The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 50

CLASSIFIED ADS IN THIS SECTION DEATHS D-3 METRO DIGEST D-3 OHIO NEWS D-3 EDITOR: JAMES P. DELANEY, 369-1003 THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER FRIDAY, JUNE 22, 1984 jet Fuel Additive May Put An End To Crash Fires Pilots Told To Observe Fuel Fillups Fuel Tank Labels May Be Painted Over BY JOHN ERARDI Enquirer Reporter There is one way of making certain a lineman doesn't put the wrong fuel in your aircraft, pilots say. "Stand there and watch him pump it," said Don Fairbanks, head of Cardinal Air Training at Lunken Airport. "And visually check It. Then you know whether gasoline or jet fuel is being put in there." Fairbanks Is not saying that a Maier attendant bears the blame for putting the wrong fuel In the Cessna 340 that crashed Wednesday, killing four persons near Lunken.

But as head of the pilot training program, he said he teaches students to watch the fuel being pumped. That is all Fairbanks would say, except to defend Maier Aviation's record in Its 27 years of serving Cardinal Air Training. "We've never had a problem like this with them," Fairbanks said. "One thing about Tony Maier with him, you know you're getting clean fuel. He checks every tank that comes in.

If it isn't clean, he sends it back." THERE WAS sadness Thursday at Lunken: In the hangars, on the benches near the runways, In the executive offices. The sadness The Cincinnati EnquirerJohn Curley Jr. TONY MAIER, operator of Maier Aviation Service, one of whose crew members pumped the wrong fuel into the Cessna 340 that crashed, worked Thursday at Lunken Airport. He refused comment. THE CONVAIR was at Greater Cincinnati International Airport on Thursday, receiving repairs for an unrelated problem before flying to Southern California for further tests.

By this fall, government scientists said, they hope to know if their five-year project will work. "We're pretty close," Dick Toblason, manager of aviation safety technology for the space agency, said Thursday in a telephone interview from his Washington, D.C., office. "It's really a difficult task, and we've been working hard at it since the late 1970s. It's a really monumental task as far as safety Is concerned, and we've really had a breakthrough," he said. Working with GE and Imperial Chemical Industries of Slough, England, researchers have discovered a chemical additive that bonds with Jet fuel upon crash impact, said Steve Wander, a NASA program manager and aerospace research engineer.

THE BONDING changes the physical makeup of the fuel, (See CHEMICAL, D-2) BY JIM CALHOUN Enquirer Reporter Federal officials have proclaimed a breakthrough with a chemical that, when added to Jet fuel, could end explosions during airplane crashes. The development Is significant, officials said, because it could mean new federal regulations requiring all Jet aircraft engine manufacturers to build systems Into their products that could only use the new fuel additive. However, officials estimate it could take years before it would be practical in commercial airliners. This week, for the first time, researchers from NASA the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration began testing their discovery under actual flight conditions. Part of that testing Is being carried out on a mechanical device manufactured by the General Electric Jet engine plant in Evendale, Ohio.

GE's "degrader" is being tested on a Convair 880 Jet owned by NASA. was over the fact that four people died in an accident that was totally avoidable. Responsibility hasn't been pinpointed. Most people at the airport blamed the lineman for the error, although all agree that the pilot bears ultimate responsibility for the safety of the plane. "We have a saying here: 'In God we trust; in everyone else we said Carol Fairbanks, a student pilot who is Don's daughter.

There are reports that the pilot may have ordered Jet fuel and signed a receipt that listed Jet fuel as what was put in Cessna 340. Those who knew James Hutton, pilot of the Cessna 340, say there Is no way he would have ordered Jet fuel. "It's the last thing I would ever expect him to do," said Richard Schreder, airport manager at Williams County Airport in Bryan, Ohio, Hutton's home base. Hutton had been flying the plane for two years, and the plane he flew before that was also a Cessna 340, Schreder said. "Absolutely no way," said a linemen supervisor at Lunken, when asked If a pilot with Hutton's experience would ask for the wrong fuel.

(See FLYER, Page D-2) Court To Alter Use Of Bonds For Defendants 7j- )) i--T 7' s-- -v. i The unsecured appearance bond. The defendant who may have been ordered on $1,000 bond puts up no cash or security and pays no bondsman, but furnishes his signature that he will show for trial. If he fails to show, the court can proceed for the full amount against any property or bank accounts he may have, Albanese said. "THIS IS used a lot by federal courts and It's what they mean by Own Recognizance Albanese said.

