CNN - Air crash victims' families urge reform

Air crash victims' families urge reform

Transportation subcommittee hears concerns

June 19, 1996
Web posted at: 3:30 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A House transportation subcommittee opened aviation safety hearings Wednesday, focusing much of its attention on the aftermath of tragedy.

Family members who lost relatives in plane crashes recounted the emotional experience of losing a loved one, and urged lawmakers to enforce better safety standards and industry-wide reform.

"There is no other industry in this nation where the victims and their families are left solely in the hands of the company that just killed them," said Victoria Cummock, the president of Families of Pan-Am Flight 103.

Richard Kessler, whose wife died in the ValuJet 592 crash, said lawmakers have a responsibility to upgrade aviation standards. (224K AIFF or WAV sound)

"What are we going to do next week when your wife, your son, your daughter, or your parents' airplanes crash?" he asked. "Are we going to be here doing the same damn thing?"

Of his wife he said, "I would give all the money I've got to get her back."

Kessler also sharply criticized the media for the "sadistic" conduct of chasing down victims' families moments after they learn the painful news. (288K AIFF or WAV sound)

"You had a high calling when you went to journalism school," he said. "You didn't go there to beat up on people. If you chase that woman through an airport and hit her in the face just to get her to cry, you would be in jail. Wouldn't you?"

Valujet probed

The House Transportation and Infrastructure's Subcommittee on Aviation, headed by John Duncan, R-Tennessee, began Wednesday's hearings a day after the grounding of ValuJet. Also in attendance were Jim Hall, the chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, and other transportation safety officials.

ValuJet suspended all flights early Tuesday after a federal inspection found deficiencies in the carrier's operations. The intensive Federal Aviation Administration investigation came after a ValuJet DC-9 crashed May 11 in the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 people on board.

The hearing had been scheduled prior to the grounding, but it was still one of the day's topics. Committee Chairman Bud Shuster, R-Pennsylvania, said some things about the suspension bothered him.

"I am deeply troubled that ValuJet was grounded only after a political meeting at the White House," he said, adding that the airline should have been grounded earlier or not at all. (256K AIFF or WAV sound)

Meanwhile, Robert Warren with the Air Transport Association defended current practices. He said airlines have learned from past tragedies and are constantly trying to improve response plans after accidents.

"Airlines have the resources, training and commitment to notify the next of kin. They should continue to perform this function," he said.

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Air crash victims' families urge reform

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