In its many years of bringing investigative reports to Canadians, the
fifth estate has had its share of alarming stories. This season debuts
with startling and disturbing allegations about the people we depend on
to ensure our safety when we fly. The story begins with an urgent e-mail
to the fifth estate.
The writer says she has .come across interesting, internal information
from Transport Canada.. The sender: a journalism student who has found
a USB key/computer memory stick in a coffee shop. The student.s discovery
contains interesting information indeed. There are warnings from a
security inspector at Canada.s biggest airport alleging public safety is
being compromised because security and safety regulations are being
circumvented in favour of profit and convenience.
In Riding on Risk, reporter Hana Gartner talks to whistle blowers who
have risked their livelihoods to try to change a system that they believe
is putting passengers and airline employees in grave and needless danger
at the airports and in the air. We.ll also meet Kirsten Stevens of
British Columbia, a woman whose logger husband boarded a routine flight
one day, promising to be home in time for dinner with her and their three
children. But, the small float plane carrying him crashed and all aboard
were killed. Kirsten assumed Transport Canada would investigate. She was
shocked when she realized they had closed their file on the crash. She
did her own meticulous investigation and pinpointed a mechanical failure
that may have led to her husband.s death. Since then, she has become a
crusader, and a magnet, for whistle blowers inside the industry desperate
to share their concerns about aviation security and safety.
Finally, the fifth estate takes the investigation to federal Minister
of Transport, John Baird. Hana Gartner gives the Minister the opportunity
to respond to the allegations and asks the question that should be on the
minds of anyone in Canada who flies: should industry, concerned about
saving money and cutting corners, be the same people to worry about
safety?
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