"We felt it's in the best Interest of the public to zero in on bonds that meet the present-day needs of the court." Sundermann said he was not sure what the effect will be on bondsmen. "Obviously, they did not want the change," he said. "Perhaps they can operate in other courts and other counties." The presiding Judge said one stance bail bondsmen took in arguing before the committee was that they help by bringing back bail Jumpers. But the report said fewer than 1 are brought back to court by bondsmen, he said. Most are nabbed by some police agency and returned to the proper Jurisdiction.

Albanese said, "We did not outlaw bail bondsmen. We don't have any control over their licensing. They are not officers of the court and are not its employees." AS TO the defendant who Is indigent, it has always been up to the Judge how much and what kind of bond to set, Albanese said. BY ROBERT M. ELKINS Enquirer Reporter Hamilton County Municipal Court Judges cut the ground out from under ball bondsmen Thursday by voting not to order surety bonds from defendants.

The 14 Judges' action followed a confidential report on ball practices by their criminal law committee, said Presiding Judge J. Howard Sundermann Jr. Municipal Court, which handles arraignments, sets most of the bonds In the Hamilton County Judicial system, Sundermann said. PREVIOUSLY, IF a Judge perhaps ordered $1,000 bond to ensure a defendant's appearance for trial, the defendant could pay a bail bondsman 10 of that sum and have the bondsman furnish surety. If the defendant skipped, the court then could order the bondsman to pay the entire $1,000.

"Now if you get a $1,000 bond, you could post $100 with the county that you will appear," Sundermann said. "When you appear, you're entitled to get your $100 back, minus some small fees. You wouldn't get any money back from a bondsman." Municipal Court Judge F. David J. Albanese, said that setup has always been on the books.

But the Judges' resolution also points out two other new or unused bonds that bypass bondsmen: The seldom-used 10 credit card bond, where a defendant can charge 10 of the bond on his credit card instead of putting up cash. "This has been on the books for eight years," Albanese said. The Cincinnati EnquirerJohn Curley Jr. FIREFIGHTERS SPRAY water on a tanker after it exploded Thursday morning, critically injuring a 14-year employee at Tresler Oil Company, 4050 River Rd. A second man was slightly injured.

Tresler Oil Fire Critically Burns Employee A 14-year employee of the Tresler Oil terminal in Riverside was critically burned Thursday morning when vapors ignited while he was loading liquid toluene into a tanker truck. Jerome Meyer, 33, of 46 E. Mitchell St. Bernard, was listed in critical condition at University Hospital Thursday night after being transported there by Cincinnati paramedics. The truck driver, who was not identified, suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

Toluene is a petroleum byproduct used In paint thinner and other industrial products. Meyer had almost filled the tanker with the substance when the explosion occurred. The toluene entered the tanker through a pipeline. "We've handled toluene for 25 years, and this is the first incident we've had," said a company official, who asked not to be Identified. "The mystery is where the source of Ignition is." The ignition caused a loud explosion, a puff of black smoke and a fire.

Valves on the pipeline automatically shut down, and Tres-ler's on-premises crew put out the fire around the truck. Cincinnati firefighters also sprayed a film-forming foam around the area and mopped up the minor toluene spill. Residents of the 4000 block of River Road, across from the terminal, were nervous about the explosion. "All I did was see the black smoke and got out. I went up to Delhi (Township)," said Sylvester Wllkymacky, a 58-year resident of the area.

"I spun rubber getting out of here." The tanker Itself Is divided into four sections, each separated by a metal barrier. The first three sections and most of the fourth were filled with toluene when the explosion occurred, the Tresler official said. A company investigation Is under way. Police Think Man Fell In Nuclear Plant Oven Ohio Cabbies Fuming Kentucky Insists On State Licenses To Drive Fares From Airport BY DAVID WELLS Enquirer Reporter Police suspect that a missing employee of the NLO Inc. nuclear components plant at Fernald died Tuesday when he fell, Jumped or was pushed into a salt oven at the plant, Hamilton County Chief Deputy Sheriff Victor Carrelll said Thursday.

David Anthony Bocks, 39, 11688 Koslne Loveland, has been missing since Tuesday morning when his a.m. shift at the plant ended, Carrelll said. Bocks, divorced and living alone, was a pipefitter in the maintenance department at the plant He punched a time clock when he went on duty at midnight Monday, but did not clock out the next morning, Carrelll said. HIS STREET clothes were still ln his locker at the plant, and his car was still parked where he normally left it while at work. Fernald officials searched the plant and notified police on Wednesday, Carrelll said.

