January, 2007

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Codeless Canadian "Basic Plus" amateurs may operate HF in the US
Canadian licensees holding "Basic Plus" tickets may operate HF in the US, whether or not they've passed a Morse code test, according to the Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC). Since Canada removed its mandatory Morse requirement in 2005, the impression has persisted that the US still required visiting ops to have Morse credit for HF operation under the reciprocal operating agreement between the two countries. The issue came to a head when a Canadian Winlink mailbox reportedly denied access to Canadian Basic Plus licensees operating from US territory. Basic Plus licensees have scored at least 80 percent on the written examination, obviating the need to pass a Morse examination. According to §97.107 of the FCC rules, operator privileges in the US are those authorized by thealien licensee's government, not to exceed Amateur Extra class privileges, but visitors must operate according to US frequency allocations. The situation may not be the same for Canadians operating in other countries. "Many countries have still retained the Morse requirement for HF, and some countries continue to require a Morse qualification for HF operation by amateurs visiting from other countries," RAC advised in this week's bulletin. Radio amateurs from countries with which the US has reciprocaloperating agreements also may be HF station control operators when transmitting from territory where the FCC regulates Amateur Radio.

Flatulence leads to flight diversion
An American Airlines flight carrying 99 passengers made an emergency landing in Nashville earlier this week after passengers reported a strange scent that smelled like struck matches. Indeed, the offending odor did come from struck matches. After being questioned by FBI officers, however, a Dallas woman on the flight "admitted she struck the matches in an attempt to conceal body odor," writes The Tennessean of Nashville. The Washington Post (free registration) writes that the woman "had been striking matches to mask evidence of a troubled digestive system." The Washington Ronald Reagan National-to-Dallas Fort Worth flight eventually took off again, but the woman was not on board. "American has banned her for a long time," says Lynne Lowrance, a spokeswoman for the Nashville International Airport Authority. Though the woman could have faced charges, Lowrance adds that the none were filed. "While it is legal to bring as many as four books of paper safety matches onto an aircraft, it is illegal to strike a match in an airplane, "the Tennessean writes.

Stinky flier loses lawsuit after being booted from flight
In case you missed this nugget from earlier this month, a German court denied a man's claim for compensation against British Airways after the carrier's cabin crew booted him off a flight because of his smell. The crew claimed that other passengers on the flight were offended by the man's odor. "The stewardess took him to one side and asked him if he could put on a fresh shirt, but they were all in the hold," a court spokesman is quoted as saying by Reuters. "So then he was asked to leave the plane -- about two minutes before take off." The man -- a corporate lawyer -- and his wife were scheduled to return to Germany from Hawaii via Los Angeles on a BA codeshare flight operated by American. The couple missed their connection to Germany since the odor incident forced them to take the next flight, stranding them for the night in Los Angeles. The man calculated that BA should pay him more than $2,800 for lost earnings, lost vacation time and the cost of lodging in Los Angeles. As for the man's smell, the court spokesman said the man claimed "he couldn't help sweating after carrying three suitcases in [the 84-degree Los Angeles] heat and sitting in the airport for two hours with no air conditioning." The court ruled against him, noting that both AA's and BA's contracts of carriage clearly note that the airlines reserve the right to bar fliers because of their smell.

January, 2007

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