PLANES CRASH; MORE LOSS FOR KALITTA FAMILY, AND CALLS FOR FAA ACTION

(Doug Kalitta, cousin of Scott Kalitta, takes-on the traditional 1/4-mile-long race course in a Top Fuel NHRA race car, an 8,000-horsepower monster which can cover the 1,320 foot track at over 320 miles per hour and in less than 4.5 seconds).

Incredibly, bad news keeps coming for the Kalitta family. Drag racer Scott Kalitta died on June 22, killed when his Funny Car exploded and crashed into a retaining wall at an estimated speed of over 200-miles-per-hour during the National Hot Rod Association's annual event at Englishtown, New Jersey's Raceway Park. Almost a month before his death, one of the B747 freighters owned by his father's charter company, Kalitta Air, broke into pieces on a taxiway in Belgium. Now the news is worse for Kalitta Air, with another B747 crashing this past weekend in Colombia, killing two people on the ground. And another huge jet freighter, not one of Kalitta's, crashed in Mexico this past weekend, also, but all three planes have something in common, something which might lead to answers for all of these air accidents.

Three different airplanes owned by two different private companies. Two crash, one in Colombia, another in Mexico, and one falls apart, literally, on a European airport taxiway, all in the span of less than two months. These are huge jet freighters, B747s and a DC-9-15 which regularly fly the globe, carrying everything from flowers to car parts to soldiers, weaponry and secret diplomatic materiel and, possibly, more dangerous items, such as radioactive waste. In fact, the US announced just this past week that the moving of 550 metric tons of radioactive, enhanced yellow cake uranium from Iraq to Canada has been completed --- and on one leg of that trip, aircraft were used to fly this sinister payload, though officials say military, not privately-owned, planes were used. (Scott Kalitta in his Funny Car; these cars are often both faster and quicker than their Top Fuel relations).

Here's what all three privately-owned freighters had in common: They were all based at an  industrial airport just outside Detroit called Willow Run Airport. Located between Ypsilanti and Belleville, Michigan, the Willow Run Plant was built during World War II by Ford Motor Company for production of B-24 Liberator aircraft. The site of the plant was a farm owned by Henry Ford. Ford, like virtually all of the United States' industrial companies, directed its manufacturing output during World War II for Allied war production. The firm developed the Willow Run site to include an airfield and aircraft assembly facility. At its peak, in August 1944, Willow Run produced 428 B-24 aircraft, or almost 14 planes for each calendar day.

The airfield continues to operate as Willow Run Airport to this day. After the war, ownership of the assembly plant passed to Kaiser Motors and then to General Motors, which still owns and operates part of the facility. The airfield is primarily used by cargo, charter, private and corporate general aviation aircraft. When the government "gave" the plant to Henry Kaiser following WW II, he assumed ownership for a king's ransom price of $1.00. The area around the airport is dotted with car- and parts-making operations and other heavy equipment manufacturers, both in the US and nearby Canada (which is, interestingly, actually south of Detroit).

We think the Federal Aviation Administration has some very serious questions to ask about the maintenance facilities and the people working at them at Willow Run.

On June 22nd, the NHRA's Kalitta family suffered tragedy of the worst kind with the death of second-generation drag racer Scott Kalitta, The Kalitta family patriarch, Connie, was one of the sport's first champions who worked hard to help popularize professional drag racing nationally and worldwide. (One of Kalitta Air's 18 B747 freighters lies in pieces after breaking apart while awaiting take-off at a Brussels, Belgium Airport on May 25, 2008).

But there have been two other tragedies which befell the Kalitta family and others, just before and after Scott's death. And they involve sadly, unfortunate deaths.

The family business, Kalitta Air, is a Michigan Limited Liability Company owned 100% by Conrad "Connie" Kalitta. Kalitta Air began service in November 2000 with three Boeing 747 aircraft and the fleet has grown to a present total of eighteen B747 freighters. Capable of air express delivery of virtually any type of freight, the company provides scheduled or on-demand charter service for customers in the United States and around the world.

Click below for more on these events and what some think might possibly be a cause.

On May 25, a Kalitta Air B747 attempting to take-off from Brussels, Belgium, never made it into the air as the plane broke into three pieces while on a taxiway. No one was killed; the plane was reported to be carrying diplomatic material from the US Ambassador's office in Brussels. (Below, another Kalitta Air B747 freighter in pieces after crashing 15 miles from the airport in Bogota, Colombia. Two people on the ground were killed; the crew of eight somehow escaped without major injury).

Yet in an incident which will have insurance actuaries, mathematicians and airline employees around the world scratching their heads, not to mention passengers being concerned, another Kalitta Air B747 crashed on Monday, July 7, this time in Colombia, just over two weeks after the racing death of Connie's son.

Simply put, what are the odds of two huge jet cargo planes from the same private company being involved in the most serious events imaginable within just 43 days of one another? Possibly during wartime, in the war theater itself, aircraft operated by the same private firm might have been involved in what the airline industry refers to euphemistically as "incidents." But two planes, on two different continents, one breaking into pieces on a runway before take-off and another crashing while attempting a landing, must be something which even Las Vegas odds-makers would refuse to consider.

