MSPB decision page 12 - Ed Masterson violates federal law 5 USC 2302(b)(8)

This is page 12 of the December 22, 2009 Merit Systems Protection Board decision by Judge Ruggiero where she ruled that Ed Masterson violated federal law - the Whistleblower Protection Act and committed a Prohibited Personnel Practice under 5 USC 2302(b)(8). Ed Masterson retaliated against a federal whistleblower who disclosed three unsafe air traffic procedures at Newark Liberty Airport. These procedures have now either been corrected, stopped or just no longer used. There haven't been any more near-collisions at Newark Airport since these procedures were corrected or stopped. I think that speaks volumes. In fact, on the one procedure the runway 22 Left/runway 11 simultaneous landings, the incidence of go-arounds (aborted landings) was reduced by 80%. That is a staggering number.

Ed Masterson ignored the danger and even went as far as to put a policy in place to bring the airplanes closer together. Yes, even closer! I guess a near-collision isn't close enough for this numbskull FAA manager. It really pissed him off when he was presented evidence that conflicted with his warped view of reality. Hence, the retaliation.

More to come on this.

November 27, 2009 CNN - Newark runway risks concern feds

Ed Masterson denied there were problems with these procedures. On January 22nd, 2009 a federal administrative judge determined that Ed Masterson VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW - The Whistleblower Protection Act by retaliating against Ray Adams (me) for his disclosure of unsafe air traffic procedures at Newark Airport. This CNN story details just one of those problematic procedures. For his VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW - The Whistleblower Protection Act, Ed Masterson received a PROMOTION from the FAA. Let's go FAA, get with the program and remove Ed Masterson from the Federal Aviation Administration as is your authority under the law. Your own regulations indicate you should fire him. What's the holdup???

Newark runway risks concern feds:

(CNN) -- Federal investigators are concerned a potential danger persists because of the simultaneous use of intersecting runways at Newark Liberty International Airport, one of the nation's busiest and a gateway to the New York metro area.

The alert comes after repeated instances in which planes above the Newark airport flew too close to each other in violation of safety standards. There were four such instances last year and at least four this year, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general.

In one case, on January 16, 2008, two Continental planes -- a Boeing B-737 and an Embraer 145 -- missed each other by 600 feet, according to a DOT inspector general's report.

"That was very scary. I was there for that one personally in the control tower, and it scared the heck out of everybody up there," said Ray Adams, a Newark air traffic controller.

Potential danger arises when approaching planes need to abort their landings, which happens about every 700 flights at Newark, according to a Federal Aviation Administration analysis.

In what the FAA calls "go-arounds," the diverted plane approaching Newark has to make a sharp right turn through the flight path of planes landing and taking off from an intersecting runway, allowing little margin for error.

"There was a distinct possibility that we could have had a collision with these operations," Adams said.

READ THE REST OF THE STORY:

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/11/27/nj.runway.danger/index.html