Free Republic

The transcript from United Air Lines Flight 93 cockpit voice recorder played for the the jury in Zacarias Moussaoui's case in their consideration of whether or not he should be sentenced to death following his September 11th terror conviction. http://files.findlaw.com/news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/flight93transcript.pdf Special Coverage: U.S. v. Zacarias Moussaoui http://news.findlaw.com/legalnews/us/terrorism/cases/index.html#moussaoui

C Lee Hanson was on the phone with his son - a passenger on United Flight 175 on September 11 - and heard him say "Oh my God!" just before watching his airplane crash into the World Trade Centre. Hanson's testimony on Monday at the sentencing trial of September 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui was one of several emotional stories told by survivors or family members of victims of the deadly hijackings. Hanson, 73, said he received two calls from his son Peter, who was travelling to California with his wife and two and a half-year-old daughter on September 11, 2001....

Is it a coincidence? Is it subliminal? Is it a conspiracy? You decide. Phonetic Alphabet Letter Pronunciation Letter Pronunciation Number Pronunciation A Alpha (AL fah) N November (no VEM ber) 0 ZEE row B Bravo (BRAH VOH) O Oscar (OSS cah) 1 WUN C Charlie (CHAR lee) P Papa (pah PAH) 2 TOO D Delta (DELL tah) Q Quebec (keh BECK) 3 TREE E Echo (ECK oh) R Romeo (ROW me oh) 4 FOW er F Foxtrot (FOKS trot) S Sierra (see AIR rah) 5 FIFE G Golf (GOLF) T Tango (TANG go) 6 SIX H Hotel (hoh TELL) U...

Had Driven Into Car Dealership Last Weekend Gerald Georgettis, 56, was obviously a troubled man... and his life came to an end Wednesday, on a United Airlines flight from Washington, DC to Los Angeles. Georgettis achieved notoriety last weekend after he drove his Ford Escape into the Miami-Dade, FL car dealership where he had just purchased the small SUV. He then poured gasoline on the vehicle, and lit a match. The resulting fire caused nearly $1 million in damages to the dealership and the cars parked in its showroom. Media outlets throughout the country picked up the story. Earlier...

DENVER (AP) - A Miami man apparently hanged himself in an airplane lavatory during a United Airlines flight from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, and the plane was diverted to Denver after his body was discovered, police said Thursday. The Denver medical examiner's office identified the man as Gerald Georgettis, 56, and said his body was found on Wednesday. Medical examiner's spokeswoman Michelle Weiss-Samaras said an autopsy was planned. Police detective Virginia Lopez said no other passengers were ever in danger. "Right now, everything leads us to believe the male involved did commit suicide," she said. United officials did not...

CHICAGO — UAL Corp, parent of United Airlines, (UAUA) ended three years in Chapter 11 protection Wednesday, wrapping up the most expensive airline bankruptcy in history. The No. 2 U.S. airline, which used its time in protection from creditors to slash costs by $7 billion a year, now must sink or swim in a fiercely competitive industry that is plagued by soaring fuel costs and overcapacity. "We have achieved a great deal in our restructuring to reposition this company and build upon our assets, an unrivaled global network and our dedicated employees," UAL's Chief Executive Glenn Tilton said in a...

At companies across the country, workers are watching their pensions dwindle. At UAL’s (UALAQ, news, msgs) United Airlines, workers stand to lose more than $3 billion in promised benefits as the airline passes its pension obligations on to the government. Unfunded pension obligations at Ford (F, news, msgs) have risen to a whopping $12.3 billion, and General Motors (GM, news, msgs) is looking at shortfalls of $7.5 billion. In the executive suites of these companies, however, there's no pain to be found. United Airlines chief executive Glenn Tilton collected $3.4 million in compensation in the year leading up to the...

CHICAGO, Jan. 20 (AP) - A federal judge gave final approval on Friday to the revamping plan of United Airlines, clearing the way for it leave bankruptcy in less than two weeks. Judge Eugene R. Wedoff of Federal Bankruptcy Court in Chicago ruled after remaining objections to United's plan were resolved this week. The approval keeps United on a path to emerge from Chapter 11 on Feb. 1, ending one of the largest and longest airline bankruptcies in history. *** UAL has cut $7 billion in annual costs, including two rounds of employee pay cuts; eliminated more than 25,000 jobs;...

My in-laws from Australia stayed with us over the holidays, and this afternoon my husband took them to the airport to catch a flight to San Francisco--they are flying on United, but when he called to check in with me, he said they were told at the airport that the computers for United were down *world-wide*! He thought that was very weird and asked me to post here to see if anyone else had heard anything. I did a Google news search but didn't find anything, and went to United's website, but it just told me their system was "unavailable".

