Originally Posted by Norman Stanley Fletcher
do you believe that non-western aviation is safer than its western counterpart and that any views to the contrary are merely cultural foolishness on the part of myself and others still stuck in a Cold War bunker somewhere?
Sir, in the seventies, eighties and early nineties, there was an area of Miami International Airport called Corrosion Corner. It was home to all sorts of big piston airliners, mostly flying freight. They operated DC-3s, DC-4s, DC-6s, DC-7s, CV-240s, CV-440s, C-46s, L-1049s, KC-97s. I was in that area early in my flying career and flew some of these aircraft. I jump-seated on many others. Some of these aircraft were US registered, others were not, but just about all were US-owned and operated, even when they were registered in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and other central American countries. These were mostly fly by night operations, with no procedures, bad maintenance, bad conditions. We would often come back with one engine "punched"
One US company at the time, went and got a bunch of Boeing KC-97s from the boneyards, ex-military aircraft that had no business being flown as civilian cargo aircraft, had them registered in the DR and had them approved there at their military gross weights (although the high octane Avgas the military had used to obtain those weights was no longer available) and flew them for years between Santo Domingo and Miami, and all through the Caribbean , all flown by Miami based US aircrews (Here are a few pictures for you : KC-97s in Miami
Photo Search Results | Airliners.net) DC-6s in Miami
Photo Search Results | Airliners.net
In one famous crash in Mexico, one of these overloaded beasts overan the runway (or flew in ground effect) with a load of horses and crashed in slum, killing 44 people on the ground. The Mexicans hauled the US crew (who all survived) to jail (
ASN Aircraft accident Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter G HI-481 Mexico City). I many aircraft like it that ended as balls of metal in or as reefs. I remember one DC-6, I think, that blew up on the ground in Miami, while some poor soul was grinding the inside of one of the fuel tanks with a grinder.
I also knew this pilot (
ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed C-121S Super Constellation HI-515CT Levittown, P.R.). The captain was from Florida, and he owned that Dominican Registered Constellation. He ditched close the Beach in Puerto Rico but drowned in the aircraft. The others got out.
Finally, in 1994, after many accidents, incidents and mishaps, the FAA clamped down on these operators and shut the whole lot down. And these were all US built aircraft mostly flown and maintained by US personnel. "Western" as you call them.
Now, Mr Norman Stanley Fletcher, do you find that I replied to your question?