AOPA President, Leading by Example, Deliberately Misinforms Congress

Gary Keller, Mike Seeber
April 24, 2024

When a plane crash occurs, it is newsworthy and the story may wind up on the front page of a local newspaper. When the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates the cause of the crash, they make a "preliminary report" which could be available to the public within weeks after the accident takes place. The "final report", after a thorough investigation, may take up to 2 years to be published. This latter report normally draws very little coverage by any news media, as people are mostly interested in what is going on at the moment. On 7/22/2022, one such plane crash occurred near Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV) in San Jose, California. For being just one of many non-fatal crashes that occur each year in the general aviation (GA) industry, this one drew an unusual amount of attention, while evolving into a political pawn in a deception arranged by a member of a powerful lobbying association.

Eight months after the crash, on 3/9/2023, a House Aviation Subcommittee meeting was held to hear testimony on the upcoming FAA Reauthorization Bill.[1] During this meeting, Mark Baker, president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), submitted testimony that went into detail about what caused that crash on 7/22/2022.[2] He clearly used this crash to mislead Congress into believing that the cause was a mis-fueling of the aircraft by alluding to the idea that since there was no leaded 100LL fuel available at that airport, the crash was due to using the only fuel available there – Swift UL94. A mis-fueling of the aircraft would mean that the pilot had to have fuel, so he put unleaded into a plane that is not allowed to burn this fuel. Mr. Baker was fabricating his own conclusion to the cause of this plane crash nineteen (19) months before the final report was completed. The goal of the AOPA at that time, as it is to this day, was to weave a web of fear by convincing Congress that pilots are in danger if a quick transfer to unleaded fuel takes place. Below are two short video clips on the House Aviation Committee meeting referenced above.

Final NTSB Report on 7/22/2022 Reid-Hillview Accident

The final report from the NTSB, published on 12/14/2023,[3] concluded that

"It is likely that the pilot departed without a thorough preflight inspection, or he would have observed the low fuel quantity and switched to the right fuel tank before departure. The pilot stated that he switched tanks once during the accident flight after the power loss. As the fuel selector was found in the right tank position at the accident site, it is likely that he departed on the left fuel tank. This evidence suggests that the pilot's improper fuel management resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power."

There is no mention in this report of a mis-fueling by the pilot.

The fact that only unleaded fuel was available at this airport was also addressed in the final report:

"Further, the departure airport did not sell the type of fuel required to power the accident airplane. However, it is unlikely that this would have influenced the pilot's decision as he believed he had sufficient fuel to complete the flight."

To download the NTSB final report, click here.

Truth in Testimony Disclosure Form

Mr. Baker signed a False Statements Certification on 3/6/2023 prior to his appearance before the Aviation Subcommittee acknowledging that he understood providing false information to the committee was a crime punishable under U.S. Code Title 18.

This is the link to Mr. Baker's signature on that False Statements Certification:

There are repercussions for the wanton disregard of this code:

It is one thing to offer suggestions to people of what may have happened to this aircraft. It is quite another to lie to Congress to facilitate how you wish them to vote for furthering AOPA's agenda.

Mark Baker Proposes Punishing Airports that Don't Sell Leaded Fuel

Mark Baker and the AOPA have been at the forefront of the denigration of the Santa Clara County's Board of Supervisor's (BOS) decision to ban the use of leaded aviation fuel at the two airports (Reid-Hillview and San Martin) they own. This decision was made due to a study performed at RHV airport that proved that children living near RHV had elevated blood lead levels due to the emissions coming from planes flying out of and into that airport.[4] The aviation industry wanted to send a message to the Santa Clara County BOS for this decision and to make sure that any other owner of an airport does not make the same "mistake." They want to fine them if they do not continue the use of leaded fuel. To view a House Aviation Subcommittee interchange between Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) and Mark Baker click on the link below.

The courageous decision to ban the use of this toxic fuel by the Santa Clara BOS has sent an essential message to the GA industry that a stand is being taken against the continuous lead poisoning of the children of Santa Clara County by GA aircraft.

Mark Baker spurs his group by spinning the decision of Santa Clara County into a pilot safety issue. He uses this ruse to encourage Congress to put mandates into the Reauthorization bill that all airports must continue selling leaded fuel.

And the ruse worked - the House added those mandates to its version of the Reauthorization bill.

And Santa Clara County is fighting back to protect their children. As stated by Santa Clara County supervisor, Cindy Chavez in this ABC 7 News Bay Area report (12/11/2023) (1 minute 24 seconds):

"We in this community will not go back."

And in this KRON 4 News report (December 2023) (1 minute 57 seconds) they want you to know what the House of Representatives wants to mandate:

"This would be the federal government telling us to actively poison the people that we represent and that's why we're fighting so hard."

