US Pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino Home Safe

[CAL EWR B737]

Sorry for the late post. I have been away from a computer for some time.

Someone please find the link to the video news coverage of yesterdays historic event and post it as there was quite a bit of news media present.

On Saturday, December 9, 2006 I was honored to be invited by ExcelAire President Bob Sherry to join 200 family, friends and colleagues of Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino to meet Joe and Jan's aircraft upon arrival from Brazil in Islip New York.

It was a very emotional time and great celebration seeing these two heroes come back home! I was very honored to meet both Joe and Jan for the first time and was able to talk with them for quite a few minutes. I did my best to relay to the both of them the huge outpouring of support and assistance from their peers on this and other aviation forums. I told them we were all so proud of them and extremely happy for their safe return.

I have so much more to say on yesterdays event but unfortunately it will have to wait a day or so until I have time to gather my thoughts. Yesterday was a very emotional day and being away from home on a computer from kinko's I can't do this justice with only a few paragraphs.

To everyone on this forum who took the time to write your elected leaders and who kept Joe and Jan in you prayers and thoughts THANK YOU!

Fraternally,

Jayson Baron

 

[sleddriver71]

That's great news that they're back home. What makes them heroes? What did they do that was so heroic?

 

[positiveg]

That's great news that they're back home. What makes them heroes? What did they do that was so heroic?

Didn't you hear? They were confined to a hotel in Copa Cabana. That's like worse than a POW camp right there. </sarcasm>

Just kidding. They aren't heroes but I'm still glad they're back home with their families.

 

[Flydaplane]

How about piloting a crippled a/c into the jungle, maintaining composure and finding an remote military airport in the nick of time? Saved not only their own lives but those of several of their passengers. Sounds heroic to me.

 

[ultrarunner]

Check out Goggle Earth. That airbase is in the middle of now where....as most things are down there.

 

[Metro752]

Brasil is a giant aids ridden craphole

 

[CAL EWR B737]

The following is the text of a letter sent to the CAL CEO and the ALPA National Officers.



Gentlemen,

On Saturday December 9th First Officer Doug Marotta and I were honored to represent Continental Airlines and the Airline Pilots Association in welcoming back fellow pilots Joe Lepore and Jan Paladino.

Doug and I were graciously invited by ExcelAire Service CEO and President Bob Sherry to join more than two hundred family members, friends and colleagues to welcome back Joe and Jan. We all waited for the Embraer Legacy, the same type of aircraft involved in the mid-air collision, which carried Joe and Jan from Brazil at ExcelAire’s hanger at Long Island MacArthur in Ronkonkoma, N.Y.

This was truly an experience both Doug and I will remember for the rest of our lives. We participated and witnessed a very emotional homecoming, one that left very few with dry eyes. After Joe and Jan were so emotionally greeted, a press conference began. Afterwards we all enjoyed a catered lunch in the ExcelAire hanger.

Doug and I had the opportunity to talk at length with both Joe and Jan. We told both of them how very proud we all were, not only of their heroic landing of a severely damaged aircraft in the middle of the Amazon jungle, but also of how they handled themselves for the next seventy days of virtual incarceration in an extremely hostile environment. We expressed that they both represented the very best of professional aviation. Joe and Jan expressed sincere gratitude for all of the assistance provided by ALPA and their fellow peer pilots. I told them ALPA isn't just about negotiating and enforcing contracts, a big part of ALPA is pilots helping pilots.

We were also able to talk extensively with three individuals who were primarily responsible for Joe and Jan’s safe return. Mr. Robert Torricella , Joe and Jan’s Miami attorney, who was nothing short of amazing. He more closely resembled a friend of Joe and Jan’s with a life long bond than anything like the normal attorney-client type of relationship.

Robert, incredibly, spent seven of the ten weeks Joe and Jan were held captive in Brazil in the same hotel suite at the JW Marriott in Cabana Beach in Rio. The only reason he left their side was when it was absolutely necessary to return to the United States to attend to their defense. Robert told us he ate the same food, slept at the same time and constricted himself to the same physical and mental limitations as Joe and Jan. Sometimes that meant eating dinner at two in the afternoon or two in the morning as Joe and Jan’s body clock changed. He recalled one two-week period in which the three of them remained in one suite with the curtains closed never opening the door.

Robert stated that there would be no way he could ever express his gratitude to the staff at the JW Marriott Cabana Beach. He said that whatever Joe and Jan needed the staff bent over backwards to accommodate. This included clearing out the entire 17th floor by moving guests immediately out and providing security upon Robert’s request because the hotel was being infiltrated by the Brazilian paparazzi. When Joe and Jan needed to go outside, the staff secured the roof and provided security to allow Joe and Jan to get much needed fresh air. They also provided decoy cars out of the hotel to the Federal Court house for the media to follow when it was needed to safely and securely move Joe and Jan to other locations.

Robert asked me to forward to all of you that if there is any way in the future it would be possible you for you to provide business to the JW Marriott Cabana Beach, including booking airline crews for layovers, he would sincerely appreciate it.

Mr. Robert Sharkey, a reporter for the New York Times and fellow mid-air survivor on the Legacy, accurately documented the entire seventy-day ordeal. During this time period, there wasn't a day that he didn't update his blog at www.joesharkey.com or write an article in order to continue to keep media attention on this terrible injustice and help provide a medium for the huge support for so many, not only New York residents, but for people from all over the world.

Mr. Bob Sherry made sure every base was covered to bring home his two employees. His company paid $75,000 for the Legacy charter because he was very concerned about Joe’s and Jan’s safety and didn't want the two of them to spend a minute longer in Brazil than they had to. Even though this was Jan’s first trip with his company he was treated like he had been an employee with many years of longevity.

Bob wanted to make sure everyone understands that even though Joe and Jan are home the battle is far from over. Joe and Jan are still criminally charged and face extradition back to Brazil. The precedent of criminalization of US pilots flying abroad is significant and he asks that ALPA and Continental continue to use their political muscle to make sure this terrible injustice never happens again to anyone else. Bob also wanted everyone to know that U.S. Representative Peter King (NY) was the only politician to get involved and play a significant role in Joe’s and Jan’s return. Despite the many requests for assistance and many personal calls Bob had placed to New York Senators Clinton and Schumer pleading for help, never once did either of them take a moment to respond.

Thank you, everyone, for your significant assistance helping bring my new friends Joe and Jan safely back home. As stated in a sign a little girl was holding at the welcome home celebration, “you are the best holiday gift ever”.

I wish you and your families a safe and happy Holiday season.


Sincerely,


Captain Jayson Baron


Click here: New York Daily News - Home - Happy landing for two Yanks

 

[ultrarunner]

Despite the many requests for assistance and many personal calls Bob had placed to New York Senators Clinton and Schumer pleading for help, never once did either of them take a moment to respond.http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/478867p-402826c.html

HillBilly and Schumer....what a joke. Even the phone calls to their office are a waste of time.

So sad.

 

[CAL EWR B737]

That's great news that they're back home. What makes them heroes? What did they do that was so heroic?

First please read the link below to the London Times Article about how they landed an airlplane that was literally coming apart on them with no where to land over a jungle with absolutly no help from ATC.

Then think about how these pilots were detained for sevently days. Yes they were in a nice hotel but when you don't go outside for 70 days. At one point not even seeing daylight or leaving their room for two weeks with a media frenzy and a very unfriendly country maybe you will rethink your statement.

Click here: The wreck and the reckoning - Sunday Times - Times Online

 

[CAL EWR B737]

Click here: Pelican's Perch #81: It's a Jungle Down There

Good article