Safety delayed IS safety denied!

Below is Matt Ziemkiewicz’ response letter:

May 10, 2012

To the Editor:

Re: Wall Street Journal article

May 8, 2012 Airlines Fight FAA Rule Industry Seeks More Time to Modify Fuel Tanks, Targets Other Safety Mandates By ANDY PASZTOR

The National Air Disaster Alliance/ Foundation (NADA/F) is disappointed in Airlines for America request to delay instituting the long overdue FAA required fuel tank inerting systems that will prevent fuel tank explosions. Elimination of explosive and flammable fuel vapors on airplanes has been a long standing NTSB Most Wanted List safety improvement. Such a device would have prevented TWA Flight 800 and several other fiery disasters.

In July 2008, the Department of Transportation Secretary Peters, FAA Administrator Sturgel, and NTSB Chairman Rosenker announced very publicly that a rule has been instituted mandating retro fit of existing aircraft and all new production aircraft to be fitted with devices to eliminate the explosive fuel vapor environment in fuel tanks. The technology has evolved from a large and involved process to a smaller more economical unit. There has already been over ten years of bureaucratic and industry induced delays and compromise to get this requirement instituted in July 2008.

We are disturbed that Airlines for America appears to be looking more at the bottom line than on safety. It also seems the FAA approval process is contributing to implementation delays. NADA/F wants air travel to be as safe and responsible as possible, the traveling public demands it. It is not only a moral responsibility but a practical one to ensure the highest standards of safety are adhered to by the industry. It is up to the aviation industry and the FAA to “do the right thing” and get these inerting devices on airplanes that present risk, streamline the bureaucratic process and avoid any further delays. Safety delayed is safety denied.

We hope and pray that the FAA stays on its original course to mandate fuel tank inerting that will save lives so other families will never have to face the tragedy that mine has had to endure.

The National Air Disaster Alliance/ Foundation www.planesafe.org is a non-profit grass roots aviation advocacy group comprised of family members, survivors, and industry professionals to promote safety, security, survivability and support for those affected by aviation disasters. NADA/F is a charter member of the FAA Aviation Rule Making Advisory Committee and appointed to Aviation Rule Making Committees.

Matthew Ziemkiewicz,

President,

National Air Disaster Alliance/ Foundation
TWA Flight 800 Family Member

Gail offered this summary via email this morning:

We had over 100 people.  About five were Founding Members, some old and dear friends and new members too. When we have a meeting we also hear from members and promote NADA/F. We all represent a shared commitment for aviation safety and security.  

We have fewer new members, which is good news, but recent crashes are more likely to be regional/commuter flights, and very preventable. 

We will welcome four new board members representing US1549 (Miracle on the Hudson), CO3407, (the Buffalo crash) and Alaska 261.  

On the one hand we are still pursuing required child seats for children under two, although we now have new opportunities to get the mandate through.  I remind myself that League of Women Voters worked for 40 years to get women the right to vote.  Surely safe seats for babies on airplanes should not take longer. 

For “new” news we look forward to working with Kenyon International! 

• NTSB Chair, Deborah Hersman, received the Aviation Safety Award for 2009 (since we didn’t have our Annual Meeting last year). She was endorsed by the Fahey family, who especially appreciated her accessibility and support in the Comair Flight 5191 crash investigation.  She also gave a terrific speech on her goals for the Board in the coming year.
• Jan Brown, a retired United Airlines flight attendant, received the Aviation Safety Award for 2010. She was a surviving flight attendant on United Flight 232, July 19, 1989, when a child died because he was not in a child seat. She has worked harder than anyone for over 20 years to promote required seats in flight for children under the age of two. 
• Christine Negroni received the Journalism Award for 2010.  She is an aviation journalist, whose work appears in The New York Times, and author of Deadly Departure: Why the Experts Failed to Prevent the TWA Flight 800 Disaster and How It Could Happen Again. She also hosts an informative blog called Flying Lessons.

