Federal Air Marshals Service: Crisis In The Sky?

Aero-News reported last week on a potential crisis at the Federal Air Marshal Service. According to a Washington Times report, the day-to-day rigors of sitting for hours onboard commercial airline flights may be taking a disturbing toll on air marshals... where the size of the force has been cut in half by on-the-job injuries.

The report adds such injuries have pulled nearly 2,100 marshals from service -- and worse, bureaucratic bickering may be keeping them from receiving health and safety benefits.

Shawn McCullers is a former Federal Air Marshal. He's 32-years old... a very healthy-seeming young man. But if you look at McCullers' legs... you'll see the scars of deep vein thrombosis, a medical problem common to frequent passengers on long flights. It's a problem that can be deadly.

But it's certainly not a problem that Shawn anticipated when he left the Border Patrol and entered training for the air marshal's service.

This feature is in addition to our daily news briefing -- available in either a quick "Touch And Go" format, or an expanded Aero-Briefing -- where you'll hear these stories:

A Mite-y Management Shakeup At Mooney Aircraft...

Pakistan May Get Some Fighters, But Not Without Some Conditions...

And Fedex Looks At 757s To Replace Aging Planes

...And more.

ANN Daily Touch N Go: 09.27.06 (ANN's Short-Form Daily News Program)

ANN Daily Aero-Briefing: 09.27.06 (ANN's Long-Form Daily News Program)

ANN Special Feature -- Crisis Looming At FAMS?: 09.27.06 (ANN Special Feature, with Senior Editor Pete Combs' report on health issues among federal air marshals.)

Our DAILY programs consist of (at least) three separate products.

• ANN's Daily 'Touch & Go' Aero-Cast: A quick look at the most recent news of the day... short, succinct and to the point. The usual 'Touch & Go' takes but a few minutes and is a summary, only, of the day's events... and it only takes a few minutes of your time.
• ANN's Daily Briefing Aero-Cast: The Daily ANN Report (ANNRep for short), is a more comprehensive look at the day's news. We give you the whole buzz... the news and features that occupy the forefront of aviation news as well as solid background on the subjects that aviators and other aviation professionals need to stay informed on.
• ANN's Daily 'ASR' Feature Aero-Cast: Our daily 'Aero-News Special Report' involves a more in-depth view of a story or two that dominated (or will be dominating) the day's news. Far more detailed than any single story in our standard ANN Daily Reports, this is a solid chance to get a close look at the stories and topics that matter. ASR features may include exclusive interviews with Aviation's Newsmakers, ANN's Special Investigative reports and solid analysis of the stories that will have undeniable impact on the world of aviation and aerospace.

Check them out, let us know what you think and be sure to keep those news-tips and program suggestions coming... ANN is ALL about what YOU want to know about in the world of aviation and aerospace.

FMI: www.aero-news.net/podcasts