The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida • Page 8

1 r. 8A THE PALM BEACH POST SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 9, 1997 Accounting demanded for near-miss plane incidents Stations call it a business decision dive and then a steep climb when a fighter came close enough 1,000 feet to set off the collision warning signal in his cockpit. Three people were thrown to the cabin floor. The overall safety record has been good, the senator said Saturday.

"Incidents are reported every day but they are of a technical nature not representing any immediate danger," he said. However, he said the violation of separation distances and a second near-miss the same week have upset "air passengers who are a little apprehensive these days" after incidents such as the 1996 fatal crashes of a Valujet airliner in the Florida Everglades and a Transatlantic TWA jumbo jet into the Atlantic off Long Island. Air National Guard F-16 jets were involved in both incidents. The Guard's director, Maj. Gen.

Donald Shepperd, said military aviation is safe, and noted that thousands of flights occur each day along the coast The suspension came shortly after the pilot of an American Eagle flight reported that four fighters zoomed above and below his plane off the Maryland coast Friday. Lautenberg said in his letter the first near-miss on Wednesday had "generated tremendous anxiety" in New Jersey, "where people are concerned about ensuring safety in the crowded air space above the state and coastline." The pilot of a Nations Air jetliner en route from Puerto Rico to New York's Kennedy International Airport went into a chief of staff, Gen. Ronald Fogleman, ordered an indefinite halt to operations by regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units in the East Coast training zones. The action was "a precaution to ensure that all procedures are sound and prevent any compromise of safety," the Pentagon said late Friday. The National Transportation Safety Board launched investigations of the incidents, seeking transcripts of conversations between pilots and air-traffic controllers and other details.

And the Federal Aviation Administration ordered air traffic controllers at its centers in Florida, Washington and New York and military controllers in Virginia to review procedures for operations in and around coastal military areas. By GENE KRAMER The Associated Press WASHINGTON A senator demanded clarification Saturday of air traffic responsibilities and a full accounting for near-misses between military and civilian planes last week that prompted suspension of Air Force flights in restricted training areas over the Atlantic seaboard. "Innocent lives could have been lost. This cannot be tolerated," Sen. Frank Lautenberg, said in a letter to the secretaries of defense and transportation.

They head the federal departments regulating military and civilian use of the skies. Lautenberg discussed the contents of his letter Saturday. It was dated Friday. Amid some disagreement by officials involved in the incidents, the Air Force SATELLITE From 1A can be a major problem." According to Wayne Cunningham, marketing and research director at WPTV, the NBC affiliate asks satellite companies to shut off 300 illegal signals each month. He says that more than 1,000 feeds have been disconnected since MAXPROMISE" 0 it (Office spring 1995.

Bill Peterson, WPEC-Chan-nel 12's general manager, says the CBS affiliate challenges well over 1,000 questionable signals every month. WFLX, says Green, has challenged more than 3,500 ineligible subscribers since last September. "We can't apologize for the fact that we're a business," says Cunningham. "We're not just a public service. People have to understand that we have to protect our business." Under the Satellite Home Viewing Act, satellite carriers are permitted to beam only network-affiliated signals to those households that can't pick up the local station with a regular antenna or cable.

Essentially, the 1988 law was drafted by Congress to provide TV service to those people who lived in rural and mountainous areas and had difficulty receiving clear signals. mm a m-k mam I ivTj b' A Packard Bell UK 'People have to understand that we have to protect our WAYNE CUNNINGHAM WPTV-Channel 5 Model Platinum 2010 III Bill if MMX Technology makes possible new heights of realism in graphics and sound. Includes Windows'9 95 and many other software titles Built-in telephone answering system fQrQrLk 3 But Congress has had difficulty enforcing the law. TV broadcast (9) 9 ers charge unscrupulous satellite companies are disregarding the OfficeMax Everyday Low Price law and are knowingly beaming 1404-0753 15" (13.5" viewable) 2020 Color Monitor Monitor sold separately 405-0894 $349.00 The Intel Inside Logo and Pentium are registered trademarks and MMX is a trademark ot Intel Corporation. pentium r- illegal signals.

But many cases, WL- ..1 consumers are lying about signals they receive so they can get the Wia9 HEWLETT mHiM PACKARD shows they want. (Local affiliates and cable companies here have 1 ft 1 jfW Model DJ S20Cse jjyjSANFOnO. HP Color InkJet Printer Prints up to 6.5 ppm 3 created a 30-second TV spot tell ing viewers about the law.) The issue will probably be de Rebate' 52'Hx 23-12'Dx 47-121rV 600 300 dpi resolution Includes HP ColorSmart Technology cided in the courts. Lawsuits have lit already been filed in Miami, Ra leigh, N.C., and Amarillo, Texas. Uni-Ball Computer 0101-1087 BL i.

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But PrimeTime 24, a 10-year-old New York-based company, is the industry's biggest offender, they say. Sid Amira, PrimeTime 24's chairman and CEO, says those charges are "unfounded" and that his company fully complies with the Satellite Home Viewing Act. "We don't sell directly to the consumers, our distributors do, but they screen all subscribers," Amira says. "TV broadcasters are trying to cripple us and put us out of business because we are the last independent satellite carrier in the country." Chuck Sherman, senior vice president for the Washington, D.C.-based National Association of Broadcasters, sees it differently. "PrimeTime 24 is trying to bring down a TV system that has worked for 50 years," says Sherman, whose organization is vigorously lobbying Congress to preserve the network-affiliate broadcast system.

"They just want to create a stir so the law will be changed and they can bring network signals into any household across the country." While the direct satellite industry is still a fledgling one, there are indications it's starting to grow. It's believed only 7 percent (or 4 million) of the nation's TV viewers have a satellite dish. In some areas, though, that number is as high as 15 percent. According to Nielsen Media Research, only 3.5 percent of Palm Beach County residents have satellite dishes. WPTV's Cunningham, however, believes that number is closer to 5 percent.

That figure will no doubt rise for two reasons: prices for satellite dishes continue to drop and the lure of a 200-channel system with far-superior picture quality is too great. "I'm not trying to pull something out of someone's pocket or to destroy the local networks," says Debbie Listander, a 37-year-old Palm Beach Gardens resident, who recently had two illegal signals disconnected. "I can't believe this is legal in the United States. I just want to watch what I want. That my basic right." Stay tuned.

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