Jan Brown, Deborah Hersman, Matt Ziemkiewicz, Christine Negroni

Excerpts from the
Last Homily of Father Mychal Judge
FDNY Chaplain,at Mass for Firefighters: Sept. 10, 2001

Let us pray.

Thank you Lord for life.  Thank you for love.  Thank you for goodness.  Thank you for work.  Thank you for family.  Thank you for friends.  Thank you for every gift because we know that every gift comes from you, and without you, we have and are nothing.  So, as we celebrate this day in thanksgiving to you, keep our hearts and minds open. Let us enjoy each other’s company, and most of all, let us be conscious of Your presence in our lives and in a special way in the lives of all those who have gone before us.  And Father we make our prayer, as always, in Jesus’ name who lives with You forever and ever.

That’s the way it is.  Good days.  And bad days.  Up days.  Down days.  Sad days.  Happy days.  But never a boring day on this job.  You do what God has called you to do.  You show up.  You put one foot in front of another.  You get on the rig and you go out and you do the job – which is a mystery.  And a surprise.  You have no idea when you get on that rig.  No matter how big the call.  No matter how small.  You have no idea what God is calling you to.  But he needs you.  He needs me.  He needs all of us.

The retirees – He needs your prayers.  He needs your stopping by occasionally to give strength and support and to tell the stories of the old days.  We need the house and to those of you that are working now, keep going.  Keep supporting each other.  Be kind to each other.  Love each other.  Work together and do what you did the other night and the weeks and the months and the years before and from this house, God’s blessings go forth in this community.  It’s fantastic!

What great people.  We love the job.  We all do.  What a blessing that is.  A difficult, difficult job and God calls you to it.  And then He gives you a love for it so that a difficult job will be well done.  Isn’t He a wonderful God?  Isn’t He good to you?  To each one of you?  And to me!  Turn to Him each day.  Put your faith and your trust and your hope and your life in His hands, and He’ll take care of you and you’ll have a good life.
And this house will be a great, great blessing to this neighborhood and to this city.

Amen.

So today, we reflect, remember, do community service. And, tomorrow, we go back to advocacy! That is certainly part of the healing for us here at NADA/F. Today, no matter what your faith, find peace in your own way. Since I live close by, I’ll be having my reflection today at the Pentagon Memorial.

Just this year:

• FAA is now under its twelfth short-term authorization, valid until the start of July.
• Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) had put a hold on the bill, due to his interest in protecting FedEx from unionization.  On March 11, he lifted his hold, because language changing labor laws, was removed (via tradingmarkets.com).
• Family members of the victims of Flight 3407 lobbied tirelessly for increased regulation and oversignt for regional airlines (via WGRZ).  Pilot training, pilot records and pilot fatigue are all addressed.

WKBW News has a good summary of what the Senate passed.  The next step is to resolve differences with the House version.  Hopefully it won’t take three months, but yesterday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said, “we have our work cut out for us,” to reconcile (via @AvWeekScho).

• Funding of NextGen, the future air traffic control system, is a point of contention for some interest groups.  Airlines will be required to pay for their onboard equipment (Seattle Times).  But, it is otherwise a very expensive project.   FAA defended the costs late last week (from nextgov).
• Use or not of passenger and facility fees is of interest to groups like the Air Transport Association and the American Association of Airport Executives, who are to have their voices heard as reconciliation begins.
• The labor law language Sen. Corker opposed will still need to be worked out.  More on the disputed items from GovExec.
• The Senate version includes a “Passenger Bill of Rights,” which aims to limit the time spent on the tarmac, in the event of delays.  Some airlines have said complying would be a hardship and, at certain airports, have already requested extensions (New York Times).

For everyone (legislators, staff, interest groups, industry, concerned citizens) who worked toward this for the last four years, thank you!  Although there is satisfaction, I imagine (and have heard) there is also a bit of resentment.  Four years is a long time to be operating in a tentative framework.  For the goverment agencies, it is especially difficult to operate with no long-term directive.  So, may this be the beginning of something better.

