[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3923 Reported in House (RH)]
Union Calendar No. 431
104th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3923
[Report No. 104-793]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National
Transportation Safety Board and individual air carriers to take actions
to address the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft
accidents.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 17, 1996
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
Union Calendar No. 431
104th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 3923
[Report No. 104-793]
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National
Transportation Safety Board and individual air carriers to take actions
to address the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft
accidents.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 31, 1996
Mr. Shuster (for himself, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Lipinski, Mr.
Hutchinson, Mr. Baker of California, Mr. Franks of New Jersey, Mr.
Blute, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Bachus, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Latham, Mrs.
Kelly, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Mascara, Mr. Lazio of New York, and Mr.
LaHood) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
September 17, 1996
Additional sponsors: Mr. Rahall, Ms. Molinari, Mr. Clement, Mr. Weller,
Mr. Holden, Mr. Frisa, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Traficant, Mr. Clinger, Mrs.
Meek of Florida, Mr. Coble, Mr. Frost, Mr. Ehrlich, Mr. Kennedy of
Rhode Island, Mr. Costello, Mr. McDade, Mrs. Seastrand, Mr. Baldacci,
Mr. Pete Geren of Texas, Mr. Greenwood, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Hall of Ohio,
Mr. Meehan, Mr. Payne of Virginia, Mr. Gillmor, and Mr. Evans
September 17, 1996
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed
in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July
31, 1996]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National
Transportation Safety Board and individual air carriers to take actions
to address the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft
accidents.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Aviation Disaster Family Assistance
Act of 1996''.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD TO FAMILIES
OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.
(a) Authority To Provide Assistance.--
(1) In general.--Subchapter III of chapter 11 of title 49,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft
accidents
``(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after being notified of
an aircraft accident within the United States involving an air carrier
or foreign air carrier and resulting in a major loss of life, the
Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board shall--
``(1) designate and publicize the name and phone number of
a director of family support services who shall be an employee
of the Board and shall be responsible for acting as a point of
contact within the Federal Government for the families of
passengers involved in the accident and a liaison between the
air carrier or foreign air carrier and the families; and
``(2) designate an independent nonprofit organization, with
experience in disasters and posttrauma communication with
families, which shall have primary responsibility for
coordinating the emotional care and support of the families of
passengers involved in the accident.
``(b) Responsibilities of the Board.--The Board shall have primary
Federal responsibility for facilitating the recovery and identification
of fatally-injured passengers involved in an accident described in
subsection (a).
``(c) Responsibilities of Designated Organization.--The
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall
have the following responsibilities with respect to the families of
passengers involved in the accident:
``(1) To provide mental health and counseling services, in
coordination with the disaster response team of the air carrier
or foreign air carrier involved.
``(2) To take such actions as may be necessary to provide
an environment in which the families may grieve in private.
``(3) To meet with the families who have traveled to the
location of the accident, to contact the families unable to
travel to such location, and to contact all affected families
periodically thereafter until such time as the organization, in
consultation with the director of family support services
designated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), determines
that further assistance is no longer needed.
``(4) To communicate with the families as to the roles of
the organization, government agencies, and the air carrier or
foreign air carrier involved with respect to the accident and
the post-accident activities.
``(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in
consultation with the families.
``(d) Passenger Lists.--
``(1) Requests for passenger lists.--
``(A) Requests by director of family support
services.--It shall be the responsibility of the
director of family support services designated for an
accident under subsection (a)(1) to request, as soon as
practicable, from the air carrier or foreign air
carrier involved in the accident a list, which is based
on the best available information at the time of the
request, of the names of the passengers that were
aboard the aircraft involved in the accident.
``(B) Requests by designated organization.--The
organization designated for an accident under
subsection (a)(2) may request from the air carrier or
foreign air carrier involved in the accident a list
described in subparagraph (A).
``(2) Use of information.--The director of family support
services and the organization may not release to any person
information on a list obtained under paragraph (1) but may
provide information on the list about a passenger to the family
of the passenger to the extent that the director of family
support services or the organization considers appropriate.
``(e) Continuing Responsibilities of the Board.--In the course of
its investigation of an accident described in subsection (a), the Board
shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that the families of
passengers involved in the accident--
``(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing, about the
accident, its causes, and any other findings from the
investigation; and
``(2) are individually informed of and allowed to attend
any public hearings and meetings of the Board about the
accident.
``(f) Use of Air Carrier Resources.--To the extent practicable, the
organization designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2) shall
coordinate its activities with the air carrier or foreign air carrier
involved in the accident so that the resources of the carrier can be
used to the greatest extent possible to carry out the organization's
responsibilities under this section.
``(g) Prohibited Actions.--
``(1) Actions to impede the board.--No person (including a
State or political subdivision) may impede the ability of the
Board (including the director of family support services
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an
organization designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(2), to carry out its responsibilities under this section or
the ability of the families of passengers involved in the
accident to have contact with one another.
``(2) Unsolicited communications.--In the event of an
accident involving an air carrier providing interstate or
foreign air transportation, no unsolicited communication
concerning a potential action for personal injury or wrongful
death may be made by an attorney, representative of an
attorney, insurance company, or air carrier litigation
representative to an individual injured in the accident, or to
a relative of an individual involved in the accident, before
the 30th day following the date of the accident.
``(h) Definitions.--In this section, the following definitions
apply:
``(1) Aircraft accident.--The term `aircraft accident'
means any aviation disaster regardless of its cause or
suspected cause.
``(2) Passenger.--The term `passenger' includes an employee
of an air carrier aboard an aircraft.''.
(2) Conforming amendment.--The table of sections for
chapter 11 of such title is amended by inserting after the item
relating to section 1135 the following:
``1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft
accidents.''.
