FAA Spokesperson Takes Back Billy Mays Quote

61. even if he was wearing his seatbelt, that doesnt effect where the object flew from the overcarrige. they are boyh unrelated to eachother because billy was in the same seat regardless if he was wearing a seatbelt or not. if i were mrs. mays, i would go after the airline company for a major settlment.

Posted at 4:12PM on Jun 28th 2009 by crazysteve

62. I worked with Billy Mays on Thursday. He was such a nice man, taking time to chat with all of us on set and take some photos. He was also very very good at what he did. He only took one or two takes per shot. I learned a lot just watching him.

I was so stuck with how kind he was that I even called my mother to tell her just that. He will be missed by everyone who knew him or worked with him. Our love goes out to his family.

I hope everyone, including TMZ, honors his wife's request for some time...

Posted at 4:21PM on Jun 28th 2009 by Sally

63. first off, may mr mays rest in peace and our prayers to him and his family

secondly, anyone questioning whether TMZ is inaccurate in Laura Brown's quote is dead wrong. Laura Brown has continuously lied to the public and will continue to do so because her bosses tell her to. The FAA has never and will never take blame for ANYTHING they do wrong. (Think about the NYC flyover with the Boeing 747, the bird strike data being withheld from the public, the Dash-8 crash just outside Buffalo, and the list goes on and on). Many of these mistakes could have been prevented. But the safety is sacrificed in the sake of their bottom line.

Their classic line is "safety was never compromised." Hundreds of dead bodies later, the classic line is "safety was never compromised."

and laura brown can't say "no comment." Then her job would be useless because she a spokesperson who isn't speaking. unfortunately the airlines will pay for this mistake, not the FAA, even though it's the FAA's job to inspect these flights for safety issues.

don't believe everything you hear, ESPECIALLY when it's from the government, especially the FAA. Heck, FOXNews prolly has more credibility than the FAA.

Posted at 5:16PM on Jun 28th 2009 by disgruntled faa employee

64. I am very sorry to hear of Mr. Mays death; however, I think he was a con man of the first water. I ordered two of those garden augers with the free drills included for $19.99 each. They would not tell me the shipping costs but I had to provide a credit card. When they arrived, all I received were the auger blades, no rods, no other parts, no free drills and a $69 charge to my credit card. I attempted to retrieve the money, but never got it back. In order to receive the remainder of the order, I would have had to agree to pay additional money. I refused. I turned the item over to our State Attorney General for review. Unless there were lots of complaints, nothing will come of it, but as a person on social security, $69 is a lot of money. My husband has been in and out of the hospital for the last six months and the $69 would have helped. I am just writing it off to "dumb me" for falling for it. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. I, too, used the mute button whenever he came on TV. He was the most irritating man.

Posted at 4:36PM on Jun 28th 2009 by huskergirl

65. This is truly truly sad. First...our condolences to Mrs. Billy May. Your husband was a true innovator in the info-mmercial and will be missed. He is the one that first sold me on Oxiclean... and I still buy it after almost 10 years.

Second, totally agree with everyone-- what does items falling from overhead have to do with the price of tea in China? If anything, I'd rip my seatbelt off if things were falling overhead so I could dodge them.

Third, Laura was probably give that statement to say - but she should have known it was false. Rather than TMZ's fault and retraction, I venture to guess that other passengers say the report and called to say they'd testify that he was wearing his seatbelt. He just seems like a standup guy.

Last... lmao @ IH8SHAMWOW... totally agree. At least Billy wasn't arrested for asaulting a, ahem, "lady of the evening." (She did get in a few punches and gave him a black eye... good for her!)

What a week.

Posted at 4:43PM on Jun 28th 2009 by Cali MJ Fan

66. Just a hunch, but I'm curious if the autopsy will show a traumatic brain injury, similar to the one, that claimed the life of Natasha Richardson, earlier this year.

Posted at 11:06PM on Jun 28th 2009 by NotAmused

67. Hilarious.
Now, along with watching Charlie's Angels and dancing to Billie Jean, we have to watch those damn annoying commercials.
GEE !
Between cancer, drug overdoses, and airplane flights, none of us has a chance in Hell.

Posted at 4:47PM on Jun 28th 2009 by DanaMC

68. Wow, lying, blaming the victim, and evasiveness. What else would one expect from a government agency?

Posted at 4:51PM on Jun 28th 2009 by Annoyed by it all

69. Wow, I KEPT TELLING MY SISTER NO WAY, he says stuff FELL on his head, not that he HIT his head there was already an alert of landing gear failing, no way would anyone NOT have on a seat belt, Watch FOXNEWS they tell the truth.. not this liberal crap.. comeon people, see the FAA is trying to cover their ass! UGH

Posted at 6:01PM on Jun 28th 2009 by PresouzKitty

70. Does anyone have any respect at all anymore??? RESPECT THE LIVING & THE DEAD! My GOD!!!!!

Posted at 4:53PM on Jun 28th 2009 by CutTheCrap

71. Wow all I can say is wow, FAA, I knew in my heart they were lying, someone is lying. There was landing gear problems before the tires even blew, so Im sure everyone was alerted of that and seat belts were still on!!

Posted at 5:08PM on Jun 28th 2009 by PresouzKitty

72. "I said that. No, wait. I didn't say that. I didn't mean it. Yeah, that's it. If I said it, I didn't mean it. But I didn't say it."

"He wasn't wearing a seatbelt. He was wearing a seatbelt. We don't know if he was wearing a seatbelt. Who had time to check seatbelts when all the luggage was falling out and hitting him in the head?"

"Oh CRAP. I didn't mean to say THAT, either."

Posted at 6:06PM on Jun 28th 2009 by CYA

73. Even if he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, shouldn't an airhost(ess) check each passenger before landing? Why blame the victim?

Posted at 7:40PM on Jun 28th 2009 by SAK1

74. I don't fly very often, (like once every few years), but I can tell you that every time I have flown in the past several years, (3 times), I have seen a bin open on landing or during turbulence. Those airplanes are OLD. I doubt those clasps work very well, (especially when people are constantly cramming stuff in the bins and trying to force them closed with crap inside the clasp). If the airlines won't invest in electrical panels that the attendants can observe to assure that all bins are securely fastened then they shouldn't allow them to be used anymore. I hope Mays wife sues the airline company. Whoever the idiot is at the FAA who made the comment about seatbelts needs to be FIRED! Better yet, they should be strapped into a seat with no leg or elbow room and have 25 pound bags with rollers and handles hurled at them at 50 MPH. WHY don't the airlines at least invest in some safety latches that are used by the attendants to secure all of the bins closed upon take-off. Then when they land the attendants can unlatch each row from front to back so passengers don't bum rush them and cause luggage to fall on somebody else's head.

Posted at 6:19PM on Jun 28th 2009 by Inkling

75. Isn't the FAA and the spokesperson for the airline two different people and organizations? I don't think the same organization made the statements. The airline is smart for dummying up.

Posted at 6:20PM on Jun 28th 2009 by Inkling