Page 7 - ARUBA TODAY

A7
U.S. NEWS Saturday 1 February 2020
Senator wants probe

of Hawaii FAA office

after 3 crashes

By JENNIFER SINCO KELLE- managers and Novictor.
HER and TOM KRISHER An FAA manager, in an in-
Associated Press terview Friday with The As-
HONOLULU (AP) — A whis- sociated Press, said the al-
tleblower has told a Senate legation that he improperly
committee that a man- granted "check airman"
ager in the Federal Avia- status to Novictor's owner
tion Administration's Hawaii was incorrect. He accused
field office improperly let a the whistleblower of "mak-
helicopter tour company ing up stories again."
owner certify pilots for flight Allegations raised by the
on behalf of the agency. whistleblowers also include
The owner then approved managers directing that In this April 29, 2019 file photo, a portion of the tail section of a helicopter is shown after crashing
a pilot, who was at the investigative reports be al- in Kailua, Hawaii.
controls 10 days later in tered, and management Associated Press
April 2019 when a compa- retaliation against an em- The probe isn't the first time December with further al- ing to the fact sheet. A
ny aircraft crashed, killing ployee who reported the the FAA has been accused legations. The employee, check airman has the pow-
all three people on board. problems, according to of being too cozy with Joseph Monfort — who the er to certify pilots for flight
The allegation and others the letter from Wicker to aviation companies that it fact sheet said agreed to on the FAA's behalf.
about managers at the Inspector General Calvin regulates. Legislators have be publicly identified — al- In April, a Novictor tour he-
Hawaii office, prompted Scovel III. said the agency gave too leged "some managers in licopter crashed on a resi-
a key senator to ask the The committee says in a much inspection authority the Hawaii FAA office have dential street outside Ho-
Transportation Depart- fact sheet on the case to Boeing Co. when it certi- an inappropriately close nolulu, killing all three on
ment's Inspector General that its own investigation fied the 737 Max passenger relationship with Novictor board.
for an investigation. isn't complete, but it "raises jet to be able to fly. Aviation, a helicopter tour "Mr. Monfort began an in-
Novictor Aviation has been significant concerns about The plane has since been operator in Hawaii." vestigation into the crash,
involved in three crashes the efficacy of FAA over- grounded after crashes In November 2018, local which revealed that Ms.
during the past two years, sight in Hawaii." in Indonesia and Ethiopia FAA management revoked Vandelaar had received
according to a Jan. 24 let- The FAA said Friday that it that killed 346 people. Novictor's letter of autho- her check airman certifica-
ter from Sen. Roger Wicker, has been investigating on In June 2019, an FAA em- rization to operate under tion from Mr. Kanayama
a Mississippi Republican its own and already is tak- ployee alleged miscon- less restrictive regulations, improperly," the fact sheet
who chairs the Transporta- ing steps to address prob- duct by managers in the citing the company's ac- said. "According to Mr.
tion Committee. lems that have been sub- flight standards district of- cident history and lack of Monfort, Ms. Vandelaar
Two whistleblowers allege stantiated. It pledged to fice in Honolulu, saying that verifiable safety measures. was improperly certified to
an inappropriately close cooperate with Scovel's managers too frequently Monfort's front line man- administer check rides on
relationship between FAA office. overrode recommenda- ager, Darett Kanayama, behalf of the FAA, but sub-
tions of inspectors, accord- improperly granted check sequently gave a check
Alabama college opens home ing to the fact sheet. airman authority to Novic- ride to the pilot involved in
A second employee con-
tor's owner and operator, the April 29th crash 10 days
for Amistad slave ship murals tacted the committee in Nicole Vandelaar, accord- before the accident." q

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A historically black college in
Alabama is unveiling a new home for murals that depict
a famous revolt by African captives aboard a slave-trad-
ing ship more than 180 years ago.
Talladega College on Friday was scheduled to dedicate
a new museum that will hold paintings which illustrate the
story of the Amistad mutiny.
Commissioned by the college in 1938 and painted by art-
ist Hale Woodruff, the murals hung in the campus library
for nearly seven decades until they were removed for res-
toration and a national tour in 2008.
Worth about $50 million, according to the college, the
three paintings will now be the centerpiece of a new
campus exhibit.
"The murals are seen ... as a hidden jewel, but now it's
no longer a hidden jewel," said Seddrick Hill, vice presi-
dent of institutional advancement, in a video released by
the college. "We have a another reason to come to this
wonderful city and explore this artwork, which means so
much to a lot of people."
Located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Birming-
ham, Talladega College is a private, four-year school that
is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. It was found-
ed in 1867, two years after the end of the Civil War, by the
descendants of slaves.q