Posted on 03/13/2005 12:18:46 PM PST by Happy2BMe
GREENSBORO -- Air safety advocates are troubled by TIMCO's use of illegal immigrants to work on airplanes at Piedmont Triad International Airport not only for fear of terrorism, but also out of concern for mechanical errors that could put the flying public at risk.
The company's use of undocumented immigrants could lead to a maintenance flaw with serious in-flight consequences, said Gail Dunham, president of the National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation.
"TIMCO hired them because they are cheap," said Dunham, a Summerfield resident whose Washington-based group claims to be the nation's "largest grass-roots air safety organization."
"When people's lives are on the line, they should be hiring the very best people, not the cheapest," she said.
Dunham said that the use of workers with uncertain backgrounds and with possible gaps in technical knowledge is part of a general decline in the air industry's safety net.
In a written statement, TIMCO disputed that perspective, saying the arrest of 27 people at its PTI plant Tuesday was "an immigration issue, not a safety or security issue."
"All work performed at TIMCO, including work performed by the individuals detained by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was supervised by properly certificated TIMCO employees," the statement said, referring to Federal Aviation Administration licenses intended to ensure aviation mechanics are properly skilled.
TIMCO added that "all critical work" is then double-checked by the company's inspection department.
Meanwhile, the first criminal charges were unveiled Friday against several of TIMCO's alleged illegal immigrants, one of whom is a Greensboro resident charged with lying to the FAA to receive the type of federal certification TIMCO mentioned in its statement.
The criminal complaint against Percy Alberto Vega, 53, of 127 Meadowood St., says he lied about his experience and qualifications to take the test for an "air frame and power plant" certification from the FAA.
"Percy Alberto Vega's experience ... would not meet the required amount of time nor level of experience needed to qualify him," said Megan K. France, senior special agent with the U.S. Department of Transportation's office of inspector general. FAA is part of federal DOT.
The FAA's Web site shows that Vega was awarded the so-called "A&P" certification in September. The license entitles a mechanic to service, repair and overhaul aircraft, including engine work.
The criminal complaint also accuses Vega of having two pieces of fraudulent identification and overstaying the November 2002 expiration of the work visa that entitled him to be in the country.
Two others detained Tuesday at TIMCO now also face criminal charges, Martin Freitas Cuevas, 38, also of Peru, and Alvin Feliciano Cruz, 35, of the Philippines. Both are charged with possessing fraudulent identification cards.
It is unclear whether Vega, Cruz and Cuevas were permanent, full-time TIMCO employees or worked for one of 10 labor contractors who provided the company with temporary workers.
Investigators from ICE, DOT, the Social Security Administration and the FBI arrested the 27 on Tuesday morning about 9:30, holding all on noncriminal immigration violations at jails in Winston-Salem and Charlotte.
Federal agents said criminal charges would be filed against those who had used fake documents, especially in efforts to defraud the government. The rest were to face administrative proceedings in Atlanta that could lead to deportation.
Initially, TIMCO asserted that none of the detainees were "direct" company employees, but worked instead for one of the 10 labor contractors.
After the News & Record published the names of those facing immigration charges Thursday, TIMCO said that six were permanent, full-time TIMCO employees who had been on the payroll for between 22 months and six years.
A spokesman for the company said the mistake happened because TIMCO executives did not have a list of which workers the federal government had rounded up until seeing it in the newspaper.
Federal authorities said that only a few of those arrested on immigration charges had FAA licenses. The rest worked under the supervision of licensed mechanics on airplane interiors and less critical ares, according to a spokesman for DOT's of inspector general office.
On the status of Vega, the Peruvian with the A&P license, it's unclear whether the FAA knew it was licensing a Peruvian mechanic.
The A&P mechanic's license didn't mention Vega's nationality. But he also was certified by the FAA in another license issued in 1994 as "a foreign based" commercial pilot rated for both single- and multi-engine aircraft, "valid only when accompanied by Republic of Peru license number 741."
Both licenses bear his Greensboro address. The complaint against him says he has been living in the United States off and on since March 1994.
Illegal aliens are working on our airplanes and in our nuclear plants and on our military bases, constructing our buildings, handling our food, driving on our roads ... all without our knowing their real qualifications, their medical condition, or even their real names and addresses.
Wow, another career path that Americans won't do. Thank God for Illegals!
< /sarcasm>
99.9% of employers that hire illegals do it knowing that the applicant is not eligible to work in the USA. These employers should be driven out of business.
Ruth is speechless.......ping.
The illegals should not only be charged and deported; TIMCO should also be charged (with everything the feds can come up with, including mopery) for hiring illegals - including at least one who held a fraudulently obtained A&P certificate, AND TIMCO should have its FAA papers (FBO?) yanked. Oh, and fine them out the wazoo, too.
OR, we could just welcome them all with open arms, as we all know they are just doing work that Americans won't do.
Let's not forget that Linda Daschle is a lobbyist for the airline industry.
Let's not forget that Linda Daschle is a lobbyist for the airline industry.
BINGO!!!!!
No problem - jobs Americans won't take.
New thread.
"What Made an Airbus Rudder Snap in midair?"
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1362099/posts
Federal law breaking grifter businesses: "undocumented immigrants"
President George Bush: "Guest workers"
The pubbies are beating the 'rats in Orwell-speak.
And the sheep just keep bleating "Baaa-Baaaaaaa"
Savage is Right, it's just two card Monte.
"AND TIMCO should have its FAA papers (FBO?)"
They have to be a liscensed repair station.
[I also notice that Governor Bush gave TIMCO a "Business Diversification Award" -- not however, due to its employment practices ;-), but for bringing diversity to Florida's business environment.]
We'll diversify ourselves into a third-world nation.
Of all people who could afford to pay good wages .
Better yet, all of the TIMCO honchos and major stockholders who knew of this should go to jail and face an endless series of civil actions that will leave them peniless. Just another bunch od crooks who pass themselves off as "entrepeneurs." They're in the wrong industry. "Waste management" would be more appropriate.
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