Sadly, last evening, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 caught fire (from early reports) and crashed shortly after takeoff from Beirut, Lebanon.  Airsafe.com has a good summary, as of Monday afternoon.  It appears as though none of the passengers or crew survived.  The investigation will be ongoing.

On the Hill This Week

As was the case last week, congressional committees continue to follow up on their understanding of the NW253 incident on Christmas Day.  But also, the confirmation process of a nominee to the FAA and the reauthorization process of the NTSB will be moving forward.  This week (via GovExec), they are:

• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – Hearing [ 09:30 am, 01/26/2010 ]
  Full committee hearing on “Intelligence Reform: The Lessons and Implications of the Christmas Day Attack,” focusing on the attempted bombing incident on Flight 253 to Detroit on December 25. (Part Two)
• House Homeland Security Committee – Hearing [ 10:00 am, 01/27/2010 ]
  Full committee hearing on “Flight 253: Learning Lessons from an Averted Tragedy.”
• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee – Hearing [ 02:30 pm, 01/26/2010 ]
  Full committee hearing on the nominations of Michael Huerta, to be deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration; David Matsuda, to be administrator of the Maritime Administration; and Timothy McGee, to be an assistant secretary in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with responsibility for environmental observation and prediction.
• House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – Hearing [ 10:00 am, 01/27/2010 ]
  Aviation Subcommittee hearing on “Reauthorization of the National Transportation Safety Board.”

Illinois: Two weeks ago, two died when a Lear jet crashed near Chicago Executive Airport (via WLS-TV).

Hawaii: Last week, on Oahu, two died in a small plane crash. In a preliminary report from the NTSB, the pilot was off course and the single engine Piper had no evident mechanical issues (via the Honolulu Advertiser).

Alabama: On Monday, two people died in a private twin engine plane crash near Madison, Alabama (via WANDTV).

Ohio: Also Monday, a twin engine plane with four passengers crashed in Lorain County, Ohio.  Three died.  The crash has sparked discussion about the possible impact of funding cuts to the Lorain Regional Airport (via WKYC-TV).

• Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee – Hearing [ 09:30 am, 01/20/2010 ]
  Full committee hearing on “Intelligence Reform: The Lessons and Implications of the Christmas Day Attack,” focusing on the attempted bombing incident on Flight 253 to Detroit on December 25.
  Witness(es): Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano; Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair; and Michael Leiter, head of the National Counterterrorism Center, testify.  The chairman, Senator Joe Lieberman, spoke about this committee hearing on NPR this morning.
• Senate Judiciary Committee – Hearing [ 10:00 am, 01/20/2010 ]
  Full committee hearing on “Securing America’s Safety: Improving the Effectiveness of Anti-Terrorism Tools and Inter-Agency Communication.”
  Witness(es): Robert Mueller, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy; Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Policy David Heyman, testify
• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee – Hearing [ 02:30 pm, 01/20/2010 ]
  Full committee hearing on “The State of Aviation Security – Is Our Current System Capable of Meeting the Threat?” focusing on the attempted bombing incident on Flight 253 to Detroit on December 25.
  Witness(es): TBA
• Senate (Select) Intelligence Committee – Briefing [ 02:30 pm, 01/21/2010 ]
  Full committee closed hearing on the attempted bombing incident on Flight 253 to Detroit on December 25.

We are proud that Rosemary Dillard was on the Hill today representing NADA/F!

TSA Administrator

Also, much attention was paid to the fact that there was no TSA Administrator in place when the attempted bombing of NW253 occurred.  While Senator DeMint has opposed the nomination of Erroll Southers based on perceived differences of labor policy.  It was actually Southers’ past abuse of power, in his position as chief of security with the LAX police, that caused wider doubt as to his suitability for the job.  He has withdrawn himself from consideration (via CongressDaily and GovExec).  I have to say this is a good move, since these recent questions only prevented an efficient confirmation process.  And, this position needs to be filled!