The company had not found Bocks, but directed police to the oven, which is used in the production process and contains molten salt, heated to 1,300 degrees Fahrenheit, Carrelll said. The oven is left on but normally is not used during the third-shift operation, Carrelll said. "They directed our attention there because the oven appeared to have been disturbed." Carrelll declined to elaborate on the nature of the disturbance except to say there was "a suspicious residue" around the oven's edge, indicating a foreign object may have gone into it. The oven is about 12 feet long, four feet wide and four feet deep, with a hood suspended over It. There is a gap between the hood and the oven large enough for a person to get through, but how Bocks may have gotten ln there is a mystery, Carrelll said.

"IT'S NOT level with the ground like a swimming pool. It would be difficult to stumble in. You would have to climb up on some pipes to get to it," he said. The oven is not ln the part of the plant where Bocks would normally be working, he said. "At this point there is no indication of foul play, but we haven't (See FERNALD, Page D-2) who violated the registration requirement.

BUT MOST cab companies are continuing to operate at the airport, at least until Monday, when citations have been threatened for all who are not then in compliance. After investigating a complaint that a limousine company was operating at the airport without proper authorization, Stephenson said he found numerous violations of Kentucky vehicle registration laws Involving Ohio cabs and car-leasing companies. He said Cincinnati-based cabs are operating at the airport without licensing from the state Department of Transportation. By doing so, Ohio cab companies avoid paying Kentucky property and usage taxes, and avoid meeting state requirements for insurance and equipment safety. Spot audits revealed several airport car-lease companies operating in Kentucky have their vehi-cles registered In Ohio, which allows them to avoid the same taxes and similar requirements, he said.

Stephenson would not identify the companies. trip is dead mileage, said Sears, a driver since 1948. That dead mileage adds up when gas, oil, time and wear to the vehicle are considered, he said. James Art, driver of a Cincy Taxi cab, said there is a good chance the ruling will cause hard feelings between Ohio and Kentucky drivers. He mentioned possible blockades and other actions protesting the ruling.

"We've got a lot of things in mind," he said. Northern Kentucky cab drivers have a legal right to protest the Ohio cab companies' request to do business in Kentucky, according to Stephenson. Gary Ward, co-owner of West-side Cab Newport, said the permit Itself costs $25 per car annually. But, he said, it becomes an expensive proposition when various local and state taxes are considered, including payroll and occupational license taxes. HIS FATHER, Carl, a co-owner of the business, said he had spoken to several Northern Kentucky cab company officials and all said they would protest the re- STEPHENSON SAID Ohio cabs are also hurting the business of Northern Kentucky cabs that have proper authorization at the airport.

"It really boils down to the fact that they're (Ohio cabs) not carrying their load of the tax burden," Stephenson said. "They're (Northern Kentucky cab companies) going broke up there because all of the Cincinnati cabs are driving them out of business. Most of them are sitting there for two or three hours waiting for a ride." But Cincinnati cab drivers interviewed Thursday say they cannot do without the Income from round-trip airport fars. "People don't understand," said cabbie Ellen Dorn, patting the hood of her Town Cab. "These are investments to us, Just like a store or a business." Orville Sears, who drives a Cincy Taxi Inc.

unit, said the fare one-way from downtown Cincinnati to the airport Is $14, plus tip. A round trip could take care of a driver's daily lease on the car, Sears said. ONLY GETTING paid one-way of a two-way trip means the entire BY TONY PUGH and LARALYN SASAKI Enquirer Reporters Ohio cab drivers will be driving fares out to Greater Cincinnati International Airport In Kentucky Monday as usual, but they won't be bringing anybody back unless they are registered with the state, Kentucky transportation officials say. That decision had many Cincinnati cab drivers who make a good part of their income shuttling between the Northern Kentucky airport and downtown hotels fuming Thursday. Even so, Kentucky officials said Improper licensing of Kentucky semi-trucks, Ohio-based cabs and car-leasing companies at Greater Cincinnati International Airport could be costing Kentucky millions of dollars.

John Stephenson, Kentucky deputy transportation secretary, met Tuesday with officials of nearly 25 Cincinnati cab companies. He said he gave each representative an application for operating at the airport. He said future violators would be cited. He added that the airport has already issued 23 warnings to Ohio cab drivers.