Message From United Management: Let Them Eat Cake Now That Your Pension's Gone... United Airlines senior management just announced another part of its grand Chapter-11 exit plan. It seems that when the company emerges, 400 select members of United Airlines' executive and senior management team will be awarded 15% ownership of the carrier, worth a tidy $285 million - or more. From The Marie Antoinette School of Management... Nice compensation. Royalty does have its privileges and perks, you know. And, why not? Now that United's employee rank-and-file saved their airline via double-digit pay and benefit cuts, not to mention having...

Last night, a Southwest Airlines plane skidded off a runway at Chicago's Midway Airport, killing a six year-old boy who was a passenger in a car on Central Avenue. On a another snowy December 8 thirty-three years ago, a United Airlines plane crashed into some homes near Midway, killing 45 people. Among the passengers on the flight was West Side Chicago Congressman George Collins and Mrs. Dorothy Hunt, wife of Watergate scandal figure Howard Hunt. In Dorothy's luggage was over $10,000 in cash, widely believed to be "hush money" for her husband's "silence."

POSTED: 7:10 am EST November 26, 2005 UPDATED: 12:06 am EST November 28, 2005 CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- FBI investigators said Mark McGovern of Orlando was the unruly passenger who caused a United Airlines flight to be diverted to Charlotte. Authorities said he lit a cigarette, argued with a flight attendant, then urinated in the plane's aisle. McGovern was taken off flight 1502 in Charlotte over the weekend and questioned by police, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. The man was "acting extremely inappropriately," Urbanski said. "When you want to run a safe airline, we don't tolerate that type of activity on our...

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- An intoxicated passenger who lit a cigarette and urinated in the aisle led pilots to divert a United Airlines flight from Orlando to Washington, D.C., an airline spokeswoman said. The man, whose name the airline declined to release, was taken off flight 1502 in Charlotte and questioned by police, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. The man was "acting extremely inappropriately," Urbanski said. "When you want to run a safe airline, we don't tolerate that type of activity on our aircraft." A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police watch commander referred questions about an in-flight incident to the FBI in Charlotte, which did...

Man Smokes, Urinates In Aisle; United Diverts Flight,POSTED: 11:24 am EST November 26, 2005 UPDATED: 11:35 am EST November 26, 2005 CHARLOTTE, N.C -- Pilots diverted a United Airlines flight traveling from Orlando, Fla., to Washington, D.C., after a passenger lit a cigarette and urinated in the aisle. The plane landed Friday night in Charlotte, N.C., where the man was taken into custody by federal authorities. A United Airlines spokeswoman said flight attendants noticed the man appeared drunk not long after the plane left Orlando. She said the man later lit a cigarette and began to argue with a flight...

San Bruno -- It was an odd sight at San Francisco International Airport this morning: A 747 sitting on its tail with its nose in the air. The pilot of the previously Tokyo-bound United Airlines jet had returned to SFO Monday afternoon because of a hydraulic problem. Some of the hydraulic gear collapsed and the plane went nose-up at about 1 a.m. while maintenance crews were working on repairs, said SFO spokesman Mike McCarron. The hydraulic system is responsible for braking and lifting and lowering the landing gear. The pilot noticed a problem with the hydraulic system Monday about two...

Woman Arrested for Trying to Open Door on Flight The Associated Press Published: Aug 4, 2005 SEATTLE (AP) - A woman was arrested Wednesday for attempting to open an airplane exit door while the plane was still in the air, police said. The 52-year-old woman from Dania Beach, Fla., left her seat and tried to open the door as the United Airlines flight was descending into Seattle to land, police said. The plane was at an altitude of about 4,000 feet at the time. She failed but "did manage to turn the handle far enough that a warning light went...

<p>ORGANIZERS of the Faux Faulkner competition in Mississippi claim the winning entry was censored by sponsor United Airlines because it ridicules President Bush. The piece, by New York-based Sam Apple, likens the prez to the idiot in Faulkner's great 1929 novel, "The Sound and the Fury." United has been publishing the winner every year in its in- flight magazine, Hemispheres. This year, however, Apple's parody was only posted on the mag's Web site. Hemispheres editor Randy Johnson denies censorship and insists the decision was made to draw attention to the Web site and for no other reason.</p>

Spoof of Bush Wins Faux Faulkner Contest By EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 15 minutes ago A scathing parody that likens President Bush to the "idiot" in William Faulkner's novel "The Sound and the Fury" has won this year's Faulkner write-alike contest — and touched off a literary spat. Organizers of the Faux Faulkner competition are accusing Hemispheres, the United Airlines magazine that has sponsored the contest for six years, of playing politics by not putting Sam Apple's "The Administration and the Fury" in its print edition — only on its Web site. "One of the things they...