(b) Penalties.--Section 1155(a)(1) of such title is amended--
(1) by striking ``or 1134(b) or (f)(1)'' and inserting ``,
section 1134(b), section 1134(f)(1), or section 1136(g)''; and
(2) by striking ``either of'' and inserting ``any of''.
SEC. 3. AIR CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS
INVOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.
(a) In General.--Chapter 411 of title 49, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved
in aircraft accidents
``(a) Submission of Plans.--Not later than 6 months after the date
of the enactment of this section, each air carrier holding a
certificate of public convenience and necessity under section 41102 of
this title shall submit to the Secretary and the Chairman of the
National Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of
the families of passengers involved in any aircraft accident involving
an aircraft of the air carrier and resulting in a major loss of life.
``(b) Contents of Plans.--A plan to be submitted by an air carrier
under subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
``(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free
telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle calls from
the families of the passengers.
``(2) A process for notifying the families of the
passengers, before providing any public notice of the names of
the passengers, either by utilizing the services of the
organization designated for the accident under section
1136(a)(2) of this title or the services of other suitably
trained individuals.
``(3) An assurance that the notice described in paragraph
(2) will be provided to the family of a passenger as soon as
the air carrier has verified that the passenger was aboard the
aircraft (whether or not the names of all of the passengers have been
verified) and, to the extent practicable, in person.
``(4) An assurance that the air carrier will provide to the
director of family support services designated for the accident
under section 1136(a)(1) of this title, and to the organization
designated for the accident under section 1136(a)(2) of this
title, immediately upon request, a list (which is based on the
best available information at the time of the request) of the
names of the passengers aboard the aircraft (whether or not
such names have been verified), and will periodically update
the list.
``(5) An assurance that the family of each passenger will
be consulted about the disposition of all remains and personal
effects of the passenger.
``(6) An assurance that if requested by the family of a
passenger, any possession of the passenger within the control
of the air carrier (regardless of its condition) will be
returned to the family unless the possession is needed for the
accident investigation or any criminal investigation.
``(7) An assurance that any unclaimed possession of a
passenger within the control of the air carrier will be
retained by the air carrier for at least 18 months.
``(8) An assurance that the family of each passenger will
be consulted about construction by the air carrier of any
monument to the passengers, including any inscription on the
monument.
``(9) An assurance that the treatment of the families of
nonrevenue passengers (and any other victim of the accident)
will be the same as the treatment of the families of revenue
passengers.
``(10) An assurance that the air carrier will work with any
organization designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this title
on an ongoing basis to ensure that families of passengers
receive an appropriate level of services and assistance
following each accident.
``(11) An assurance that the air carrier will provide
reasonable compensation to any organization designated under
section 1136(a)(2) of this title for services provided by the
organization.
``(12) An assurance that the air carrier will assist the
family of a passenger in traveling to the location of the
accident and provide for the physical care of the family while
the family is staying at such location.
``(13) An assurance that the air carrier will commit
sufficient resources to carry out the plan.
``(c) Certificate Requirement.--After the date that is 6 months
after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary may not
approve an application for a certificate of public convenience and
necessity under section 41102 of this title unless the applicant has
included as part of such application a plan that meets the requirements
of subsection (b).
``(d) Limitation on Liability.--An air carrier shall not be liable
for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State court arising
out of the performance of the air carrier in preparing or providing a
passenger list pursuant to a plan submitted by the air carrier under
subsection (b), unless such liability was caused by conduct of the air
carrier which was grossly negligent or which constituted intentional
misconduct.
``(e) Aircraft Accident and Passenger Defined.--In this section,
the terms `aircraft accident' and `passenger' have the meanings such
terms have in section 1136 of this title.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for such chapter
is amended by adding at the end the following:
``41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in
aircraft accidents.''.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Transportation, in cooperation
with the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, the American Red Cross, air carriers, and families
which have been involved in aircraft accidents shall establish a task
force consisting of representatives of such entities and families,
representatives of air carrier employees, and representatives of such
other entities as the Secretary considers appropriate.
(b) Model Plan and Recommendations.--The task force established
pursuant to subsection (a) shall develop--
(1) a model plan to assist air carriers in responding to
aircraft accidents;
(2) recommendations on methods to ensure that attorneys and
representatives of media organizations do not intrude on the
privacy of families of passengers involved in an aircraft
accident;
(3) recommendations on methods to ensure that the families
of passengers involved in an aircraft accident who are not
citizens of the United States receive appropriate assistance;
(4) recommendations on methods to ensure that State mental
health licensing laws do not act to prevent out-of-state mental
health workers from working at the site of an aircraft accident
or other related sites;
(5) recommendations on the extent to which military experts
and facilities can be used to aid in the identification of the
remains of passengers involved in an aircraft accident; and
(6) recommendations on methods to improve the timeliness of
the notification provided by air carriers to the families of
passengers involved in an aircraft accident, including--
(A) an analysis of the steps that air carriers
would have to take to ensure that an accurate list of
passengers on board the aircraft would be available
within 1 hour of the accident and an analysis of such
steps to ensure that such list would be available
within 3 hours of the accident;
(B) an analysis of the added costs to air carriers
and travel agents that would result if air carriers
were required to take the steps described in
subparagraph (A); and
(C) an analysis of any inconvenience to passengers,
including flight delays, that would result if air
carriers were required to take the steps described in
subparagraph (A).
(c) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress a report
containing the model plan and recommendations developed by the task
force under subsection (b).
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this Act may be
construed as limiting the actions that an air carrier may take, or the
obligations that an air carrier may have, in providing assistance to
the families of passengers involved in an aircraft accident.