[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E115]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  U.S. AIRLINES REACH SAFETY MILESTONE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 2, 1999

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Mr. Speaker, in the late summer of 1908, just five 
years after he and his brother, Wilbur, completed the first successful 
powered flight at Kitty Hawk, Orville Wright was demonstrating their 
flying machine for the U.S. Army Signal Corps at Ft. Myer, Virginia, 
just across the Potomac River from where we now assemble.
  After a successful first flight, Orville took off again, this time 
with a young Signal Corps officer, Lt. Thomas Selfridge, aboard. As 
they completed their first circuit of the field, Orville heard two 
strange thumps. He cut the engine and attempted to glide the plane to a 
safe landing, but the Wright Flyer lost lift and plummeted nose-first 
to the ground.
  Lt. Selfridge died as a result of the crash and became the first 
person ever to be killed in an airplane accident. Orville Wright 
survived, but took four months to recover from his injuries.
  Now, 90 years after that fatal day at Ft. Myer, air travel has become 
commonplace. Last year, American air carriers transported 615 million 
passengers, most of us in this House among them, through the skies. 
However, for the first time in the 31 years such records have been 
kept, and possibly the first time in history, U.S. airlines completed 
their flights without a single fatal accident. Let me repeat that: 615 
million passengers carried by U.S. scheduled air carriers, not one 
single fatality.
  For many years now, statistics have shown that travel on America's 
airlines has been among the safest of all transportation modes. In 
contrast, 42,000 people died on America's roads, streets and highways 
in 1997, the latest year for which a total is available.
  The airlines are to be congratulated for this remarkable safety 
record. Congratulations, too, are to be extended to the Federal 
Aviation Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, and 
the aircraft manufacturers, all of whom can share credit for this 
remarkable accomplishment.
  Mr. Speaker, we indeed have cause to celebrate, but we must also 
temper our celebration with a dose of realism. Travel, whether by air, 
rail, highway or sea, is never without some element of risk. We cannot 
rest on this single year's result.
  Worldwide, flights are expected to increase from 16.3 million this 
year to over 25 million by 2010. The number of passengers on U.S. 
domestic and international flights is expected to increase to over 900 
million by 2006, a 50 percent increase over 10 years. We must be ready 
to manage this growth.
  Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater and FAA Administrator Jane 
Garvey, in partnership with the aviation community, have initiated a 
targeted safety agenda, focusing on issues such as terrain avoidance 
systems, to help us meet the challenge.
  We in Congress must ensure that airports continue to have the 
resources to make critical capacity and safety investments. The FAA and 
NTSB must have the safety inspectors, air traffic controllers, airway 
system specialists and the air traffic control equipment to meet the 
increased aviation demand. As a matter of fact, from all indications, 
we can expect to debate a measure on the House floor sometime this year 
to provide these resources.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been a Member of the Transportation and 
Infrastructure Committee since I was first elected to the House 24 
years ago. When I had the privilege to chair the Investigations and 
Oversight Subcommittee, and later the Aviation Subcommittee, I held 
many, many hours of hearings which called the airlines, the 
manufacturers and the FAA to account for practices that threatened to 
diminish the margins of safety for the traveling public. I feel it is 
only right that, when the country's air transportation system has 
achieved such a remarkable safety record, I should also stand to give 
those responsible the credit they most certainly deserve.
  I call upon my colleagues to join me in this commendation.

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