Here at 7 News Detroit, we want to make sure you start your day off on the right foot, informed about weather, traffic, the latest news and more. That's why we have the 7 Morning Digest, where we'll get you out the door informed and ready to go.
What's the weather for today?
Snow showers increase later tonight through Thursday morning. Most areas could get 1"- 2" of snow with very strong winds making bringing the wind chills near zero.
We'll end the week dry on Friday with highs near 30° with brighter skies as temperatures gradually climb near 40° by Sunday.
Any traffic issues?
So far, no traffic issues to know about this morning! Be sure to check our live traffic map before leaving here.
The top stories to know about
Man helps Warren family who had their Christmas decorations stolen
We're following up on a story we first shared with you Monday. The Milner family's newly-purchased Christmas decorations were stolen by a real-life Grinch. They spent nearly $200 during a touch financial season for the family to bring some joy to 2-year-old Isabella.
After seeing our story, one man in Howell wanted to do something special to help. After Mike Roseman from Howell saw the story, he knew he wanted to do something to help. He gifted the family with a $250 check.
"Anytime you can reach out and help somebody that needs help, you gotta do it," Roseman said. "Take the rest of it and buy a gift for your daughter.”
The family was completely overwhelmed by the kind gesture and said they're happy that Isabella will now understand there is much more good in the world than a couple of Grinches.
“It shows that kindness is still out there, it shows the Christmas spirit and like I said, it makes me want to pay it forward too," dad Jason Milner said.
MDOT hosts seventh community meeting to gather input on I-375 project
Inside an event space in Eastern Market, the Michigan Department of Transportation held its seventh community meeting on the project to remove I-375 and put in place a street-level road with traffic lights from Gratiot Avenue to Atwater Street.
The project likely wouldn't be completed for a few years, but it's been in the works for a long time. However, there's still a lot MDOT is working to figure out.
“We're committed to building the boulevard and we're committed to the project," MDOT spokesperson Rob Morosi said. "But in terms of final design, were not close. In terms of how the property will be developed, we're not there. We're not close yet.”
Beverly Kindle-Walker went to the meeting to giver her input. She lives near I-375 and says she relies on the freeway, which is a major route into downtown Detroit.
"It's going to be a major inconvenience for years to come, and it's not necessary,” Kindle-Walker said of the project. "This is the Motor City, right? So to change that into a boulevard — for whose benefit? It's not ours.”
US Special Counsel: Metro Airport landing approach may create 'danger for landing aircraft and flying public'
The U.S. Special Counsel is taking issue with the actions of Federal Aviation Administration managers at Metro Airport yet again.
The 7 Investigators were the first to expose a risky landing practice at the airport back in 2020.
On Tuesday, for the second time, the U.S. Special Counsel sent a report to the President and to Congress about the issues with this landing approach at Detroit Metro Airport.
In a press release, Special Counsel Hampton Dellinger said, “The approach at issue may create a danger for landing aircraft and the flying public.”
Air Traffic Control OSC Letter. DI-21-000698 by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd
The 7 Investigators have obtained multiple radar recordings of pilots reporting problems with the landing system:
“We’re going around, we’re unstable,” said one pilot.
“SkyWest 3650, you say you’re going missed?” asked an air traffic controller.
“Going missed,” confirmed the pilot.
Air Traffic Controllers say the landing system on one of the Metro Airport runways sometimes causes pilots to have to abort their landings. And that can be risky.
“Bottom line, the planes could collide?” asked 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
“Absolutely. Yes,” said now-retired Air Traffic Controllers. “They could drift into each other.”
The planes on the westernmost runway must approach at an angle, using something called the Instrument Landing System (ILS) Yankee Off Set Localizer. It’s an antenna system, but Air Traffic Controllers say its placement at Metro results in the signal getting interrupted, especially when other planes taxi right in front of it.
“You guys need to get off of Yankee and go to Zulu,” said one pilot to the tower during a snowstorm.
“Trust me, that’s a constant discussion,” said an Air Traffic Controller.
“No, it’s not a discussion. It’s a safety issue coming from the pilots,” said the pilot.
Since 2020, the 7 Investigators have exposed how three different whistleblowers have questioned the use of the landing system.
“Why are we using it again after the Special Counsel asked us not to,” said one Air Traffic Controller in 2021 who could only speak on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their job.
“These are all complaints from the larger mainline airline pilots. They’re saying, 'Why are we using this?'” said another Controller, who asked that we hide their identity as well due to fear of retaliation.
“Is this approach safe?” asked Catallo.
“No,” said Sugent. “I have literally hundreds of documents with engineers and all these people saying don't use it. We can't guarantee the safety of this.”
Because he’s now retired, Sugent can speak publicly about the issue.
Sugent is the one who originally filed a whistleblower complaint in 2018 with the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. That federal watchdog sided with Sugent, and in a letter in 2020 to then-President Trump, the Special Counsel urged the FAA to “further review the safety issues associated with the ILS Y approach procedure and take the steps necessary to resolve them.”
But the 7 Investigators have documented several times in the last four years where FAA leadership at Metro Airport continued to use the approach. Radar playback obtained through the Freedom of Information Act reveals multiple examples of pilots reporting signal interference with the ILS Y and having to “go around” or abort their landings.
“Do you know if the localizer Yankee seems to have been off – has it been giving trouble to some other folks?” asked on pilot. “It was quite a bit off.”
“We had an issue with the localizer too. It overshot – it wasn’t tracking it,” said another pilot that same day.
So Sugent, even though he’s no longer on the job, filed a new whistleblower complaint.
“Why have you been so relentless on this?” asked Catallo.
“I'm a public servant. Bottom line, that's all we are. Whether you're the head of the FAA or you're a controller working our airplanes, we are public servants. And we have to make sure that the public gets from point A to point B in the safest, quickest way they can,” said Sugent. “We have a responsibility to make sure those airplanes are safe as possible.”
In a letter to the President on Tuesday, the special counsel said, “…it appears the previous safety concerns surrounding the ILS-Y approach at DTW remain.
According to the Special Counsel report, the FAA did not substantiate Sugent’s allegations that the system is unsafe. They said they temporarily stopped using the system and implemented an education campaign for controllers and pilots.
“Although the [FAA] has not substantiated Mr. Sugent’s allegations, all the agency reports regarding this matter confirm that the FAA has continued the use of the ILS-Y approach procedure at DTW, with the full knowledge the offset localizers are located in areas where aircraft taxi through the ILS critical area and could cause interference with the ILS signal,” said Dellinger. “Further, I am concerned that the agency has discontinued the weather restriction, one of the two mitigations that the agency previously deemed necessary for the safe operation of the ILS-Y approach.”
“Why put airplanes in that situation?” said Sugent.
It’s now up to Congress to decide whether to hold the FAA accountable. Sugent says he continues to urge Congress to have the antenna system moved to a different location where it does not get interference from other aircraft.
The 7 Investigators reached out to the FAA for comment on this. They said they are aware of this and reviewing the ruling.
If you have a story for Heather Catallo, please email her at hcatallo@wxyz.com.
