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.a Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation + 5 11 q.b 1 g=s 1200 K Street. N.W., Washington. D.C. 20005-4026 

RE: Appeal 1 Trans World Airlines, Inc. Retirement 

Plan for Employees - Noncontract Personnel (the Plan) 

The Appeals Board reviewed your appeal of PBGC's December 12, 

2001 determination that you did not qualify for a disability 

retirement benefit under the Plan. For the reasons stated below, 

the Board changed PBGC1s determination by finding that you are 

entitled to a disability retirement benefit under the Plan. 

As a result of the,Boardts finding, PBGC will determine your 

estinated benefit commencement date and your estimated disability 

retirement benefit amount in the near future. PBGC will then begin 

paying you the estimated benefit. Once PBGC finishes processing 

your pension plan, it will send you a determination of your final 

benefit commencement date and your final'benefit amount. You will 

have 45 days to appeal that determination 

PBGC's Determination and Your A~~eal 

. .,.. PBGC's determination denied your request for a disability 

retirement benefit because there was no affirmation from your 

physician that your condition is permanently'disabling from all 

jobs in the national economy. 

Your January 20, 2002 appeal described your very serious and 

unusual medical problems. You stated that specialists had advised 

against surgery to remove the foreign object near your spine, but 

that leaving it in place posed grave risks and caused pain and 

severe functional limitations. You wrote that your physician 

described your permanent status as unknown because of the complex 

state of your physical condition, but neither he nor any other 

doctor could assure you that you would be free of permanent 
paralysis or life-threatening infection. 

With an October 23, 2002 supplemental appeal letter, you sent 

us medical reports, Benefit Reports you received for your long-term 

C 

9 disability claim, and a copy of your.Socia1 Security.Administration 

(SSA) Disability Award (SSADA) , in which the SSA stated that your 

disability began on April 13, 2000. With your November 22, 2002 

supplemental appeal letter, you sent us "MED 356" forms that were 

completed by your treating physician, 1-1 

Discussion 

The Appeals Board reviewed the Plan's provisions regarding 

disability retirements (Enclosure) as well as documents that you 

provided, including your SSADA, which may not have been available 

to PBGC when PBGC made its determination. The Board found that 

your physical impairments fall-under the Plan's definition of 

"Disabled. " Therefore, the Board found that you are entitled to 

a disability retirement benefit under the Plan. 

Please note, however, that although the Appeals Board found 

that you have met the requirements for a disability retirement 

benefit under the Plan at this time, 29 Code of Federal Regulations 

§ 4022.6 (c) provides that: 

"a participant may be required, upon the request of the PBGC, 

to submit to an examination or to submit proof of continued 

total and permanent disability. If the PBGC finds that a 

participant is no longer so disabled, it may suspend, modify, 

or discontinue the payment of the disability benefit." 

Decision 

Having applied PBGC regulations and provisions of the Plan to 

the facts of this case, the Appeals Board changed PBGC's 

determination by finding that you are entitled to a disability 

benefit under the Plan. 

We will send a copy of this decision to PBGC's Insurance 

Operations Department, the group responsible for determining 

benefits and making benefit payments. They will contact you 

directly concerning the amount and starting date of your estimated 

disability retirement benefit. 

We regret the delay in responding to your appeal letters, and 
appreciate your patience while we completed our review. If you 

need more information about your retirement benefit, please call 

PBGC's Customer Contact Center at 1-800-400-7242. 

Sincerely, 

Michel Louis 

Appeals Board Member 

Enclosure