News Briefs
June 12, 1996
Web posted at: 11:30 p.m. EDTCrash victims' families ask FAA to ground ValuJet
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The families of three of the 110 victims of ValuJet Flight 592 petitioned the Federal Aviation Administration Wednesday to ground the budget airline company until alleged safety and maintenance problems are fixed.
The families claimed ValuJet poses a significant threat to innocent passengers. The FAA said it would review the complaint and if it meets regulations, ValuJet would have 20 days to respond to the allegations. The airline maintains it has no safety problems.
The petition was filed on the same day a bipartisan group of legislators introduced a bill that would regulate the air transport of chemical oxygen materials, believed to be a primary cause of the May 11 crash.
The bill would force the FAA to comply with suggestions made by the National Transportation Safety Board to curb the practice of carrying chemical oxygen materials as cargo on passenger aircraft.
- Search is over for ValuJet wreckage and remains - June 10, 1996
- Key pieces of ValuJet puzzle emerge - June 5, 1996
Navy grounds largest helicopters
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Navy announced Monday that it was grounding 200 of its heavy-lift H-53 Super Stallion and Sea Dragon helicopters on the recommendation of the crafts' manufacturer.
The choppers, used to transport troops, machinery and mine-sweeping devices, will undergo thorough inspection of the parts that connect the blades to the body of the helicopter.
The action was taken as a precautionary measure after a Super Stallion crashed May 9, causing officials to doubt the helicopters' safety.
Committee OKs restriction on same-sex marriages
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A House committee passed legislation Wednesday that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and allows states to do the same, even if other states legalize the couples.
The bill defines marriage under federal law as the legal union between one man and one woman and states that the word spouse refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. The definition would affect federal and employment benefits.
The bill marks the first time Congress has tried to legislate marriage, which has always been regulated by the states.
President Clinton has said he will sign the Defense of Marriage Act if it is passed by the full House and Senate.
MOVE trial goes to jury
PHILADELPHIA (CNN) -- Jury deliberations began Wednesday in the civil trial against the city of Philadelphia and two former officials filed by the sole survivor of the MOVE fire that killed 11 people in 1985.
Ramona Africa argued that the city of Philadelphia and its fire and police commissioners used excessive force and were liable for the fire, which was started after a gun battle between police and members of the radical MOVE group.
On order of the commissioner, police dropped a satchel bomb on the rowhouses while trying to clear out a roof-top bunker.
The bomb started a fire that killed six adults and five children and burned 61 homes.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Presidential plane rocked by heavy turbulence
CHARLESTON, South Carolina (CNN) -- Guacamole, rice and beans were scattered across Air Force One after the presidential plane encountered stiff turbulence Tuesday night near Lubbock, Texas.
The plane carried the president and about 70 others, including crew members, Secret Service agents and reporters. No one was seriously hurt.
Air Force One was on its way from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Charleston, South Carolina, when it hit a band of thunderstorms that caused the turbulence.
Everything not locked down was tossed two feet in the air. Mexican dishes about to be served soared across the galley and plates and glasses shattered.
After the plane steadied it looked as though a massive food fight had occurred, said CNN's Jill Dougherty, who was on the plane. (320K AIFF or WAV sound)
"I was holding on, I was holding on," a smiling and unharmed Clinton said after walking the aisles to check on everyone else. "It was certainly a character builder, wasn't it?"
Gasoline storage tank ablaze
WOODBRIDGE, New Jersey (CNN) -- A Shell Oil Co. gasoline storage tank was raging out of control Wednesday (672K QuickTime movie) after being struck by lightning. More than 300 Woodbridge residents have been evacuated.
The tank held 3 million gallons of untreated gasoline when it was struck by lightning Tuesday afternoon. Firefighters frantically worked overnight to douse the flames, which shot hundreds of feet into the sky. Smoke was visible 10 miles away.
Fighters may pump foam onto the flames Wednesday, and authorities hope the fire will be out by afternoon.
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