Posted on 09/28/2005 4:33:29 AM PDT by Moose4
VIENNA Ever since the Mangans gave up their comfortable house in Kansas City, Kan., and moved here a year ago, the family has been living in a kind of suspended animation.
It almost looks as if they just moved into their two-bedroom apartment near Austria's old Imperial Palace: Some boxes shipped from the U.S. have never been opened and the bedroom windows are still covered with sheets because the family ran short of money before they could buy curtains.
The three young Mangan children have stopped asking about their plight, although 9-year-old Timothy gets angry every once in a while. "I wish I can yell at them," he blurted out recently about his father's former employer.
Joseph Mangan, 41, is a whistle-blower. As a result he and his family find themselves in a foreign country with unfamiliar laws, fighting a legal battle that has left them almost penniless.
A year ago, Mangan told European aviation authorities that he believed there were problems with a computer chip on the Airbus A380, the biggest and costliest commercial airliner ever built. The A380 is a double-decked engineering marvel that will carry as many as 800 passengers double the capacity of Boeing Co.'s 747. It is expected to enter airline service next year.
Mangan alleges that flaws in a microprocessor could cause the valves that maintain cabin pressure on the A380 to accidentally open during flight, allowing air to leak out so rapidly that everyone aboard could lose consciousness within seconds.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
}:-)4
Ping to your lists, and wanted to get your opinions on this.
}:-)4
Maybe it's not the "chip"? Could be it's "management"!
Get them outta Austria, on the double. They said he got out on a train to Germany to talk to the press... what is Austria doing, holding the rest of his family hostage?
False.The 747 is capable of carrying as many as 524 passengers.
. Those must be impressive relief valves to allow such rapid decompression of such a large space. Although I suppose it depends on what "seconds" means. I was flying in an S-3 once and the door seal blew out in the mid 20's. Very loud, and a bit uncomfortable, but not too bad. I'm glad we weren't higher. Of course the Hoove can't go much higher.
<< The 747 is capable of carrying as many as 524 passengers >>
Perhaps, but hope I never have to ride in a 747 with that configuration. Talk about tight space!
Mangan said he was looking for a new job. He has contacted dozens of aerospace firms in the U.S. and Europe, but none have returned his calls. "Nobody wants to touch me," he said.
D'oh!
Being a Republican without the resources of a George Soros,I always fly coach.However,I'm inclined to agree. But it's not likely to be much better in an A380 carrying 800 passengers.
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