The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "aerial" ...
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Bennie's Deal
In this story, the reporters discover how a former Tampa police chief violated a Law Enforcement ethics code written by a committee of which he was the member. The violation took place when he appeared in a series of ads for a company that supplied the department with millions of dollars of equipment. It did not end there. Not only were there problems with this equipment, but the company also received a soul source provider contract from the department.
Tags: Bennie Holder; Sarasota; Gyrocams; Aerial Films; Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio
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Aging Airtankers
"An Associated Press investigation of the nation's aerial firefighting program found that many of the aging planes should never have been flying in the first place. It found a spotty safety record by a contractor who had the wings snap off two airtankers in mid-flight last summer, and that no single registry or agency keeps track of accidents involving so-called public service aircraft. The series traced the use of the airtankers to an apparently illegal transfer of military aircraft, showing that the investigation of one of last summer's crashes was hampered because the plane once was used to fly spy missions for the CIA. It found that there is poor financing and supervision of the crucial program, findings echoed in a report by a special government commission."
Tags: airtanker; airplanes; safety; record; transportation; CIA; spy; accidents; government oversight; crash
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A Colombian village caught in a crossfire
The LA Times investigates a 1998 controversial bombing of a Colombian village, in which 18 people were killed. The report finds that U.S. military help played a role in the tragedy. The story refutes the Colombian military's version that the bombing was actually a premature detonation of a car bomb planted by rebels, and finds the prosecutors' charge -- that a Colombian air force helicopter actually dropped the bomb -- to be more credible. Other findings are that U.S. Customs planes, tracking a plane supposedly filled with drugs, helped initiate the bombing; two American companies provided supplies and help to the Colombian military on the day of the operation; the bombing site was under aerial surveillance of a U.S. Coast Guard officer.
Tags: FOI; FBI; human rights; drug war; military aid; Alien Tort Claims Act
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War on Error
An investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Center for Public Integrity reveals that "more than six months of live pictures from U.S. aerial spy missions had been broadcast in real time to viewers throughout Europe and the Balkans. The spy flights, conduct by U.S. Army and Navy units and AirScan Inc, a Florida-based private military company, were used to monitor terrorist and smugglers trying to cross borders. The broadcasts were not encrypted, meaning that anyone in the region with a normal satellite TC receiver could spy on U.S. surveillance operations as they happened. Live pictures from the spy planes had been transmitted over the Internet by satellite enthusiasts. The stories pointed to a major security lapse at a time when questions were being asked about intelligence failures prior to September 11, 2001.
Tags: satellite; aerial; spy; missions; U.S. Army; Navy; AirScan Inc; September 11; 2001; surveillance; online; CD
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Detroit Fire Department: Out of Service
A nine-month CAR investigation of the Detroit Fire Department reveals outdated, broken equipment and mismanagement compromises the ability of fire fighters to do their jobs. The report details a fire truck that won't go faster than 45 mph, broken aerial ladders, untested air tanks, broken fire hydrants, lack of safety ropes, understaffed and closed fire stations.
Tags: CAR fire department; ladders; rescue; Underwriters Laboratories Inc.; hazardous spills; FAA; arson; disrepair; inspections; pumper; fireplugs; emergency
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No title (id: 593)
Willamette Week (Portland, Ore.) publishes series on aerial spraying of herbicides and its effects, December 1979.
Tags: OR agriculture