Aviation Industry, FAA, and EAGLE Promote Lead Poisoning

When profits are at stake, our nation is willing to move mountains to get things accomplished. When the 1975 new cars rolled off the assembly line, they all had catalytic converters. That was great news for the smog engulfed West Coast, but it was a downer for the profits of the automobile industry as catalytic converters did not work with leaded fuel. In less than 2 years, this nation went from offering only leaded fuel for cars, to an additional unleaded fuel to allow those new vehicles to fuel up. Saving millions of children from breathing in toxic lead emissions from GA aircraft may not be considered profitable to this industry, but it sure as hell will save our most vulnerable assets from these toxic fuel emissions.

The aviation industry does not need until 2030 to get rid of this toxic fuel!

Mark Baker and the AOPA have thus proven to be roadblocks to getting unleaded fuel to airports.

The Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) Initiative is a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) / Industry partnership that has also proven to be a roadblock in this process:

"During 2023 Aviation Consumer reported and opined frequently on EAGLES's foot dragging, its apparent kowtowing to the 100LL producers and distributors and its determination to hang onto the profits generated by 100LL avgas despite its R&D [Research and Development] being funded by taxpayer money. We recommend renaming EAGLE after the flightless bird KIWI (Keep Industry Waiting Indefinitely), especially after one of the EAGLE members said that we'd have unleaded avgas by the end of 2030 and not before."[5]

The FAA has proven to be a roadblock in this process: The same GAMI G100UL, unleaded fuel that is currently certified for all GA aircraft, was placed before the FAA in 2010 – 12 years before it was finally approved.

Innospec, the company that makes all the tetra-ethyl lead that goes into leaded aviation Avgas, is a roadblock in this process:

Citizens making declarations that amount to assumptions and innuendos without evidence, mislead the public and are a roadblock to the process:

"It is my understanding that the operator of the Aircraft was aware of the Aircraft's fuel status but was not able to obtain 100LL fuel at RHV. As a result, the Aircraft departed RHV with little to no fuel remaining."

To view the entire declaration by Niknam Nickravesh, click here:

Conclusion

If the study by Dr. Sammy Zahran had never occurred at RHV airport, the EAGLE Initiative would never have formed and Mark Baker's AOPA would have continued to provide only lip service for wanting to have unleaded fuel. Quite bluntly, it is that study and the banning of leaded fuel at two airports by the Santa Clara Board of Supervisors that forced the GA industry to change.

When the leader of an organization resorts to lying to Congress to get results that his group craves, what other lies are being told to his members? How can we or any law-making group rely on information from the AOPA? Large lobbying groups such as the AOPA have the power and money to influence those who make policies that are not good for the people impacted by those policies. Those same impacted people have little or no say in stopping this lead poisoning from the emissions of these GA aircraft.

And so, the lead poisoning continues – every day of the year.

Sources

Several of the clips included in this release were excerpted from Callous Indifference, a video created and produced by Gary Keller and Mike Seeber. It was initially released on 11/07/2023. To view the entire 31-minute video click the link below.

[1] FAA Reauthorization: Securing the Future of General Aviation. U.S. Congress Subcommittee Hearing. (3/9/2023). Last accessed online on 4/4/2024.

[2] Baker, Mark. Written comments submitted by CEO and President of the Airport Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) at the FAA Reauthorization: Securing the Future of General Aviation. U.S. Congress Subcommittee Hearing. (3/9/2023). Last accessed online on 4/4/2024. The following quote by Mr. Baker appears on page 21, "...there has already been one reported aircraft accident in Santa Clara County that has been directly attributed to misfuelling, primarily because the fuel needed to fly safely was not available."

[3] Aviation Investigation Final Report on Accident Number WPR22LA271 San Jose, California. National Transportation and Safety Bureau (NTSB). 7/22/2022. Last accessed online on 4/4/2024.

[4] Mountain Data Group. Leaded Aviation Gasoline Exposure Risk at Reid-Hillview Airport in Santa Clara County, California. (8/3/2021). Last accessed online on 4/4/2024.

[5] Durden, Rick. "Unleaded Avgas: Eagle Malfeasance?" The Aviation Consumer. (1/13/2024).

About the authors

Gary Keller retired after 35 years of public service in the fire department. Prior to that he served in the Army while stationed in Vietnam. Since retiring, in the capacity of long-time community activist, Gary is engaged in a grass roots effort to remove lead from aviation fuel. He works toward that goal as Environmental Director for Citizens Against Gillespie Expansions and Low Flying Aircraft (C.A.G.E. L.F.A.) along with Robert Germann, the CEO and Founder of C.A.G.E. L.F.A. Gillespie Field is located in El Cajon in San Diego County, California.

Mike Seeber is a television, radio, print advertising and public relations professional. He has been involved in various grass roots causes for over 30 years. His first major issue was opposing $1 billion in public funding for Northwest Airlines in the early 90s. Now he is dedicated to bringing public awareness to the significant harms perpetrated by the FAA and aviation industry in the interest of finding solutions that benefit the public first.

Miki Barnes, founder of Oregon Aviation Watch, also contributed to this article.

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