NY financial firm settling 9/11 suit with airline

We all know that on September 11, 2001 the world saw an uglier face of terrorism, and the "fun of flying" went up in the dust and smoke of the World Trade Center. Some of us were hit harder than others; as a resident and Former CFO of Middletown Township, New Jersey I lost one close family friend and several acquaintances of mine from my previous career in transportation. Thirty-seven of Middletown's commuters were never heard of again after that terrible day, and our love for them is memorialized in the Middletown Memorial Gardens, next to the train station where they were last seen by friends and family.. Many of them worked for Cantor Fitzgerald, which occupied the top floors of the North Tower and saw 658 of its 1,000 employees killed. It has nearly completed a settlement with American Airlines and insurance carriers, according to documents filed in federal court.
Read more: http://thedailyrecord.com/2013/12/13/ny-financial-firm-settling-911-suit-with-airline/#ixzz2ngVvbIOI 

Middletown WTC 
Memorial Gardens

The Middletown WTC Memorial Gardens are located at 36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748. The memorial features a landscaped walking path with individual memorials for each neighbor murdered, where visitors can reflect on the loss Middletown suffered. The Gardens are open daily from dawn to dusk.

Pan Am Flight 110

40 years ago:  

On December 17, 1973, Pan Am Flight 110 was scheduled to fly from Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Rome to Beirut International Airport in Lebanon and then on to Tehran, Iran. At the controls of the Boeing 707-321B (registration number N407PA), the Clipper Celestial, were Captain Andrew Erbeck, First Officer Robert Davison, and Flight Engineer Kenneth Pfrang.

  







At approximately 1:10 PM (13:10) local time, just as Flight 110 was preparing to taxi, between six and ten Palestinian terrorists made their way through the terminal building, armed with automatic firearms and grenades. The terrorists removed submachine guns from hand luggage bags and began firing throughout the terminal, shattering windows and killing two. Crew in the cockpit of the aircraft were able to observe travelers and airport employees in the building running for cover. Captain Erbeck announced over the plane's public address system that there was some commotion in the terminal and ordered all on board to get down on the floor.

Several of the gunmen ran across the tarmac toward the Pan American jet, throwing at least two and as many as five phosphorus incendiary hand grenades through the open front and rear doors of the aircraft. The explosions knocked crew and passengers to the ground, and the cabin filled with thick, acrid smoke from the resulting fires. Flight attendants were able to open the emergency exit over the wing on one side of the plane; the other was obstructed by gunmen. The crew attempted to evacuate as many passengers as possible through the available exit, but twenty-nine passengers and Purser Diana Perez perished on the plane, including all eleven passengers in the first class section. Four Moroccan high officials heading to Iran for a visit, and Bonnie Erbeck, wife of the captain, were among the dead. Captain Andrew Erbeck survived the attack. Also killed were fourteen Aramco employees and employee family members.

Plot to blow up planes over Atlantic thwarted.

Information was just made public that the United States and the United Kingdom stopped al Qaeda's plans to blow up planes flying to the U.S. in 2006. "It is believed that the terrorists were planning to carry peroxide-based explosives in liquid or gel/lotion form in carry-on luggage."  following eight individuals were convicted in the U.K. of conspiracy to murder and/or blow up the planes:-

Abdullah Ahmed Ali, 

also known as "Abdullah Ali Ahmed Khan" 

- Mohammed Gulzar 

- Tanvir Hussain - Umar Islam, aka "Brian Young" 

- Arafat Waheed Khan - Assad Ali Sarwar 

- Ibrahim Savant - Waheed Zaman

Back at the airport later that evening, 

I am apprehensively catty and cower. 

I see men on the same line, edgy, waiting, 

who look like the bastards who blew up the towers. 

Am I racist! How can these people be culprits? 

They shouldn’t be blamed for their “brothers” sins. 

But many, I fear, swing from strings like mere puppets 

operated by maniacal jinns. 

Is it so wrong to be paranoiac 

about bearded men from sere bailiwicks? 

Didn’t we see on TV how they cheered in Damascus 

when the World Trade Center collapsed and they cursed the U.S.?

Is Airport Security Easing Up?

Pre-clear TSA? 

After 12 years, there are now some signs that you will be able to get through the security checks much faster. ...like in 90 seconds or less!

Don’t you miss the fun of flying

when they just eyed your boarding pass?

They never bothered patting the padding

on your shoulders, your hips or your ass.

Thanksgiving Travel

Turkey Day

Airlines are predicting a 1.5% increase over last year to a total of 25 million passengers over a twelve day period.  

Fly me to the Moon? NOT YET!

Despite the fact that Pan Am was listing passengers to the moon back in the 1960s, no commercial flight has made it there yet. Indeed only a few billionaires have been able to afford a ride on a Russian rocket outside the atmosphere. Newser.com reports that "the Wall Street Journal notes another venture in the works that intends to send people up to lesser heights using a massive (think football-field-sized) helium-filled balloon instead. For $75,000 apiece, eight passengers would reach an altitude of about 18 miles, which would take them to the edge of Earth's atmosphere. If all goes well, Paragon Space Development Corp. could launch its first balloon from New Mexico in 2016."

Jet Blue Honors NYC Fire Department Heroes - I ♥ New York

Blue Bravest

NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU), New York's Hometown Airline(TM) today revealed 'Blue Bravest,' an aircraft honoring the New York City Fire Department and the FDNY Foundation. This special aircraft, adorned with the FDNY shield, will join JetBlue's fleet flying throughout the airline's network, currently 79 cities and growing. 'Blue Bravest' joins JetBlue's exclusive legion of partnership aircraft celebrating organizations including the New York Jets, Boston Red Sox and New York State Tourism - I Love New York.