"ABC airing angers airline pilots"

by Dan Trigoboff

Broadcasting and Cable, November 24, 2001

        This article deals with a very touchy subject.  ABC aired the audio comments captured on the cockpit voice recorder of the doomed United Flight 93 that crashed in a Pennsylvania farm field on September 11, 2001.  This was one of the flights that went down in the terrible tragedy that took place there, in Washington D.C. and Lower Manhattan.  

        The contents of the voice recorder obviously showed the pilots last words and their vain struggle to keep the airliner in the air, safely delivering their precious human cargo to their destination.  

    In this article, the head of the Air Line Pilots Association said that the groups members were "appalled and outraged" by this airing on ABC's national evening news show, Primetime Thursday.  The producers of Primetime Thursday said that the recording was newsworthy and showed the valiant efforts of the courageous pilots.  The ALPA, while acknowledging that ABC didn't violate any laws, was completely and utterly offended by such an invasion of privacy.

        I tend to agree with ALPA.  It seems to me that airing those last few words of a dying crew is nothing more than sensationalism and should have been left where it was.  Those men might have been courageous, but its their families and co-workers right to not have to have the world gawking and gasping over their dying breaths.  This is exactly why I will never be a journalist. I understand the need for good news reporting, but I refuse to be the spoiler in many peoples lives!