A Pension Protest of a Unique NatureSome United Airlines flight attendants are baring more than their souls to protest being stripped of their pensions. Five women, ranging in age from 55 to 64, are posing for a 2006 calendar. Retired flight attendant Connie Baker is the project's creator and one of the volunteer models. She hopes the calendar will raise some money for charity and some awareness about United's pension situation.

CHICAGO (AP) _ Some United Airlines flight attendants are baring more than their souls to protest being stripped of their pensions. Five women, ranging in age from 55 to 64, are posing for a 2006 calender. Retired flight attendant Connie Baker is the project's creator and one of the volunteer models. She hopes the calendar will raise some money for charity and some awareness about United's pension situation. Baker says her pension will be cut in half thanks to a decision by a bankruptcy court that will allow the airline to terminate retirement benefits. While Baker and the others show...

CHICAGO - While some United Airlines employees are using placards and pamphlets to protest the loss of their pensions, a group of flight attendants is taking a more risque tack — showing some skin to publicize their plight. The five women, ranging in age from 55 to 64, posed for a 2006 calendar that depicts them in various states of undress in front of a vintage plane, on a park bench and on a plane's wing, among other locations. Reflecting a mix of humor and anger, it was released to coincide with a bankruptcy court's approval this week of United's...

Democrat wants Congress to block pension defaults By Susan Cornwell Fri May 13, 5:15 PM ET United Airlines Flight Attendants supporters protest outside the Dirksen Federal courthouse in Chicago prior to the bankruptcy hearing of United Airlines, May 11, 2005. On May 13, 2005 a Democratic lawmaker said congress should impose a six-month moratorium keeping bankrupt companies such as United Airlines from dumping their workers' pension plans onto a federal agency. A bankruptcy judge this week approved a deal between United Airlines, a UAL Corp unit, and the federal pension insurer allowing the carrier to terminate its pension plans, in...

CHICAGO -- While some United Airlines employees are using placards and pamphlets to protest the loss of their pensions, a group of flight attendants is taking a more risque tack — showing some skin to publicize their plight. The five women, ranging in age from 55 to 64, posed for a 2006 calendar that depicts them in various states of undress in front of a vintage plane, on a park bench and on a plane's wing, among other locations. Reflecting a mix of humor and anger, it was released to coincide with a bankruptcy court's approval this week of United's...

If you want a sneak peak into what the future holds for Social Security if major reform (which includes personal accounts) is not made, look no further than Federal Bankruptcy Court. Specifically, you need to pay attention to a Judge's recent decision to allow United Airlines (UAL) to dump its vastly under funded pension liabilities to its union employees onto the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which is funded by the federal government (that's you and me folks). As a result the transfer of these vastly under funded pensions of United's employees and retirees their monthly benefits will slashed by...

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eugene Wedoff has given his approval to the abrogation of four pension plans at United Airlines, a decision that could trigger strikes at the No. 2 carrier serving Sacramento International Airport. It is the biggest pension default in U.S. corporate history, $9.8 billion, almost triple the previous record holder, the $3.7 billion default of Bethlehem Steel Corp. It means a reduction of benefits for thousands of United employees and retirees. Wedoff ruled Tuesday in a bankruptcy hearing in Chicago that it is legal for UAL Corp. (OTCBB: UALAQ) to proceed with a benefit-slashing agreement it struck with...

United Airlines, which is operating in bankruptcy protection, received court permission yesterday to terminate its four employee pension plans, setting off the largest pension default in the three decades that the government has guaranteed pensions. The ruling by Judge Eugene R. Wedoff of Federal Bankruptcy Court came after a lengthy hearing in a crowded Chicago courtroom, near where United is based. Despite pleas by union lawyers, Judge Wedoff sided with United, which had insisted that it could not emerge from bankruptcy protection with its pension plans in place. The ruling releases United, a unit of the UAL Corporation, from $3.2...

CHICAGO (AP) -- A federal bankruptcy judge approved United Airlines' plan to terminate its employees' pension plans on Tuesday, clearing the way for the largest corporate-pension default in American history. The ruling, which carries broad implications for U.S. airlines and their workers, shifts responsibility for United's four defined-benefit plans to the government's pension agency. That will save cash-strapped United an estimated $645 million a year, part of the $2 billion in annual savings it says it needs to line up enough financing to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as this fall. But the cost will be painful to...

