http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/...6.story?page=1
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071022/...safety_secrets
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servl...l/RITA+BEAMISH
http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2007/s2068179.htm
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...23/2068263.htm

NASA sits on air-safety survey
Rita Beamish | Associated Press Writer
6:43 PM EDT, October 22, 2007

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - An unprecedented national survey of pilots by the U.S. government has found that safety problems like near collisions and runway interference occur far more frequently than previously recognized. But the government is withholding the information, fearful it would upset air travelers and hurt airline profits.

NASA gathered the information under an $8.5 million federal safety project, through telephone interviews with roughly 24,000 commercial and general aviation pilots over nearly four years. Since shutting down the project more than one year ago, the space agency has refused to divulge its survey data publicly.

After The Associated Press disclosed details Monday about the survey and efforts to keep its results secret, NASA's chief said he will reconsider how much of the survey findings can be made public.

Congress on Monday announced a formal investigation of the pilot survey and instructed NASA to halt any destruction of records.

The AP sought to obtain the survey data over 14 months under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act.

Discussing NASA's decision not to release the survey data, Miller (Rep. Brad Miller, D-N.C., chairman of the House Science and Technology investigations and oversight subcommittee) said: "There is a faint odor about it all."

Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., wrote to NASA on Monday announcing an investigation by the House Science and Technology committee which he chairs, and directing the agency not to destroy documents. The letter instructed NASA to provide Congress results and background on the survey and any communications from airlines about how the data might harm them.

"I cannot imagine any good public purpose being served by destroying records," Gordon said in a statement. "The committee will get to the bottom of all of this."

That reason has troubled Congressman Brad Miller, the chairman of the congressional Science and Technology Investigations & Oversight committee.

"It sounds like NASA doesn't know what their job is," he said.

"It is not their job to make the public feel confident in aviation safety. It is their job to make sure that aviation is safe.

"It is certainly not part of their mission to keep information from us that might worry us. Give us info and let us to decide whether to worry or not."

. Withholding vital safety information?
. Data obtained by a 14 month US Freedom of Information Act?
. Destroying records and data?
. Supressing safety information to protect airline business?

This is kind of ironic, because this situation boosts the CTers thinking (and with a valid reason in some way) but it also proves that NASA can´t keep a secret like CTers argue,don´t you think?

Sorry for my english.

Tooseeked, CNN: Nasa's Air Safety Survey (small media at large). As an aside, I hear the fella that posted that is rather hansom.

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