FAA Sued to Force Safety Recommendations

Aviation safety crusaders have filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in

Washington, DC to force the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to adopt long-

standing safety recommendations from the National Transportation Board.

The legal challenge was brought by Gail Dunham, executive director of the

National Air Disaster Alliance/Foundation. Her group alleges that the FAA is

dragging its feet on improving air safety.

The lawsuit calls for FAA implementation of Safety Board recommendations

made in 1996 that focus on aircraft performance in icing conditions, spurred by

the 1994 crash of an American Eagle ATR crash in Roselawn, IA, that killed 68

people.

Representatives of the group discussed the lawsuit at a press conference

near Newark Liberty International Airport. The Associated Press quoted former

DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo, a frequent critic of the FAA who is

representing Dunham as saying that "we know from experience that holding

government accountable and putting the light of sunshine of public disclosure on

these pending measures is perhaps the best -- and in some cases the only -- way

to get the necessary changes that we need."

The NTSB placed blame in part on ice accumulation on the American Eagle

ATR-72's wings and recommended in 1996 that testing requirements for flight

certification of all turboprops be adjusted to include the specific kind of

icing conditions in the Roselawn accident. Furthermore, the Safety Board said,

once the testing requirements were in place, turboprops already in use should be

retested and, if they failed the new requirements, redesigned. The

recommendations linger on the NTSB's "most wanted" list more than a decade

later.

The FAA says it has issued more than 100 safety directives since 1994

regarding icing safety issues on more than 50 specific aircraft types. These

orders cover safety issues ranging from crew operating procedures in the icing

environment to direct design changes. The FAA also has changed airplane flight

manuals and other operating documents to address icing safety, and issued

bulletins and alerts to operators emphasizing icing safety issues.

Dunham's lawsuit also seeks to force the FAA to take action on various

runway safety recommendations that the NTSB has made.

In its defense, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) said it has

scored "steady and measurable" increases in air safety that have made flying

safer than ever before, saying that there was a 65 percent reduction in the

aviation fatal accident rate between 1997 and 2006.

It noted that prior to the fatal ATR-72 accident near Buffalo on Feb. 12,

there had been no fatal commercial accidents for more than two years. The rate

of runway incursions has also fallen, as have the number of accidents caused by

ice on aircraft, the DOT added.

"The FAA has a fierce commitment to safety. It continues to strive

toward its goal of no accidents," said Acting FAA Administrator Lynne Osmus.

"The FAA is always looking to improve risks to the flying public by working to

improve equipment, procedures, training and crew coordination."

As regards accidents due to aircraft icing, the FAA said the last fatal

commercial airline accident linked to icing occurred in 1997. In the 10 years

before that, 10 airline accidents - fatal and non-fatal - were blamed on icing.

The FAA has implemented long-term measures to improve the design of

future aircraft through rulemaking. An FAA rule issued in 2007 set new standards

for performance and handling of commercial airplanes in icing conditions. And

rules under development will further strengthen aircraft ice detection systems

and address specific types of icing," the FAA insists.

The U.S. aviation agency says its safety initiatives have reduced the

number of serious runway incursions by 63 percent from fiscal year 2000 through

fiscal 2008. The FAA continues its efforts to further reduce runway accidents by

installing runway status lights at more than 20 airports and testing lower cost

ground radar systems for use at small and medium airports.