[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 87 (Friday, June 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6041-S6042]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. Santorum):
  S. 943. A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to clarify the 
application of the act popularly known as the ``Death on the High Seas 
Act'' to aviation accidents; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.


                   DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS REFORM ACT

  Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, I have sought recognition today to 
introduce legislation which will provide equitable treatment for 
families of passengers involved in international aviation disasters. I 
am very pleased that my colleague, Senator Santorum, is joining me as 
an original cosponsor of this bill. Companion legislation is being 
introduced in the House of Representatives by Congressman Joe McDade 
and 10 other members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation.
  As my colleagues know, the devastating crash of Trans World Airlines 
flight 800 on July 17, 1996 took the lives of 230 individuals. Perhaps 
the community hardest hit by this tragedy was Montoursville, PA, which 
lost 16 students and 5 adult chaperones from Montoursville High School 
who were participating in a long-awaited French Club trip to France.
  It has been brought to my attention by constituents who include 
parents of the Montoursville children lost on TWA 800 that their 
ability to seek redress in court is hampered by a 1920 shipping law 
known as the Death on the High Seas Act, which was originally intended 
to cover the widows of seafarers, not the relatives of jumbo-jet 
passengers embarking on international air travel.
  Under the Warsaw Convention of 1929, airlines do not have to pay more 
than $75,000 to families of passengers who died on an international 
flight. However, domestic air crashes are covered by U.S. law, which 
allow for greater damages if negligent conduct is proven in court.
  The Warsaw Convention limit on liability can be waived if the 
passengers' families show that there was intentional misconduct which 
led to the crash. This is where the Death on the High Seas Act comes 
into play. This law states that where the death of a person is caused 
by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas more 
than 1 marine league which is 3 miles from U.S. shores, a personal 
representative of a decedent can sue for pecuniary loss sustained by 
the decedent's wife, child, husband, parent, or dependent relative. The 
act, however, does not allow families of the victims of TWA 800 or 
other aviation incidents to obtain other types of damages, such as 
recovery for loss of society or punitive damages, no matter how great 
the wrongful act or neglect by an airline or airplane manufacturer.

  My legislation would amend Federal law to provide that the Death on 
the High Seas Act shall not affect any remedy existing at common law or 
under State law with respect to any injury or death arising out of an 
aviation incident occurring after January 1, 1995. In effect, it would 
clarify that Federal aviation law does not limit remedies in the same 
manner as maritime law, and permits international flights to be 
governed by the same laws as domestic flights.
  My legislation is not about blaming an airline or airplane 
manufacturer. It is not about multimillion dollar damage awards. It is 
about ensuring access to justice and clarifying the rights of families 
of victims of plane crashes such as TWA 800. I am open to exploring 
with my colleagues the possibility of expanding the retroactive relief 
provided in this legislation, bearing in mind that many of the 
plaintiffs in cases arising out of previous airplane disasters, such as 
the Korean Air Lines 007 incident in 1983, have agreed to out-of-court 
settlements.
  The need for this legislation is suggested by the most recent Supreme 
Court decision on this issue, Zicherman v. Korean Airlines, 116 S. Ct. 
629 (1996), in which a unanimous Court held that the Death on the High 
Seas Act of 1920 applies to determine damages in airline accidents that 
occur more than 3 miles from shore. By contrast, the Court has ruled 
that State tort law applies to determine damages in accidents that 
occur in waters 3 miles or less from our shores. Yamaha v. Calhoun, 
(1996 WL 5518)
  I believe it is inequitable to make such a distinction at the 3 mile 
limit in civil aviation cases where the underlying statute predates 
international air travel. I would note that the Gore Commission on 
Aviation Safety and Security noted in its final report this February 
that ``certain statutes and international treaties, established over 50 
years ago, historically have not provided equitable treatment for 
families of passengers involved in international aviation disasters. 
Specifically, the Death on the High Seas Act of 1920 and the Warsaw 
Convention of 1929, although designed to aid families of victims of 
maritime and aviation disasters, have inhibited the ability of family 
members of international aviation disasters from obtaining fair 
compensation.''

  I would further note that in an October 1996 brief filed at the 
Department of Transportation by the Air Transport Association, the 
trade association of U.S. airlines, there is an acknowledgment that the 
Supreme Court in Zicherman did not apparently consider 49 U.S.C. 40120 
(a) and (c), which preserve the application of State and common law 
remedies in tort cases and also prohibit the application of Federal 
shipping laws to aviation. My legislation amends 49 U.S.C. 40120(c) to 
clarify that nothing in the Death on the High Seas Act restricts the 
availability of remedies in suits arising out of aviation disasters.
  At a time when so many Americans live, work, and travel abroad, 
taking part in the global economy or seeing the cultural riches of 
foreign lands, they and their families should know that the American 
civil justice system will be accessible to the fullest extent if the 
unthinkable occurs.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and look forward to 
working with them to ensure its ultimate enactment during the 105th 
Congress.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the bill be printed in 
the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 943

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DEATH ON THE HIGH SEAS ACT.

       Section 40120(c) of title 49, United States Code, is 
     amended to read as follows:
       ``(c) Additional Remedies.--
       ``(1) In general.--Nothing in this part or the Act entitled 
     `An Act relating to the maintenance of actions for death on 
     the high seas and other navigable waters' approved March 30, 
     1920 (46 U.S.C. App. 761 et seq.), popularly known as the 
     `Death on the High Seas Act', shall, with respect to any 
     injury or death arising out of any covered aviation incident, 
     affect any remedy--
       ``(A) under common law; or
       ``(B) under State law.
       ``(2) Additional remedies.--Any remedy provided for under 
     this part or the Act referred to in paragraph (1) for an 
     injury or death arising out of any covered aviation incident 
     shall be in addition to any of the remedies described in 
     subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1).

[[Page S6042]]

       ``(3) Covered aviation incident defined.--In this 
     subsection, the term `covered aviation incident' means an 
     aviation disaster occurring on or after January 1, 1995.''.
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