Safety
The cornerstone of our
safety goals is that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) must
require the industry to comply promptly with 100% of the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) fatal air crash derived safety
recommendations.
NTSB Chair Jim Hall recently
stated, "The FAA accepts 82.5% of the NTSB recommendations.
There are 43 recommendations to the FAA that are being held in an
'Open-Unacceptable Response' status." NADA/F finds this
unacceptable. The money and technology are there and air travel should
be as safe as possible. Safety delayed is safety denied.
For example, passengers
should not be forced to wait ten years for upgraded flight data
recorders. In July 1997, the FAA gave the airlines another four years
of delay until 2001.
Passengers should not be
forced to wait until 2001, five years after ValuJet, to have their
aircraft equipped with smoke detectors and fire suppression equipment
in the cargohold.
*Update! NTSB Chairman
Jim Hall recently wrote to NADA/F and shared that the NTSB
recommendations held in an "Open-Unacceptable Response"
status has increased from 43 to 48. Mr. Hall stated that the NTSB
appreciates NADA/F's continued efforts to assist the NTSB in
increasing the public's and government and private organizations'
awareness regarding transportation safety. NADA/F is fortunate to
have an excellent long-standing working relationship with the NTSB.
As the list of NTSB
fatal air crash derived safety recommendations grows NADA/F is
needed more than ever.
If you would like a
full copy of Jim Hall's supportive letter, and others, plus the most
recent accompanying report, please contact NADA/F, and we will send
the information to you.
The FAA should direct
the airlines to require that all passengers under the age of two be
secured in a child restraint seat. All passengers should have
safe transportation, especially our children. The FAA hue and cry that
parents will take to the highways does not stand the test-planes are
full of children over the age of two. All children should have a
seatbelt on board a flight, as required for the rest of the
passengers.
*Update! The FAA has
approved the first step, the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule
Making, and NADA/F members have been thanked for their public
comments and on our work toward making these recommendation law. The
next step will be the Notice of Proposed Rule Making and it should
be released sometime this fall.
A thorough
wiring/cable inspection must be completed on all aircraft flying
worldwide, and the results of those inspections must be disclosed. Air
crashes that were denied investigation of the wiring/cable should be
reopened -- such as ValuJet. The industry should complete the proposal
by December 31, 1999, for replacement of cracked wiring and cable on
commercial aircraft.
In light of the probable
cause of TWA 800, and possible catastrophic wiring failure on Swissair
111, wiring and cable need to be elevated to a Center of Excellence
status, with continual monitoring and surveillance, as well as an
action plan for replacement of defective wiring.
*Update! Ed Block was
appointed to represent NADA/F on the FAA Aging Aircraft ARAC
Committee, and Ed's participation convinced the industry-led group
to include a far more in depth analysis of the problems inherent in
aging wiring.
Security
The FAA must enforce
its own minimal security regulations. The FAA should not allow the
airlines and shippers to put anything and everything into a cargohold
with no security checks. Cash payments for anonymous parcel shipping
and unidentified couriers and baggage handlers must cease.
As we pass the 10th
anniversary of Pan Am 103, and the second anniversary of ValuJet, the
lack of security in the baggage and cargohold is worse than ever.
· The FOX News Undercover
team exposed that, before and after the 1998 terrorist bombings of
U.S. Embassies, the couriers and some airlines and shipping companies
have not implemented security measures in the cargoholds of commercial
passenger aircraft.
· Airlines should be required to demonstrate what they are doing to
identify shippers and packages.
· Legislation is needed to require background checks and photo ID's
of all couriers and airline employees and contractors who are
responsible for providing security to passengers. Passengers are
required to present photo ID's, and those people shipping packages on
aircraft should also present certified identification.
Survivability
All new aircraft
certification should be subject to an actual 90-second evacuation with
50% of the emergency exits disabled. The new FAA
"policy" of approving a paper proposal in place of an actual
evacuation is an outrage.
Passengers who sit in
emergency exit row seats should be denied alcoholic beverages.
Support of Victims'
Families
Successfully trained
support personnel should be utilized to help the families short term
and long term after an air disaster. Survivors and those who
have lost loved ones in an aviation disaster provide a cadre of
"wounded healers." NADA/F stands ready to offer support to
airline employees and volunteer personnel-to assist with airline
disaster training, and to help after an aviation disaster.
*UPDATE! NADA/F members
have participated in disaster training for airline employees, and we
look forward to increased participation and building on this
success.
