tell the FAA what they knew. Some of them probably did and that is why the FAA did an investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe real question is still, why didn't the DT WBOC, WMDT cover this story? Certainly they knew what was going on, if they didn't they are even more incompetent than I thought they were.
Another example of unions protecting employees that are obviously in the wrong.
ReplyDeleteHow long before the msm picks up on this story? And I don't mean wboc.
ReplyDeleteJoe, this story has been one of your best!
ReplyDeleteI think folks need to understand about the FAA. They are about NOTHING but SAFETY. They are not a pilot or airlines friend. When the FAA comes knocking, you better have all your ducks in a row.
They can shut down your whole fleet in the blink of a eye. Piedmont's planes records better be in order. Something here wasn't making sense to them, plain and simple. No one was "working together". Except to try to keep First Officers from talking to the FAA.
8:21 I just repeated those very words to my wife. So very true. The Union may have prevented this cockpit crew from being fired on the spot.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree that this is news that should be reported, I can't help thinking that the general tone of these and earlier comments is that some folks are hoping that this causes serious trouble for Piedmont and even that it would cause them to cease operations. I hope that this is not true. It would indeed be a sad thing to lose regular air service to Salisbury. There are many folks who live on the shore who use this commuter service regularly for their jobs. Without it, there would be an even further exodus of people (including myself) from the shore. We should ensure that piedmont and USAirways (American) meet all safety standards but at the same time be supportive of the service they provide to the lower shore.
ReplyDeleteYou exchange safety for profits, you will up with neither.
ReplyDelete901 I agree with what you say but especially the part of your comment on ensuring that Piedmont meets safety standards. I can only hope that a company spokesperson steps up to address many of the concerns raised.
ReplyDeleteJoe, why do you have to attack everyone in the communities? I hope you get struck dead by a fully loaded Perdues chickentruck.
ReplyDelete9:01: You may be right. The tone that I picked up on,and agree with, from the posts is outrage from a cover-up that puts all the public at risk,not just those flying. #2 Breach of safety protocols and standards that were broken. #3 The checks and balance system that failed to pick-up #1 and 2
ReplyDeletetc flippo
I think it is time to clean house Piedmont! Looks like you have a few cobwebs.
ReplyDeleteAll this proves is pilots are like police... the thin blue line and all that. They will close ranks to protect one another or they will be coerced to do so...
ReplyDeleteYes and that is why you need different agencies to intervene to keep everything in balance.
ReplyDeleteConcerning comment by John Robinson......... Anyone who does business with the likes of a person that would leave a comment like this is a fool. I don't know this person and have never done business with him and I can assure you I never will. Just think really hard about what he said.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that about ALL police, there are still quite a few Serpico's out there.
ReplyDeleteEvery professional association and union recommends that it's member have representation when talking to manage,meant or regulatory groups. It is a federally protected right known as the Weingarten Right. There is nothing illegal or improper about reminding people that they have the right to representation. In fact, the police are required to advise people of their Miranda rights when being arrested.
ReplyDeleteJOHN ROBINSON IS A Fn Fool THE STATE POLICE NEED TO BRING HIM IN AND RE EVALUATE HIM CARRYING A GUN ??? The guy does NOTHING BUT SPEW DEATH THREATS AND DOES NOT NEED TO BE CARRYING A GUN...
ReplyDeleteI am a friend of John Robinson and it is JT that is putting him up too it.
ReplyDeleteNobody wants any airline to go out of buissness especially joe we want to know y the lame local media does not cover bad local stories and only reports bs marshmallow stories .
ReplyDeleteYou know that song on Frozen? Let it go
ReplyDelete9:30 AM - You are a complete idiot! Why wouldn't this be reported? Do you ever fly from Salisbury? It could be one of your family members in one of those planes at some time or another when the pilots are "playing games" - would that be alright with you? Or maybe it could be you, would you wife be alright with that? Maybe so, I don't know.
ReplyDeleteHopefully a plane flys over ROBinsons store and Dumps a pile of shit on him.
ReplyDelete10:05 AM - I wouldn't admit it, even if I was a friend of his, who needs a friend like that?
ReplyDeleteRobinson must not be very intelligent or he would have more sense than to leave a comment like he did.
ReplyDeleteThis has turned into adults behaving badly snd appears to be attempt to "steer" this story off course, pardon the pun.
ReplyDelete10:02 Noted and reported. Thanks!
ReplyDeleterobinson you know that genius guy that bought himself a newspaper business that lasted all of one month i had a paper route at age 13 that made more money
ReplyDelete1141 thank you.
