FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Thursday, February 12, 1998
Contact: Bill Adams
Tel.: (202) 366-5580
DOT 26-98
SLATER ANNOUNCES
PROGRESS ON RECOMMENDATIONS
FROM WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION ON AVIATION SAFETY
AND SECURITY
Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater today presented Vice President Al Gore a one-year status report detailing the significant progress made by the Department of Transportation (DOT) and other federal agencies in implementing recommendations in the Final Report of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.
Under the leadership of Vice President Gore, the White House Commission proposed a number of concrete recommendations to ensure the U.S. aviation system remains the best and safest in the world.
The Commission’s report was divided into four categories: improving aviation safety, making air traffic control safer and more efficient, improving security for travelers, and responding to aviation disasters. DOT and the Departments of Defense, Justice, State, Treasury, the National Transportation Safety Board, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other federal agencies have completed 15 of the Commission’s near-term recommendations in each of the four areas. The federal government and its partners remain committed to implementing the remaining long-term goals, and progress on those is well underway.
The Commission proposed a safety goal of reducing the aviation fatal accident rate by a factor of five within 10 years. That is now the federal government’s primary aviation goal, and the Department of Transportation is working in partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board and the aviation industry to meet that challenge.
"DOT’s work represents real progress in the effort to improve aviation safety and security," Vice President Gore said. "I applaud Secretary Slater for his leadership in putting the White House Commission’s recommendations into practice."
"The final report provides a blueprint for excellence in aviation, and calls for action by all partners in aviation," Secretary Slater said. "Together, the federal government and the aviation community have worked diligently and have made steady progress in implementing the recommendations.
In its examination of security, the Commission set civil aviation as an issue of national security. The DOT is working with many others, including the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, to make civil aviation security a major element of the country’s strategy against terrorism. As directed by the Commission and with the $144 million appropriated by Congress for civil aviation security in FY 1997-1998, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been purchasing and deploying a variety of innovative explosives detection devices for the nation’s largest and busiest airports. An additional $100 million for civil aviation security is included in the FY 1999 budget request to permit the FAA to purchase even more security equipment to protect the flying public and further implement the Commission’s recommendations.
The FAA, in response to other Commission recommendations, has developed a plan for accelerated modernization of the air traffic control system. The agency is beginning to deliver the most modern controller work stations available and is making progress in other areas in collaboration with the airlines to modernize the system. The President’s budget allows us to keep modernization of the air traffic control system on track, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said.
This past year has also seen great progress by both the government and industry in assistance provided to families following aviation disasters. In particular, Secretary Slater and NTSB chairman Jim Hall co-chaired the Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters, which developed 61 recommendations to serve as a blueprint for the proper treatment of families by all of those involved in an aviation disaster.
Also being announced today are two final rules that respond to Commission goals and further DOT’s goal of excellence in aviation.
The FAA today issued a final rule requiring fire detection and suppression systems in aircraft cargo compartments. This rule affects nearly 3,700 passenger aircraft and all newly manufactured aircraft, and mandates that all retrofits be completed within the next three years.
The Department of Transportation’s new rule on international passenger manifests meets both the Aviation Security Improvement Act of 1990 and a Commission recommendation calling for enhanced passenger manifests for flights to or from the United States. The new manifests for flights to and from the United States will ensure that families quickly receive more accurate information from both the government and the airlines following an aviation disaster.
Press releases on the new rules and advance notice of rulemaking are being published separately and are available online at the DOT and FAA web sites. The press release on fire detection and suppression is located at www.faa.gov under "News & Information." The press release on the international passenger manifest rule can be located under http://www.dot.gov under "Press Releases."
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