Wellstone's pilot a convicted felon; lied about his flying experience

Star Tribune ^ | 10 Nov. 02 | Tony Kennedy and Paul McEnroe

[Arkie2]

The pilot-in-command of the plane that carried Sen. Paul Wellstone to his death exaggerated his flying experience by telling managers at Executive Aviation that he had 400 to 500 hours of prime experience at a major commuter airline, American Eagle.

[Arkie2]

This should help put an end to the ridiculous speculation that Wellstone's death was a conspiracy.

[Always Right]

Doesn't everyone 'know' Bush personally hired Richard Conry to fly Paul Wellstone....

[TheRedSoxWinThePennant]

how can there be a conspiracy here his pilot was fits the profile of wellstones base

[TommyDale]

This should not be a problem, since DemocRATS normally like felons anyway. They like them to vote, too.

[Sacajaweau]

I smell lawsuit!!! As usual, Dems don't accept facts...it fits their "everyone else is wrong" agenda.

[Arkie2]

The thing that bothers me most about this article is that this guy's history tarnishes all pilots. How he was able to get hired is beyond me but shows there's no real screening process at some air carriers, especially the little fly by night outfits.

[G.Mason]

This is no big deal.

Democrats,for over a decade, have insisted that a lie, here or there,is of no consequence.

Hey, it could have been far worse.

Wellstone could have met his fate with a certified "passenger" pilot who was a registered Republican.

A "good DemocRat" will vote not to impeach indict!

[jlogajan]

I doubt his felony conviction caused the crash.

[Sacajaweau]

Let's see...First the family sues...

Then the DNC sues..and it goes in the "this is not soft-money pocket".

[Ol' Sparky]

Put an end to it? No, this will only convince the conspiracists that this guy was planted by those in charge of the conspiracy. No doubt, this was a bitter, angry individual who wanted to kill Wellstone and himself.

[Arkie2]

So you would hire this guy if you knew he had a felony conviction? It's material here because it reveals a personality trait that most employers don't want. He was convicted of mail fraud, essentially telling lies through the mail. He lied about his flying experience and it may have caused the loss of 8 lives including his own. Flying a light twin in the weather conditions he was in is not a place for wannabee's. I say his felony conviction was a material and direct cause of this crash.

[friendly]

As a convicted felon, the "pilot" is just the kind of low-life pandered to by the democrats as one of their key constituencies (along with traitors, partial birth abortionists, and trail lawyers). I guess there is a kind of ironic karma in Wellstone's fate, not to mention the de facto complete mockery at his funeral service by a phalanx of Washington. DC vermin like Clinton who despised the late Senator as an annoying little twerp and useful idiot.

[agrandis]

From the article, it does not seem that the pilot having a brief stint in a Fed prison and his exaggerating his experience in an interview is the "cause of the accident."

From past studies of NTSB investigations, I am surprised they are investigating this crash so thoroughly. Maybe we have a more trustworthy NTSB these days. They have never figured out why the propeller fell off of Inhofe's plane, for instance.

As far as Conrey... I'd like to know what his current financial situation was, and does he have a family?

[Enterprise]

This is a story of different people dying for their "convictions."

[NautiNurse]

Next story about Conry will discuss his difficult childhood. Weird combo of careers--nursing, aviation, and felon.

[Arkie2]

He wasn't qualified to be doing what he was doing. Aviation can be pretty unforgiving. He was in over his head and it is material to this accident. If you don't think so just wait till the lawyers get hold of this in court. I doubt this particular company will survive the onslaught.

[jlogajan]

I say his felony conviction was a material and direct cause of this crash.

You don't get to be a commerical pilot without a lot of people constantly reviewing your performance and abilities. The felony conviction has no bearing on his skill or performance.

[Starrgaizr]

It is possible to be a scoundrel and a good pilot. OTOH, being a good pilot is all about judgement and integrity. So much of it is the honor system. If this guy is accustomed to cutting corners and cheating because, say, he thought that his talents were great and waiting for hundreds of actual hours was stupid, then he had a personality more likely to overestimate his ability to handle challenging conditions.

[GeekDejure]

Makes me wonder whether Conry was a suicidal Muzzle-em ???

[Arkie2]

You mean like they reviewed his past history before they hired him? In his case all it took to become a "commercial" pilot was pulling the wool over his employers eyes.