ReplyDeletelmao seriously? would you talk to any government official about anything without some type of representation? If so then you are a complete and udder fool! Hi I'm from the government and I'm here to help you! good luck with that! oh that's right they aren't coming for you, at least not yet!
ReplyDeleteHow about a memo that says something more like "we urge you to cooperate and remind you that you have the right to representation. If you are contacted by the FAA and would like legal representation please contact.....
ReplyDeleteIt seems that they are trying to cover something up. What hasn't an airport spokesperson stepped forward to tell the public what official steps are being taken to protect the safety of passengers and those on the ground? I depend heavily on our regional airport for work travel and am very disappointed about how they appear to be handling a serious matter.
I guess MSM still thinks this is a non story!
ReplyDeleteI'M beginning to wonder if the local news outlets even know what news is. If they are reading this site I will suggest to them that news is more than weather, reprinted court documents, and old news that Fox ran 2 days ago.
Its all hush... hush
ReplyDelete10:02 and 11:41. In the state of maryland you can make any threat against an individual you want. If you tell someone your going to kill them it is perfectly legal in this state. 11:41, you did not report anything because there is nothing to report. I think it is completely and people should be held accountable but thats not the way it is in Maryland. Don't believe me? Just google it
ReplyDeleteIf it didn't happen in Delaware WBOC & WMDT will not report it - they have all kinds of stuff happening in Delaware we hear about all the time, but right here in our own front yard they will not report on. Sickening, of no use whatsoever to Salisbury. I really don't know why they even have stations here.
ReplyDeleteMy concern with this situation, besides the cockpit crew suffering from stupidity, is that Piedmont's Mgnt. obviously feel they owe no one a statement. Keep it buried and it will go away like your profits and customers.
ReplyDeleteHopefully when the merger is done and American Airlines sees this, they pull out of Slimsbury and clean house buy not taking any of the crews, or employees from this slimball city!
ReplyDeleteI have quite a few friends who have worked at Piedmont over the years.
ReplyDeleteThe older pilots are very embarrassed and humiliated over this Draper guy. The younger pilots are the ones whose attitudes are that it's not a problem, they all do it and nobody was hurt. BUT, someone was hurt. That someone was Piedmont Airlines.
ReplyDeleteCommenter at 9:52 a.m. is accurate. The Airline Pilots Association (ALPA) is the union which represents Piedmont pilots. They would have been negligent if they had not notified the First Officers, or Captains for that matter, if there was a chance the FAA wanted to talk with them about their personal experiences flying with Draper. FAA would also have been interested in second hand information that might lead to a first-hand source.
Airline pilots are pretty good at flying airplanes, but have very little experience in FAA investigations, especially ones that could result in action against their licenses (they have several). Pilots must have certain FAA licenses to stay employed; if they lapse, are suspended or are revoked they are out of work (no pay) and probably out of a job.
The ALPA pilot email shown is not an action by the airline; it was from the union to its members reminding them that if they were contacted, and if they were asked to meet with an FAA inspector, they had the right to union representation. Nothing sinister about it.
Over the years this blog has highlighted numerous examples of various public employees and agencies overreaching and attempting to inappropriately take action against citizens, or to entrap them, or to suppress their lawful actions. The ALPA email just sought to alert its members that they were entitled to representation so that any interview was properly conducted and that their rights were protected while they participated.
The fact that Draper’s licenses were suspended and then revoked, and that his First Officer’s were suspended, shows that FAA developed sufficient information, in a lawful manner, to justify the actions.
We should decry Draper’s outrageous and indefensible actions but should be grateful that a legal procedure was followed. It’s called Due Process and we all benefit when it’s followed.
Not a pilot, and not carrying water for ALPA or pilots; just understand the process.
Crazy to hear all these comments about how the airline is doomed and is an unsafe operation now. How some of you will never fly Piedmont again because it is unsafe. Well, here is some news I know some of you are hypocrites. Ya'll recall a flight that left Fargo in 1990 and after landing the FAA found out all 3 of the pilots were extremely drunk? Passengers never knew, nor did the FA's. Few years passed and the captain was hired back at Northwest as a Captain. Commanded your family and friends until he retired. And the flight engineer went back to training reacquired all his revoked licenses' , and is a currently a 767 FO for American Airlines. So tell me what is worse? Flying drunk or flying low? Both events should have never happened but they did. But to say you will NEVER fly on Piedmont again is just silly. Because I am sure most have you have flown on American and Delta/NW who hired pilots that flew a loaded 727 intoxicated and got caught doing it...
ReplyDeleteI been reading all these posts over the last few days and I'd like to add one.
