[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 53 (Monday, March 30, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S3994]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. UDALL, of New Mexico:
  S. 743. A bill to require air carriers to provide training for flight 
attendants and gate attendants regarding serving alcohol, recognizing 
intoxicated passengers, and dealing with disruptive passengers, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.
  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the 
Airline Personnel Training Enhancement Act of 2009 and to ask for 
Senators' support for this important measure to improve safety in the 
air and on the ground.
  The story of this legislation begins with a tragedy. On November 11, 
2006, Paul and Renee Gonzales were driving back from a soccer 
tournament with four of their daughters. They were roughly 1 hour from 
their home in Las Vegas, NM, when they saw Dana Papst's vehicle. Papst 
had been driving on the wrong side of I-25 for about 5 miles before his 
car collided with the Gonzales's minivan at 60 to 75 miles per hour. 
Five of the six members of the Gonzales family were killed. Papst later 
died at the hospital.
  I cannot say for certain whether this tragedy could have been 
prevented by a change in laws. But I do know this: A few hours before 
Dana Papst took six lives, including his own, he was flying back to 
Albuquerque after a business trip. On that flight, he was noticeably 
intoxicated. Yet he was served alcohol by airline personnel. When his 
truck collided with the Gonzales's minivan, his blood-alcohol level was 
four times the legal limit.
  When I heard about Dana Papst and the Gonzales family, I began to 
look for legislation that could prevent tragedies like this in the 
future. I learned that under existing law, Papst should not have been 
served alcohol on his flight. In fact, somebody as drunk as Papst never 
should have been allowed on that flight. But airlines are not required 
to teach their personnel how to handle an intoxicated passenger.
  To address this problem, I introduced the Airline Personnel Training 
Enhancement Act in the other body during the last Congress. I am 
introducing it again today.
  This legislation requires air carriers to train their employees on 
recognizing and dealing with drunk or disruptive passengers. This 
training will help employees make informed decisions when allowing 
people to board flights, when deciding whether a passenger should be 
served alcohol, and when dealing with belligerent passengers. Many 
States require people who serve alcohol in restaurants and bars to be 
properly trained. This legislation simply closes a large and 
potentially deadly loophole. I hope it will lead to fewer deaths on our 
roads.
  New Mexico, like so many other States, has too many crosses on its 
highways, too many stories of loss and regret. Drunk driving claimed 
155 New Mexico lives the year Paul and Renee Gonzales were killed. It 
claimed 188 the year before, and 211 the year before that. We have the 
power to help reduce these numbers. I hope we will use it.
  But my legislation is not just about drunk driving. As I began to 
study the training of airline personnel, I discovered a large and 
frightening threat to the traveling public. Outbursts by belligerent 
passengers are more and more common. But airline personnel are rarely 
trained on how to handle these situations.
  Incidents of ``air rage'' increased 400 percent since 2000. There are 
an estimated 10,000 cases each year in the United States alone. Airline 
security experts estimate that alcohol is the underlying cause of the 
majority of incidents. These incidents can pose a serious threat to 
passengers and personnel. In some cases, flights have been diverted 
from their destination in order to land where threatening passengers 
could be arrested.
  Airline personnel are on the front line for ensuring flight safety. 
Gate attendants are in the best position to keep drunk or belligerent 
passengers off flights. Today, flight attendants are often the only 
personnel capable of maintaining order in a plane's cabin.
  Before 9/11, a flight's captain or co-pilot would leave the cockpit 
to assist the flight crew when a passenger made threats or became 
abusive. Today, the cockpit door is locked for safety. Flight 
attendants have more responsibility for keeping passengers safe.
  Unfortunately, airlines do not have to give their employees the 
skills to meet their responsibilities. One study found that ``the lack 
of attention paid by the aviation community to the importance of the 
flight attendant's role in a commercial flight has led to recurring 
instances of abuse of cabin crew by passengers and the inability of the 
cabin crew to restrain violent passenger[s]. . . .''
  The Airline Personnel Training Enhancement Act will help remedy this 
unsafe and unacceptable situation. This legislation is supported by the 
Association of Flight Attendants and Mothers Against Drunk Driving. It 
is also a commonsense response to a serious problem. It will make our 
skies and our roads safer. I hope Senators will support it.

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