Pilot

Lt. Col. Marvin T. Ross, a retired Air Force pilot and a project manager for almost 20 years at Westinghouse Aerospace division in Baltimore, died of a heart attack Feb. 3 at a medical center in Florida. He was 86. Colonel Ross was born in Spring Hill, Kan. He joined the Army Air Corps in 1943 and became a B-24 bomber pilot assigned to the 15th Air Force in Italy. He flew more than 50 bombing missions during World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals. He remained in the Air Force after the war, serving as a pilot in the Korean conflict, followed by other foreign assignments and duty at the Pentagon.

The Department of Homeland Security patrols the nation's borders, issues passports and deports illegal immigrants. But the linchpin of future of immigration enforcement is stored in a secure facility in Woodlawn, where computer servers hold the digital Social Security records of hundreds of millions of Americans. Since 1996, a growing number of employers have logged on to a password-protected Web site and queried those records to see whether job applicants are here legally. The screening system, called Basic Pilot, is run by the Department of Homeland Security.

Joseph Moye Eddins Sr., an Army Air Forces pilot who flew cargo missions over the Himalayas after World War II and later became a vice president of the Maryland Casualty Co., died Friday of heart failure at the Riderwood Erickson Retirement Community in Silver Spring. The former Towson resident was 83. Mr. Eddins was born and raised in Troy, Ala., and during his senior year of high school passed the exams for the Army Air Forces cadet-training program. After graduating from high school in 1943, he reported to Dos Palos, Calif.

Two people were injured when a small single-engine airplane crashed yesterday afternoon at Haysfield Airport in Clarksville.Authorities said the crash occurred about 5 p.m. when the pilot tried to land the Cessna 150 and overshot the runway.The airfield is in the 4900 block of Sheppard Lane, Howard County police said.When the plane missed its landing, the pilot tried to bring it back up and struck trees at the west end of the runway, police said.The two occupants of the plane were taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Leo Valiani, 90, an opponent of fascism who helped lead the resistance movement in Italy during World War II, died of cancer Saturday in Rome. An early opponent of dictator Benito Mussolini, Valiani spent five years in prison for anti-fascist activities during the 1920s and 1930s. He later took refuge in Mexico, returning in 1943 during World War II when he took over the resistance movement in northern Italy. In 1980, he was named a senator-for-life by then-President Sandro Pertini, a fellow member of the resistance.

A Baltimore judge refused yesterday to reconsider a ruling striking down millions of dollars in tax breaks for the planned Wyndham Inner Harbor East Hotel.Baltimore Circuit Judge Richard T. Rombro's decision to uphold his November ruling eliminating $75 million in tax breaks for the 31-story hotel sets the stage for a lengthy appeal, and possibly a campaign to alter state laws in the next General Assembly session.In rejecting a motion by the $134 million hotel's developers to reconsider the ruling, Rombro reiterated that "payment in lieu of taxes" (PILOT)

PILOT legislation could be damaging to city taxpayersResidents and business owners who pay property taxes in Baltimore should be thankful that Gov. Parris N. Glendening is looking hard at the Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) bill the legislature passed last session.One provision of the bill, introduced at the last minute at the behest of Wyndham hotel developer John Paterakis, opens the door to casino gambling at this hotel, overriding a 25-year no-casino pledge in the original legislation for the Wyndham.

Legislation that would give millions in tax breaks to developers of downtown Baltimore hotels and other major city projects received approval from the House of Delegates yesterday by a vote of 95 to 28.The bill now returns to the Senate, where its prospects are uncertain. A key Senate committee chairwoman refuses to accept changes the House made that would benefit two development projects backed by bakery magnate John Paterakis Sr. and Baltimore Orioles owner Peter G. Angelos."I'm not going to do it," said Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Hoffman, chairwoman of the Budget and Taxation Committee.

AVIANO AIR BASE, Italy -- Their mission over Yugoslavia scratched because of stormy weather, the Navy aviators of the "Garuda" squadron were getting ready to pack up their gear and call it a night.Then the call came: "Launch immediately." An F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighter-bomber had been hit over Yugoslavia. The pilot was down, somewhere in a barren stretch of enemy territory near Belgrade.A pilot from Maryland, nicknamed Jolly, was catching up on his paperwork when he was picked for the mission to help rescue the only NATO pilot downed since the bombing of Yugoslavia began.

LATELY THERE'S BEEN a lot of talk about an Air Traveler's Bill of Rights. This idea got a big push in January, when a snowstorm forced some loaded planes to sit out on the Detroit airport runway for as long as eight hours, during which several passengers were eaten by wolves.This incident provoked national criticism of the airline involved, which I will not identify here other than to call it The Diametrically Opposite of Southeast Airlines. In its defense, the airline issued the following statement:"We are experiencing mechanical difficulties with our statement."

