The Federal Aviation Administration should go ahead with its plan to put video cameras in commercial airliners.
During two test flights in January and February, the Boeing Corporation demonstrated to FAA officials how ground control could monitor action on board a plane through the use of a satellite feed from seven cameras strategically placed throughout a plane's interior. These images would allow passengers on the plane to be closely monitored without burdening the crew, enabling the cockpit to be tightly secured before takeoff. Except for a few blurry patches in the camera feed, the tests went off without a hitch.
With such a plan in place, there is no question that flights will be safer. The air crew and ground control officers could coordinate their efforts, with the cameras alerting the observers on the ground of any suspicious actions. While such scrutiny might seem off-putting at first, in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks the government must do what it can to protect airplane passengers and crew alike.
Pilots and their crews have long fought against the idea of having video cameras installed in their planes, arguing the cameras would infringe upon their authority. In 2000, pilots defeated a plan by the National Transportation Safety Board to put cameras in cockpits to aid air crash investigators, saying that misinterpreted images could cause dissent between ground crews and pilots. But pilots need to understand the grave responsibility they have not only to their passengers, but also to the world around them. And this plan is not unprecedented; for example, schools have been placing cameras on buses for more than a decade to try to prevent the misconduct and violence that goes on behind the driver's back. Cameras on planes would do the same on a larger and more important scale.
The most important result of the security cameras is that they would decrease hijackings. With the cabin under constant supervision and the cockpit sealed, potential hijackers would not be able to take control of planes as easily. And, although in a worst-case scenario passengers would still be vulnerable as hostages, the actual control of the plane would remain with the crew, making another Sept. 11-style attack difficult if not impossible. For all of these reasons, the government through the FAA needs to push for the installation of security cameras on planes.
Legislators must work to protect pension dollars
Ohio lawmakers should approve a bill imposing higher ethical standards and restrictions on the leaders of pension funds.
The bill is necessary to oversee the $107 billion invested in Ohio's five public pension funds, said State Sen. Lynn Wachtmann, R-Napoleon, the chair of the Ohio Retirement Study Council. These systems have about 1.5 million active and retired members.
The proposed bill would allow the state attorney general to bring legal action against corrupt board members, require removal of trustees who have been found guilty of various criminal offenses and force boards to draft policies on ethics, travel and bonuses.
Such reforms were deemed necessary after several instances in which pension money was misused. For example, the State Teacher's Retirement System took criticism for excessive travel expenses by board members, large bonuses and high spending. Likewise, the Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund spent more than $600,000 on travel and other expenses during the past five years, with half of the total spent on out-of-state trips, according to the Dayton Daily News. This news comes after both funds reported losses and charged retirees higher rates for health care.
It is amazing that it has taken so long for the government to reign in the free-spending ways of Ohio's pension funds. Similarly, how could such funds operate with so little regulation in the first place? Under the current system, boards can do what they choose with the money entrusted to them by pensioners, and were free from legal scrutiny. This is partly because Attorney General Jim Petro currently sits on four of the five pension boards - a glaring conflict of interest. Under the proposed legislation, the attorney general would be banned from being a board member.
The General Assembly would be wise to enact this bill, and to do so quickly. Trustees cannot be allowed to squander the retirement funds of hard-working Ohioans, and this legislation will help to restore faith in Ohio's five pension funds.
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