NADA/F members share a
unique bond-some lost loved ones over 50 years ago, others lost loved
ones more recently. The extended period of time for recovery, accident
investigation, and litigation is unique to families of air disasters,
and the friendship, love and support we offer each other truly help
people survive years of grief and hardship.
*UPDATE! NOVA, National
Organization for Victim Assistance, and NADA/F are offering Crisis
Response Team (CRT) Training, October 18-22nd, in Baltimore MD, to
NADA/F members for only $50 per person to cover the cost of the
materials. NOVA's CRT training has been sold out during 1999 since
the Littleton CO crisis, and the training cost is usually much more.
NOVA recognizes that our members have a unique bond and last year
they generously agreed to work with us and volunteer their services.
We are pleased to work with NOVA and benefit from their 25 years of
experience in training and offering their services in times of
crisis and disasters.
Legislation Needed
U.S. Senate Bill 943,
to overturn the 1920 "Death on the High Seas Act" (DOHSA),
must be passed by the U.S. Senate. This 1920 law was passed to
help maritime widows; it should not be misused by the airline industry
to avoid their own corporate responsibility.
H.R. 1334, the
"Ron Brown Tort Equality" bill, must become law to end
discrimination against federal employees and other Americans.
H.R. 1483, the
"Single Standard Aviation" bill, must be passed so that
federal government and military personnel traveling by air would have
equipment meeting the same safety standards as commercial passengers.
These laws would provide
international air travelers and Americans traveling in the U.S. and
overseas improved protection.
Congress should
allocate a $5 Per Person User Protection Fee to be set aside from
transportation taxes, to be administered with independent oversight.
A consumer advocate such as Ralph Nader, or someone we trust like Mary
Schiavo, could best represent the passengers in making safety-first
decisions with tax money from airline tickets.
Safety/Security
Recommendations to the NTSB
A more direct NTSB
"Most Wanted" Safety List is needed. There are
presently 43 "Open-Unacceptable Response" items; however the
"Most Wanted" list presently has 10 categories. We believe
that technical recommendations arrived at through scientific crash
investigation should be listed more specifically. Also, if the FAA has
acted on a NTSB recommendation, but has allowed 3 to 5 years of delay
time, the request should still be on the list. Safety delayed is still
safety denied.
*Update! NTSB Chair Jim
Hall recently provided NADA/F with updated charts and information
showing the status of the NTSB "Most Wanted," safety list.
Please let us know if you would like a copy of this information.
The draft copy of the
500-page USAir 427, 737 report should be released to the public
immediately. There are many excellent independent aviation
engineers who could be helpful in preventing another 737 disaster. The
industry has been granted years of delays in order to repeat the same
submissions over and over again. People should have equal access to
this information to help preserve their constitutional right to due
process.
*Update! March 24, 1999
the NTSB released a probable cause of rudder reversal for USAir 427
(9/94) and United 585 (3/91). The 346-page report is now available
at website www.ntsb.gov,
and will be in print soon.
Considering the
increase in NTSB time spent on fatal accident investigations it is
time to have all NTSB records subject to Freedom of Information.
Additional
Safety/Security Recommendations to the FAA
We recommend that
Edward Block be appointed to the newly formed Aging Aircraft ARAC
(Aviation Rule-making Advisory) Committee, which will benefit
from Mr. Block's 20 years of experience working with aircraft wiring
and cable.
*Update! Ed Block was
appointed to the Aging Aircraft ARAC group and attended the first
meeting January 20, 1999.
The FAA should meet
once a month with consumer action groups, and appoint independent
aviation experts and consumer advocates to all ARAC committees.
*Update! FAA
Administrator Jane Garvey has met with NADA/F representatives, and
FAA staff has been helpful, however, we would like to meet more
frequently.
The FAA should revise
the 2001 date requirement for upgraded flight data recorders to
12/31/99 or sooner. The FAA should release the status of
airlines that have complied with the upgraded FDR directive.
The FAA should release
the information promised in February 1998, to disclose the status of
airline progress in installing smoke detectors and fire suppression
equipment in the cargohold. The required installation of
smoke/fire suppression equipment should be completed by 12/31/99.
*Update! The FAA has
responded and the information is now available on the website: www.faa.gov
under Available Documents, Class D Cargo Compartment Conversion
Status.
The FAA should fully
comply with all Freedom of Information requests in a timely manner.
FAA data should be sorted for all requests, not just for industry
requests.
Undercapitalized
upstart airlines relying on antiquated leased equipment and lowest
cost personnel should be denied Certification to Operate.