Capt. George Jefferson Price, a retired Pan American World Airways pilot, adventurer and raconteur, packed a lot of living into a life that ended at 96 earlier this month, when he died at a Coral Gables, Fla., nursing home. Price's professional ties to Baltimore were through Pan Am, which he joined in 1942 aboard flying boats and later as a first officer aboard the famed M-130, better known to travelers as the China Clipper, that was built at the Glenn L. Martin Co. plant in Middle River.

By the downsized standards of network TV today, "The Good Wife" has about as high-powered a cast as you are ever going to see again: Julianna Margulies, Chris Noth, Christine Baranski and Baltimore native Josh Charles. And with all four bringing their "A" games to the pilot, it looks as if CBS could have another winning 10 o'clock drama. Let's be clear, however, this is not an ensemble drama. As engaging and strong a presence as Noth, Charles and Baranski can each be, this series belongs to Margulies.

MTV announced Monday that it had won a bidding war to produce a U.S. version of "Skins," the popular, controversial television show about the lives of a group of British teens. But, instead of speaking in an English accent, you can expect the teens in the American version to speak fluent Bawlamerese. "I've been pursuing this project for two years, and we're planning to set our show in Baltimore," says Liz Gateley, senior vice president of series development for MTV. And, as is true of the original series, now in its third season, Gateley says, "we want to join together unknown teenagers to write the story lines and star in the pilot, though we'll also combine those performers with more seasoned faces."

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of a fiery helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four persons, including the son of a Howard County elections official. State police said a four-seat Robinson R44 copter crashed on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 70 about 10 miles east of Hagerstown around 10:30 p.m. Thursday after it struck power lines. The aircraft's cockpit was engulfed by fire when emergency crews arrived at the crash site. The pilot and three passengers onboard were pronounced dead at the scene.

Tears rimmed Joseph Hauser's eyes as he watched his daughter, Charlotte, disappear behind the gymnasium door. Fierce emotions rip at many parents as they drop their children off at college, but more than most, Hauser knew his daughter would not be the same person after a few months away from him. That's the reality for almost all candidates at the U.S. Naval Academy, which welcomed its newest class of 1,230 plebes Wednesday morning. "It's quite a reality check," said Hauser, a resident of Saratoga Springs, N.Y. "It's different than sending your child to a normal college, where you can see them whenever they allow you to. I'm sure she will be different when I see her again.

Early in her training - during the first two weeks, in fact - Karen Greenfield got a lesson in flying she'd never forget. It was a sunny afternoon in late winter, 3,000 feet above rural Virginia. The wannabe pilot was at the controls, her hands nervously gripping the stick, as the instructor beside her coached her through a sharp swoop upward. "Bring the nose up," he said. But the rookie put in too much rudder. The two-seat Piper Cub jerked to one side, catapulted into a spin, and dropped toward the earth like a 1,500-pound "helicopter" leaf from a maple tree.

DANVILLE, Calif. - Thousands filled the Town Green here yesterday to honor their hometown hero, US Airways pilot Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger III, whose emergency landing in an icy river last week was credited with saving the lives of all 155 people on board. In a bunting-and-flag-filled demonstration of civic pride, Danville Mayor Newell Arnerich presented Sullenberger with a key to the town, an upscale, family-oriented San Francisco Bay Area suburb known for its good schools, low crime rate and expensive real estate.

It's the feel-good story of the year. Airliner loses power over New York City and crash-lands in the icy waters of the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew survive. The pilot - Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III, who fortunately is called "Sully" or we'd be here all day saying his name - is hailed as a hero. New York's governor dubs it the "Miracle on the Hudson." Yep, it's a great story. Wonderfully inspirational. Except when nervous fliers like me heard the details of why the engines failed, our first reaction was: birds?

Air traffic controllers who guided a State Police medevac helicopter in the minutes before it crashed in Prince George's County last September were "casual and sloppy" and not always aware of where the helicopter was, according to reports compiled by federal investigators trying to determine what caused the fatal accident. The reports also show that the pilot might have receive outdated weather information because of technical glitches, including a failed switch at a data center. The helicopter crashed as it tried to land at Andrews Air Force Base, after plans to land at a nearby hospital were aborted because of fog. None of the revelations, contained in hundreds of pages of documents released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board, point to a clear cause of the crash, which killed the pilot, a paramedic, a civilian medic and one of two patients onboard.

William Arnold Lankford, a retired airline pilot and union representative, died of heart failure Dec. 28 at Regional Memorial Hospital near Miami. He was 77. Born and raised in Salisbury, he was a 1950 Wicomico Senior High School graduate. He joined the Air Force and completed two years of flight school. Trained as a tactical fighter pilot, Mr. Lankford served in Europe during the Cold War. After retiring from military service, Mr. Lankford was a partner in a development and contracting business in the Washington area.