The Kalitta Air cargo plane crashed before dawn Monday, July 7, near Colombia's capital, Bogota, killing a father and son in their home on the ground, authorities said. None of the plane's eight US crew members was reported dead, although one was reported in serious condition.

The Kalitta Air plane's crew in Monday's crash told air traffic controllers that one of its engines had caught fire and radio contact was lost seconds later. At 3:50 a.m., the jet attempted an emergency landing and crashed onto a ranch about 15 miles northwest of Bogota. The plane split apart and its tail smashed into a ranch home, killing Pedro Suarez, 50, and his 13-year-old son, Edwin.

And when considering odds, what kind of luck was with the crew of that plane, crash-landing in the darkness with the pilot unable to even see the ground? And what of the luck, or karma, of those unfortunates killed in their home by a jet freighter falling from the sky? The best one might say is that they probably didn't know what had hit them --- quite literally.

The plane had stopped in Bogota to pick up flowers - one of Colombia's biggest exports - and was scheduled to land in Miami. Kalitta had been operating the plane for another airline, Centurion Air Cargo. A woman who answered the phone at Centurion's office in Miami referred questions to Kalitta.

Yet another, third, recent crash involved a plane from the same Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, MI. A USA  Jet Airlines plane crashed in Mexico Sunday (July 6) and a crew member was reported killed. That DC-9-15 was loaded with auto parts and crashed before dawn half a mile from the runway in Ramos Arizpe, 200 miles south of the US-Mexico border. The plane was carrying four tons of car parts it had picked up in Canada. (Connie Kalitta was one of professional drag racing's first nationally-known racers; his wholly-owned company, Kalitta Air, has suffered terrible loss in recent weeks, in addition to the personal loss of his son, Scott, who died at an NHRA event).

Two planes crash and one plane literally falls into pieces on a taxiway, all involving huge jet freighters from the same home airport. As stated, the Federal Aviation Administration is going to be taking a more-than-serious look at the maintenance facilities and the maintenance people at that airport's service facilities. At least we hope they do ...

On May 25, a Kalitta Air B747 attempting to take-off from Brussels, Belgium, never made it into the air as the plane broke into three pieces while on a taxiway. No one was killed; the plane was reported to be carrying diplomatic material from the US Ambassador's office in Brussels. (Below, another Kalitta Air B747 freighter in pieces after crashing 15 miles from the airport in Bogota, Colombia. Two people on the ground were killed; the crew of eight somehow escaped without major injury).

Yet in an incident which will have insurance actuaries, mathematicians and airline employees around the world scratching their heads, not to mention passengers being concerned, another Kalitta Air B747 crashed on Monday, July 7, this time in Colombia, just over two weeks after the racing death of Connie's son.

Simply put, what are the odds of two huge jet cargo planes from the same private company being involved in the most serious events imaginable within just 43 days of one another? Possibly during wartime, in the war theater itself, aircraft operated by the same private firm might have been involved in what the airline industry refers to euphemistically as "incidents." But two planes, on two different continents, one breaking into pieces on a runway before take-off and another crashing while attempting a landing, must be something which even Las Vegas odds-makers would refuse to consider.

The Kalitta Air cargo plane crashed before dawn Monday, July 7, near Colombia's capital, Bogota, killing a father and son in their home on the ground, authorities said. None of the plane's eight US crew members was reported dead, although one was reported in serious condition.

The Kalitta Air plane's crew in Monday's crash told air traffic controllers that one of its engines had caught fire and radio contact was lost seconds later. At 3:50 a.m., the jet attempted an emergency landing and crashed onto a ranch about 15 miles northwest of Bogota. The plane split apart and its tail smashed into a ranch home, killing Pedro Suarez, 50, and his 13-year-old son, Edwin.

And when considering odds, what kind of luck was with the crew of that plane, crash-landing in the darkness with the pilot unable to even see the ground? And what of the luck, or karma, of those unfortunates killed in their home by a jet freighter falling from the sky? The best one might say is that they probably didn't know what had hit them --- quite literally.

The plane had stopped in Bogota to pick up flowers - one of Colombia's biggest exports - and was scheduled to land in Miami. Kalitta had been operating the plane for another airline, Centurion Air Cargo. A woman who answered the phone at Centurion's office in Miami referred questions to Kalitta.

Yet another, third, recent crash involved a plane from the same Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, MI. A USA  Jet Airlines plane crashed in Mexico Sunday (July 6) and a crew member was reported killed. That DC-9-15 was loaded with auto parts and crashed before dawn half a mile from the runway in Ramos Arizpe, 200 miles south of the US-Mexico border. The plane was carrying four tons of car parts it had picked up in Canada. (Connie Kalitta was one of professional drag racing's first nationally-known racers; his wholly-owned company, Kalitta Air, has suffered terrible loss in recent weeks, in addition to the personal loss of his son, Scott, who died at an NHRA event).

Two planes crash and one plane literally falls into pieces on a taxiway, all involving huge jet freighters from the same home airport. As stated, the Federal Aviation Administration is going to be taking a more-than-serious look at the maintenance facilities and the maintenance people at that airport's service facilities. At least we hope they do ...