There is so much to write about from this week and it is hard to try and keep up.  I’ll try to post my thoughts later!

Department of Homeland Security

Secretary Janet Napolitano made quite the misstep, when she originally stated that “the system worked (clip from CNN).”  In trying to assure people, her point was that the action taken subsequent to the fire on the flight was swift and appropriate.  But, it was misinterpreted to mean there was proactive action, which clearly, there wasn’t.

One other issue has come up with this first statement.  While she said all pilots in the air were informed, today the Coalition of Airline Pilots Association disputed that (via WOAW TV 9).  She and President Obama have since identified some of the human and systemic failings and we are learning more every day.  President Obama receives the report of preliminary findings today (via USA Today).

Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana was the first to call for Napolitano’s resignation (via The Hill).  This has become political very quickly and Republicans in Congress have taken this opportunity to criticize the adminstration policy (via AFP).

Transportation Security Administration

The Transportation Security Administration was swift to implement a modified directive that was supposed to be in place through yesterday.  But it was unclear at the time, if it applied to all flights, and for how long.  Among some of the actions taken on flights were  limiting passenger activity for the last hour of the flight and taking televisions and live maps offline.  Since, at least, two bloggers received the directive via email and posted it, there was plenty of online discussion of its contents, relevancy and consistency in implementation.  Many passengers were curious to know what would apply to them and the TSA was not very communicative.  FoxNews had the story online, before the Department of Homeland Security got involved.  Now many outlets are writing about the subsequent subpoenas and investigation.  But, here’s the link to the USA Today story on what happened.  I can say from my original interpretation, I don’t think they realized until later that they were the only ones who had it. 

To our best knowledge, TSA is no longer following that directive.  However, they are looking at expanding the use of full body scanners (via FoxNews), among other things.

Although Erroll Southers was nominated to be TSA Administrator in September, and is a former FBI special agent with counter-terrorism expertise, he has not been confirmed by the Senate.  Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina has blocked  the process over concerns the Southers is too friendly to collective bargaining (via WIBW).  I can’t help but think that not having a leader may just as much challenge an agency’s effectiveness as having a leader friendly to labor.  But, Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, says he will force a vote on the nominee in three weeks (Los Angeles Times).

Central Intelligence Agency and Department of State

I can only assume that these two agencies needed to contribute greatly to the preliminary report to President Obama.  Since we now know the suspect’s father communicated his concerns to the U.S. Embassy and the CIA (via ABC News), there must have been serious study of what happened (or didn’t) with that information. 

Intelligence and military leaders are also focused on the role Yemen likely played.  Yesterday, NPR ran a good story on the challenges there.

Since then, the suspect, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, was treated for his burns and is now being held at a federal prison in Michigan.  His detention hearing was postposed and is now scheduled for January 8 (via NY Post).  We have learned that he had ties to a Yemeni branch of al-Qaeda and that his family was concerned enough to bring him to the attention of the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria (via The Washington Post, subscription).  That report resulted in him being added, just a month later, to a U.S. terrorism-related database but not to any aviation watch list (The Washington Post).

NPR had an interview this evening with a witness to a potential accomplice.  He also seems to question whether or not the suspect had appropriate documentation to travel.

There is some discussion about whether or not the primary explosive, PETN, could have been detected with standard equipment.  The Washington Post has a good article on the kind of equipment that CAN detect it and the reasons it hasn’t been fully implemented.  A full pat-down may have revealed the detonator, but in this case, the suspect wasn’t identified for additional screening.  Schiphol, Amsterdam’s Airport, is undertaking a full investigation of their procedures (via The Wall Street Journal) and is obviously, a little defensive.

Since there is more to say on the topic of what TSA has done with their procedures in the days following and the subsequent sensitivity to behavior on planes since, I’ll post on that later!