Massey Energy Arranged Jet For West Virginia Governor's Flight After Mine Blast

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia's governor flew back to the state hours after last week's deadly mine explosion on a jet provided by the mine's owner.

Gov. Joe Manchin said he was trying to return as quickly as possible after the April 5 blast that killed 29 miners. The governor was in Florida for vacation, and said a flight on a state-owned plane couldn't immediately be arranged.

Massey Energy owns the Upper Big Branch mine. Manchin said company officials offered to fly him back while briefing him on the blast. The governor said his lawyer found that acceptable because of the emergency situation.

Manchin said he flew back with his wife and security detail. Richmond, Va.-based Massey faces intense scrutiny and criticism over the mine's history of safety violations.

Comments

[magibrotherhood]

09:01 PM on 04/15/2010

They were trying to get their stories straight to cover their @$$es while flying back to WVA.

This looks bad...really bad.

[jayraye]

06:22 PM on 04/15/2010

Not much chance of the Massey gang being rounded up and sent to prison where they belong, while the Gov flies around the country in Massey jets.

[sealdadeal4me]

01:28 PM on 04/15/2010

Why would the governor need to fly back on Massey Jet? Again another politician in bed with the corporations. Just the very thought of improper actions should have been viewed as a no no for the governor at a time when so many lives had been lost. These people have no regard for the lives of those men and they should not now pretend they do. At the very lest Blankenship should be put in jail for the rest of his life and every judge, politicial, prosecutor involved in any part of the investigation or case should be vetted. The pockets run very deep as to where coal money goes.

[PNic]

12:17 PM on 04/15/2010

The life of just one of those miners is worth that of a thousand Don Blankenships. Every day he draws breath, while those unfortunate miners lay in the ground, is a study in injustice.

Someone who would value a dollar far above the lives of his workers, has made his own life devoid of any worth.

If there is any fairness or justice in this world, he will spend the next part of his worthless life in prison.
One can only hope.

[SunnyDaySam]

11:58 AM on 04/15/2010

"...company officials offered to fly him back while briefing him on the blast."
How charitable of them. Nothing to see here, I guess. ;-]

[magibrotherhood]

09:02 PM on 04/15/2010

they were plotting out the cover-up story.

[garymc8]

10:58 AM on 04/15/2010

WHY was the Jet there waiting for him???????????????
There are plenty of Airlines flying all the time. BS

[garymc8]

10:51 AM on 04/15/2010

The governor and the massey ceo need to go to jail. The gov. is an employee of Massey. This entire scenario PROVES AMERICA NEEDS UNIONS. The private sector is WAY TOO GREEDY to care about workers lives and safety. PUT THEM OUT OF BUSINESS. SELL THE ASSETS, DIVIDE THEM AMONGST THE MINERS.

[Blackwing]

10:41 AM on 04/15/2010

Massey pollutes our air AND our politics.

[chavista4]

09:56 AM on 04/15/2010

Although I did the investigations for the ethics committee in a very large government organization and served as the go to person for the employees with questions, I will not express an opinion on whether this was ethical or not. However, I have also lived and flown hundreds of hours in Florida, and there is no city where the governor could not have rented a jet and had it available before he even arrived at the airport. Jet rental is a major industry in Florida. Second, the state of Florida owns many airplanes and I'm sure they could have provided one if necessary.

[Quidward]

09:54 AM on 04/15/2010

One good thing is, the taxpayer didn't have to foot the bill.

[Barrelhse]

10:57 AM on 04/15/2010

No, the miners and their families pay the price.

[tjinc]

11:52 AM on 04/15/2010

Sorry, but that is an idiotic remark. We pay taxes so our government can operate. The appropriate thing to do would be to have leased a small jet. It WAS an emergency! The governor probably just checked with his attorney to see if he could get in trouble for it.

If you're so worried about taxes, check into the subsidies that mining, oil and gas get from us.

Chavista4 was right. There were many more rapidly acquired flight options than to take a jet from the very company whose negligence caused the disaster. Way too cozy a relationship. So what else is new in the "good ol' boy" South?

Those mines need federal, not state, inspectors.

[dolphy]

09:49 AM on 04/15/2010

he had to use massey's jet so that he can memorize what to say in defense of massey before he gets back to Va

[MissCupcake]

11:15 AM on 04/15/2010

West Virginia. Yep, its a state too!

[ed cochran]

02:25 PM on 04/15/2010

its Va. its WV. DUH

[Geoboy]

09:48 AM on 04/15/2010

This governor is disgusting. It would make no difference whether he took a commercial flight he was not going to save the miners, he was not going into the mine and he was not directing the rescue but was only a simple idiot who revealed his connection with Massey and Dan Blankenship. I doubt if anything can be accomplished for the safety of the miners with this governor arriving early. Another purchase by Massey and Blankenship? Who knows! The only comfort for the miners will come from their families and the miners who put their lives on the line to save their husbands, brothers and sisters. As for saying the governor would comfort: nonsense. Since Massey Energy purchases judges what is the connection of the governor and Massey Energy?

[DirtyDawg]

09:46 AM on 04/15/2010

The man's name is Blankenship...not Massey. He and he alone drives this corporation and my guess is that there ain't a single politician holding office in West Virginia that he doesn't already have in his pocket.

The thing that needs to be said to him, again and again, is that he'd better be glad that he's in a country that, primarily, values greed and corruption, cause if he were in Japan he'd have committed hara-kiri by now and if he were in China, he'd have been executed. The vermin need to be eradicated, but I'm afraid that all the eradicators have already thrown in with them.

[garymc8]

10:53 AM on 04/15/2010

SEND ALL OF THEM TO JAIL. This is what the gop wants for America. Total domination and exploitation of the American worker.

[KIVPossum]

03:46 PM on 04/15/2010

I know Blankenship. He owns everyone.

[dolphy]

09:45 AM on 04/15/2010

this should be a fed investigation since everyone in VA are already bought and sold

[MissCupcake]

11:17 AM on 04/15/2010

WEST VIRGINIA!

[OverIt]

09:16 AM on 04/15/2010

Sounds fine to me. Since WVa isn't exactly a great hub of air travel from FL and the most important thing was getting the governor back to his home state for the benefit and comfort of the loved ones waiting for word, I think this was an appropriate, one-time emergency use of the company's jet.

When one sees a fire, you just grab a hose, bucket, whatever and get to work to try to put it out... you don't stop to ask for the source or whose hose that is.

Now if it comes out that he'd used the jet in the past, that's a different story.

[dolphy]

09:47 AM on 04/15/2010

you think he did go to junkets paid for by massey? now that's what you call naivete

[OverIt]

10:08 AM on 04/15/2010

That's not my point. I wasn't making a claim one way or the other about any other trips he may have made. What I was saying is that THIS TRIP seems fine to me given the circumstances. But I won't extend the same understanding if PROOF of other trips comes out.

[dolphy]

09:47 AM on 04/15/2010

didn't