ReplyDeleteI was employed at Piedmont last year when all this happened. Thankful I was able to get my airline job and moved my family out of Salisbury. I received that email like everyone else and I never was contacted by the FAA. We were at one of his parties one night when we all watched from his deck the last flight of the night come over. That Dash was so low and those lights lit up the whole neighborhood. Everyone cheered and soon the pilot arrived for his hero's welcome. Guess what? Ed wasn't the Pilot. One of his friend's was. A Pilot who occasionally stayed there because he lived over the bridge.
As I recall recently, a Southwest Airline pilot flew into the wrong airport, which could have been an accident waiting to happen. However, it seems as though Southwest Airlines has more people than ever flying on them and that was not their first incident (think one pilot was flying while intoxicated another time) So get a grip people and rethink your reason why you won't fly out of Salisbury anymore but will get on a plane from Baltimore etc. (Southwest to name one) that the pilots 840AM mentioned on other airlines that may have been intoxicated or worse yet land at a wrong airport.
ReplyDeleteI told my wife this Pilot wasn't the lone wolf in this story. It sounds like this guy's house was party central and was perfectly located. I think quite a few of those guys did this thing and Mr. Draper was the only one who paid the price with his livihood. Hard and painful lesson to learn. I'm sure he has moved on from this town and this unforgettable story.
ReplyDeleteI think what most people are angry about is Piedmont not stepping up to the plate and making people aware of what happened. You were made aware of these other instances because they were in the paper or on the news. And these other airlines made statements to the public. Were you made aware of those intoxicated pilots or planes landing at wrong airports a year AFTER it happened? NOPE, you weren't! Do you get it?
ReplyDelete11:20, your comment is the most educated I've seen concerning this matter. Thank you
ReplyDeleteMy disappointment in this story is with Piedmont. Yes, no question the FAA did a detailed investigation and dealt a harsh sentence to these pilots.But, Piedmont Airlines was perfectly happy to spank this guy with a pathetic 30 day suspension and welcome him with open arms back into the cockpit to continue his antics. Who in the hell made that ridiculous decision? These are the people who run that airline? Would you have given him off 60 days if the plane had crashed? Thank God the FAA did the investigation. I'm convinced, like a lot of people, that Piedmont's management team all attended Clown College.
ReplyDelete1029 go figure you would say that since you probably wrote it or one of your Piedmont buddies. I am sure you are familar with the saying IF IT QUACKS LIKE A DUCK...IT PROBABLY IS A DUCK
ReplyDelete11:09 He didn't fly again after that.... that suspension led up to the time of the FAA decision. The amount of half truths and idiocy of all this is astonishing. these kind of things happen ALL THE TIME in a variety of careers. What do you want piedmont to say? or the union? the union supported their member as they would do. the Airline followed all necessary steps. Mr. Draper has i'm sure learned a very hard lesson. It must be nice to be as goddamn perfect as some people on here think they are. i wana know how many who are flipping about this have driven after drinking, or have pulled idiotic crap in vehicles etc. why not swing that judgemental hammer in your own goddamn direction. People screw up with accidents and negligence. we've ALL done it. we have all risked others lives. What this pilot did was wrong and i'm damn sure by now he has realized it and has tried to return to a normal life.. Why not just move on?
ReplyDelete6:45...."we've ALL done it, we have all risked others lives"...sounds like your Friday night has been filled with way TOO much alcohol...try to sleep it off, buddy.
ReplyDeleteAnd please don't think about driving, idiot..try to move on.
6:45. WOW!! Another Piedmont drunk on a Friday Night!!! Hope you aren't flying in the morning.
ReplyDeleteTo 6:45. Half truths???? Imao... another Piedmont loser.... crawl back under the rock you live in..must be a party at Mr. Drapers house tonite. Bottoms up, boys!!
ReplyDelete6:45. Maybe you should try to read that post again because you seem a tad bit confused. They didn't have a problem with the FAA or the Union. Alcoholism is really bad on the Eastern shore and you just proved it with your ridiculous post.
ReplyDeleteIt sure sounds like 6:45 has led a very troubled life. FYI..quite a few of us have managed to not "risked others lives".
ReplyDeleteSounds like you haven't made out so well. Try not to drink and post.
I think between the two stories you have posted Joe , and the number of comments that have been posted with obvious concerns, and NO answers from Piedmont......THEY HAVE SKELETONS IN THEIR CLOSET.
ReplyDeletePiedmont won't come forward! What are they going to say? Mr. Draper is just one of many of their pilots, who over the years have put passengers lives in danger. All you need to do is talk to any former pilot or mechanic. Planes have been in the hangars for months at a time,
ReplyDeletethousands of dollars spent on damage caused by pilot error. Piedmont has a graveyard, NOT just skeletons.