Airline Companies: Beware of Public Perception. The Public is Watching, Waiting, All Eyes are on You. It’s No Time to Make a Mistake.

Robert Parks

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 326

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As I scan the latest news articles and Google alerts, there seems to an influx of stories focused on air travel safety. Could it be the media playing on the devastating Air France Flight 447 – only 50 bodies found, minimal debris recovered and still the French submarine searches for the Black Box beacon signals, which will expire within the week leaving the truth under the ocean.

One story that caught my eye was posted on eTurboNews Federal Aviation Administration administrator Randy Babbit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and reps from the airline business met in Washington, D.C. to discuss finding ways for airlines to voluntarily make flying safer.

What are they proposing? It was suggested that the airlines create a manifesto to reassure travelers that “airlines are doing all they can to ensure pilots are beyond prepared to fly passengers to their destinations, and to help more senior pilots mentor those with less experience.”

Babbitt told airline companies today he expects them to do complete background checks on pilots before hiring them to fly passengers -- including getting permission from pilots to access all of their training records.

And the news continues. This weekend I noticed an article in Bloomberg.com about a new satellite system that will provide more detailed weather information for pilots. According to the story, this system has been under development for four years by the FAA and other counterparts around the globe – the satellite-based upgrade will provide real time climate images and data to the cockpit so the pilots can see a storm miles before they reach it.

In the U.S., the proposed technology is called NextGen, for Next Generation Air Transportation System, and is estimated to cost the government as much as $22 billion to develop, according to the FAA. The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast link, being built by a team led by ITT Corp., is slated to be operational by 2013, according to the FAA Web site. ITT, based in White Plains, New York, is a manufacturer of engineering products and communications systems.

An upgrade to aircraft technology is a hot topic, but so are the pilots that fly the friendly skies. Take the unfortunate mid-flight death of 60-year old pilot Craig Lenell. The Continental Airlines Flight 61 was traveling from Brussels to Newark, NJ when Mr. Lenell suffered a heart attack - the co-pilots took control of the flight with no awareness from the passengers.

This could now lead to questions regarding the qualification of older pilots flying commercial aircraft, but let’s not forget pilot Chesley B. Sullenburger III, 57, who landed the plane in the Hudson River saving the lives of all passengers. Regardless, should there be a limit on the age for pilots flying commercial aircraft? According to the pilot’s wife, Mr. Lenell was in perfect health and had no prior history of heart conditions and never missed his twice-a-year physicals.

Millions of people put their trust in the airlines they choose everyday. Accidents happen. Mistakes are made. But public perception is the key and unfortunately there is no price that will bring back a loved one killed in an air disaster. When the cause is a manufacturing defect, a known danger, a situation that is avoidable, that is when people start to get mad. Too early to feel certain that this is what happened on Air France Flight 447, but I’ve been doing aviation work for 45 years, and folks, the writing is on the wall already.

Finally, the latest in airline crash news: Air France is offering a first advance on compensation for families that lost loved ones – 17,500 euro. For those who don’t have a calculator for a brain, like me, that equals just under $24,000 USD. I wonder if they ask for a release with that. What is your guess?