INVESTIGATIONS: Texas Air Gets a Lift

The dark cloud that had hung over Eastern and Continental airlines since April began to disperse last week. The two carriers and their beleaguered parent company, Texas Air, were judged safe and sound in an unprecedented Government inspection of the airlines’ 636 jets and of Texas Air’s management and finances. According to Transportation Secretary James Burnley, Texas Air is currently “fit, willing and able” to perform safely, but the Government warned that labor-management strife at Eastern poses potential future hazards. As a precaution, Burnley appointed William Brock, a former Secretary of Labor, to act as a liaison between the company’s unions and management.