"Plane passengers rescued in Romania" Associated Press, January 21, 2014
BUCHAREST — Five passengers on a small plane that made a forced landing Monday on a remote mountain in Transylvania were found alive after a massive search, but the pilot and a student later died, authorities said.
The plane was transporting medics from Bucharest to western Romania to harvest organs for transplant when it was forced to land at an altitude of 4,595 feet due to heavy fog and low visibility, said aviation chief Aleodor Francu.
Emergency authorities said that Adrian Iovan, an experienced pilot with 16,000 hours of flying time, who had been trapped in the plane, had died. A medical student who was seriously injured later died, Victor Zota, head of the national transplant program said.
Hundreds of rescue workers and local residents combed the remote area in deep snow and dense fog for 4½ hours until the damaged aircraft was located.
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"Romania premier fires official over plane rescue" by Alison Mutler | Associated Press, January 23, 2014
BUCHAREST, Romania — Responding to public anger over the delayed response to a plane crash, Romania’s prime minister dismissed a senior Interior Ministry official Wednesday, and the heads of the country’s air traffic control and emergency services resigned.
It took hours for rescuers to find the plane, which crashed on a mountain Monday.
All seven on board initially survived the landing. The 54-year-old pilot died from hypothermia and multiple injuries, according to an autopsy. A 23-year-old medical student on the plane died of hypothermia and breathing difficulties.
The small British plane was transporting medics to western Romania to harvest organs for transplant when it came down. None of the doctors who were on board the flight has said, however, that the delay caused the two deaths.
That is such a chilling phrase, and the ho-hum way it is used.... (shudder.)
Deep snow, dense fog, and darkness hampered the search for the plane, which crashed at 4,600 feet above sea level, after it lost altitude in heavy fog on a remote mountain. Residents located the stricken plane 4½ hours after it crashed, but medical teams arrived much later, provoking public anger.
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Someone is going to have their organs removed:
"Fury follows Romania crash; Two dead after rescuers are slow to find wreckage" by Alison Mutler | Associated Press, January 24, 2014
BUCHAREST, Romania — A small plane crash on a remote mountain would normally not be enough to anger an entire country or threaten the government. Romania, however, is dealing with just this scenario after all those onboard a medical flight initially survived Monday’s crash in thick fog. A pilot and a medical student later died of hypothermia among other causes after waiting for hours in deep snow to be saved.
Romanians reacted with fury, taking to social media and talk shows to accuse the government of incompetence and complacency after it emerged that the least injured of the survivors called emergency services six times.
Well, they did take of Ceaușescu's head off.
It took 4½ hours for villagers and a woodcutter to locate the plane in Transylvania after it lost altitude and crashed at 4,600 feet above sea level. Medical teams arrived hours later and were reportedly ill-equipped. The plane, carrying two pilots and five medical workers, was on its way to pick up a liver for a transplant.
‘‘The government generally does nothing, and in this case they did nothing to locate the plane. A woodcutter had to find them,’’ aviation professor Nicolae Serban Tomescu said. ‘‘The rescue operation was like Swiss cheese. There were holes everywhere.’’
But some officials have defended the government’s response, saying rescuers worked in difficult weather conditions and darkness.
Nonetheless, public ire has reached a peak because many believe the government was unable to muster up-to-date equipment to rescue the crash victims, but is willing to invest its resources heavily on surveillance. Romania, a country of 19 million with no foreign enemies, has seven intelligence agencies, including the main domestic and foreign spying agencies. Democracy activists claim that those in power use intelligence to gain unfair advantages over opponents and dig up compromising data.
There is also anger because the elite telecommunications agency — one of the seven intelligence agencies — invested 40 million euros in the country’s national emergency number, and the six calls made did not appear to be enough to get help quickly.
The blowback has taken its toll on the government, which is vying to win a presidential election in November....
OMG!
Prime Minister Victor Ponta is also trying to save face because he went on a talk show Monday evening to say all seven people on the flight had survived. Romanians had been glued to TV news bulletins, and the story was at first presented as one with a happy ending....
The pilot who was killed, Adrian Iovan, had 30 years of experience and was well known in Romania as an aviation expert who went on TV whenever there was an accident. He died of hypothermia and from numerous fractures. Aurelia Ion, 23, a volunteer medical student in her fifth year, died from hypothermia and injuries....
"Romanian teacher fired for demanding gifts" by Alison Mutler | Associated Press, January 11, 2014
BUCHAREST, Romania — Education authorities fired a teacher Friday who was filmed aggressively demanding gifts from students in a case that has made headlines in Romania, where it is customary to give presents to teachers….
Beyond an apple a day.
The case, which became public in December, has touched a nerve with Romanians who feel obligated to offer gifts to people in authority to ensure good treatment.
Wow, a society that works like the AmeriKan political system.
However, Dana Blandu’s approach shocked Romanians because she apparently blatantly tapped into the fear that students’ grades would suffer unless their parents paid up.
Ever since the communist era, students have traditionally offered teachers token gifts such as bunches of flowers or chocolates. By law, larger gifts for teachers are organized through the parents’ association.
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