<p>How can a US Bankruptcy judge grant United Airlines permission to break a contract with it's employees, regarding their pension.</p> <p>So many individuals have put their lifes work into this airline, just to have the Chief Financial Officer Jake Brace rip the rug right out from under them. These pensions are what employee's worked for; now UAL has gotten permission from a federal bankruptcy judge to terminate it's employees' pension plans.</p>

CHICAGO (May 10) - With scores of its concerned employees and retirees looking on, United Airlines told a judge Tuesday it has no choice but to shed billions of dollars of pension obligations in order to emerge successfully from bankruptcy. At a packed hearing with broad implications for U.S. airlines and their workers, United asked a federal bankruptcy judge to approve an agreement shifting responsibility for its defined-benefit plans to the government's pension agency. The funds are underfunded by an estimated $9.8 billion. Unless rejected by Judge Eugene Wedoff, it will be the largest corporate-pension default in U.S. history, topping...

Beyond survival Life's trials continued for pilot after 1989 crash By Ann Carnahan, Rocky Mountain News May 7, 2005 Al Haynes is alone now, except for a daughter, a son and the United Airlines passengers who credit him with saving their lives. The veteran pilot was at the helm July 19, 1989, when he and his crew crash-landed a crippled airliner in an Iowa cornfield. More than half of the passengers survived. Rodolfo Gonzalez © News Capt. Al Haynes, who piloted the United Airlines flight that crashed in Sioux City, Iowa, on July 19, 1989, speaks at the United Airlines...

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 5, 2005--Meeting in Chicago this week, union leaders representing mechanics at eight U.S. airlines unanimously pledged the full resources of their organization to support their colleagues at United Airlines, "up to and including the right to strike." Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) national officers and leaders for AMFA local unions serving Alaska Airlines, ATA, Horizon Airlines, Independence Airlines, Mesaba Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines vowed to stand together "in the event that the United Airlines contract is permanently changed without the approval of the AMFA membership." The AMFA leaders met this week in Chicago to...

Breaking on Fox: United flight from NY to SF makes emergency landing in Chicago. Passenger told flight attendants his seatmate had some "suspicious" items: vials of liquid, wires, and a portable DVD player.

CHICAGO (AP) - Dozens of United Airlines flights were delayed Monday morning when the carrier's reservations computer failed, the airline said. The computer breakdown affected more than 50 domestic flights, mostly those flying into or out of Chicago and Denver, United spokesman Jeff Green said. Delays stretched to as long as 70 minutes, he said. The computer shut down for 45 minutes, United said. The airline attributed the breakdown to a server connection problem. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport and Denver International Airport are two of five main hubs for UAL Corp.'s United, which has its headquarters adjacent to O'Hare in...

It the slowest time of the year for the nation's struggling airlines, one big customer, the Pentagon, wants to give them more business. According to a government memorandum circulated this week, the Pentagon has increased its spending by 15 percent so far this year on flights by passenger airlines, with the heaviest traffic expected in February and March. The memo also said that the two dozen airlines, charter companies and cargo carriers that participate in a program, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, may also be given the opportunity to fly goods and troops to countries in South Asia that were...

CHICAGO -- A United Airlines plane from California to Chicago landed at O'Hare with six people injured aboard. Three people were taken to the hospital in serious condition, NBC5 reported, while one was taken in fair condition. Two others were treated at the scene. The flight originated in Orange County, Calif.

As part of its bid to emerge profitably from bankruptcy, United Airlines announced plans Wednesday to slash its domestic flight schedule, increase its more profitable international schedule and reduce the size of its fleet over the next six months. United's parent, UAL Corp., said that by March, it would increase the number of international flights by 14 percent and reduce domestic flights by 12 percent, shifting some to United Express. The changes would result in a 3 percent overall decrease in available passenger seat miles. "Fundamental changes in our industry, including ongoing high fuel costs, intense pricing pressure and continuing...

Watch List Passenger ID'd as Cat Stevens Tuesday, September 21, 2004 BANGOR, Maine — A passenger who was matched to a federal watch list, forcing a jetliner to be diverted, has been identified as singer-cum-Muslim convert Cat Stevens (search), according to federal officials. The plane bound for Washington, D.C., from London landed in Bangor Tuesday, authorities said. United Airlines (search) flight 919 had already taken off from London en route to Dulles International Airport when the match was made, according to Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration.

Developing...

