Eastern Airlines

On July 4,1983, then-President Ronald Reagan declared that the US space shuttles were no longer experimental vehicles, but were well-tested aircraft, ready for routine, increasingly frequent, ultimately profit-making trips. After the Challenger disaster, former US astronaut Col. Frank Borman, commander of Apollo 8 and later CEO of Eastern Airlines, offered the following view ... 

The TRB report (pg. 184) notes that Eastern was financially weak and suffering from contentious labor-management disputes, both of which had predated deregulation. Smaller fines ( 1.5 to 2 million) were also levied against American Airlines and Pan American (Wallich, 1986a, pg. 70) Pan Am, like Eastern Airlines, had been financially troubled (Oster et al., 1992, pg. 122). 

Eastern Airlines as being virtually unheard of in the airline industry prior to deregulation, and noted that the aetions of some airlines in cutting back safety standards to FAA minimums were also a product of deregulation. 

May 5,1973, Miami, FL. All three engines in an Eastern Airlines L-1011 jumbo jet failed because 0-ring seals were missing. The failure nearly caused the pilot to ditch the plane and its 172 passengers in the Atlantic Ocean. During the investigation of this incident, mechanics for the airline testified that it was too dark in the service area to see if the very small seals were in place. ... 

Bob married Margaret McMahon in 1931 and after her death, he married Barbara Lee Jarvis in 1972. He is the father of two sons. Stuart is a captain with Eastern Airlines and Blaine is a Professor of English at Lamar State University. 

The maintenance violations at Eastern would appear to indicate that deregulation may have contributed to reduced safety at this airline because of Eastern s attempts to cut comers on maintenance... Although no accidents were attributable to Eastern s maintenance violations, evidence that maintenance managers under pressure to dispatch aircraft were falsifying records and impeding the FAA investigation is disquieting. 

The Development of a New Tool to Assist Practitioners Jemma M. Harris and Mark W. Wiggins, University of Western Sydney, Scott Taylor, Eastern Australia Airlines Matthew JW Thomas, University of South Australia... 

The use of SAMs and anti-tank rockets by lororists goes back to 1973. On 5 September 1973 Italian police arrested five Middle-Eastern terrorists armed with SA-7s. The terrorists had rented an apartment under the flight path to Rmne Fumicino Airport and were planning to shoot down an El A1 airliner coming in to land at the airport. See Dobson and Payne (1987). 

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