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — A white powder spilled from a bag being unloaded at the Fort Wayne Airport (search) Wednesday morning, making at least one airport worker ill and forcing the closure of the airport. The bag was being unloaded from an American Eagle (search) flight from Chicago, airport spokeswoman Sandra Lux said. She said the bag belongs to a doctor from Beirut, Lebanon, who was not on the flight. One worker became ill after coming in contact with the powder and two others complained of severe itching. The airport terminal was shut down and all fights were delayed after...

FT. Wayne Airport is closed after luggage containing white powder comes in contact with airport airport worker who immediately ill. Bag was on American Eagle flight originated from Chicago and supposed to be in the custody of a Lebonese doctor who was not on the flight. Apologies if this is a duplicate thread

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) - A Chicago-bound flight from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport was evacuated Saturday after suspicious behavior by a passenger, officials said Sunday. Passengers were boarding United Airlines Flight 627 before 6 p.m. when a Middle Eastern man abruptly got off the plane, airport and Transportation Security Administration officials said. The Airbus A320 and the airport concourse were evacuated and all passengers were rescreened, said Amy Von Walter, a TSA spokeswoman. The passenger was found, but couldn't be questioned immediately because he didn't speak English, Von Walter said. He was turned over to the FBI, who questioned and...

SYDNEY, Australia — A United Airlines flight from Australia (search) to Los Angeles (search) returned to Sydney International Airport on Tuesday after staff found a note carrying a bomb threat, Australia's transport minister said.

"Let me tell you a secret," said former Vice President Al Gore recently, President Bush is a "moral coward." Moral coward? Why the latest attack? Well, Gore accused the president of an unwillingness "to stand up and say 'no.' ... He will not choose the public interest over the private interests of a wealthy and powerful contributor." In other words, you pay, we dance. Well, then, does the administration deserve credit for saying "no" to the bailout request from United Airlines? After all, during the last couple of election cycles, airlines gave over 60 percent of their political contributions to...

"Let me tell you a secret," said Vice President Al Gore recently, the president is a "moral coward." Wow.Why the latest attack? Well, the former VP accused the president of unwillingness "to stand up and say 'no.' . . . He will not choose the public interest over the private interests of a wealthy and powerful contributor." In other words, you pay, we dance. Well, then, does the administration deserve credit for saying "no" to the bailout request from United Airlines?After all, during the last couple of election cycles, airlines gave over 60 percent of their political contributions to Republicans....

WASHINGTON — United Airlines (UAL) on Monday lost a bid to secure a federal loan guarantee, a fresh setback to the carrier's efforts to emerge from bankruptcy. The Air Transportation Stabilization Board (search) said that after studying the airline's latest application, submitted last week, it would not change the panel's June 17 decision to reject United's request for a $1.6 billion federal loan guarantee. "All members of the board join in the decision to deny United's request for reconsideration, and the board's June 17 decision stands," the board said in a letter Monday to United Airlines' chief financial officer, Jake...

Greta reporting that a flight from LAX to DC is under suspicion. Havent seen a followup. Plane is in the air as of 9:55pm, CST.

<p>Federal officials have pinpointed an airline flight from Los Angeles to Washington as a potential terrorist target in the past two weeks and have begun scrutinizing the flight crew's luggage and using security agents to follow pilots preparing for the flight.</p>

Today, Ed Ballinger will speak to a roomful of strangers about the one subject he doesn't care to discuss: The first two hours of his shift as a flight dispatcher for United Airlines on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. The Arlington Heights resident and former United Airlines employee will meet with a sub-committee of the 9/11 commission in Washington, D.C., so panel members can decide whether his testimony warrants his appearance before the full commission. Ballinger is there because he was in charge of United flights 175 and 93 when they crashed into the World Trade Center and a...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge ordered United Airlines to pay $36.5 million to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit brought by 13 former flight attendants over the airline's weight policy. The original settlement in the case was suspended in 2002 when United filed for bankruptcy. A judge reinstated the settlement Wednesday. In 2000, an appeals court had found that the weight policy for flight attendants, in place from 1980 to 1994, discriminated against women. The airline imposed weight limits on flight attendants of both genders but set stricter standards for women, who were required to weigh between 14 and 27 pounds...

(1010 WINS) (NEWARK) A family was removed Friday from a United Airlines jet because of a suspicious package, and a man was questioned by police at Newark Liberty International Airport, authorities said. Flight 645 to Chicago was delayed over 90 minutes before being allowed to depart without the family, said Daniel Maynard, a spokesman for the airport's operator, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. "A passenger was removed for security reasons, as was his baggage. A decision was made to check other baggage on the plane. Everything was cleared," Maynard said. The man is being questioned by...