INTRODUCTION

The Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996 and the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act of 1997 require U.S. and foreign air carriers to have family assistance plans in the event of an aviation disaster within the United States. The Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters was convened to provide recommendations to the government and the air carriers for the best manner in which to carry out those plans, as well as to develop "best practices" for assisting families in the event of a disaster.

The Task Force report contained 61 recommendations to improve the assistance provided to the families of aviation disasters. The recommendations were presented in 15 sections. The first section, containing six individual subsections, concentrates on the needs of the families in the immediate aftermath of an aviation disaster. The remaining nine sections each focuses on a role of a specific organization’s interaction with the assistance provided to family members. The progress made in each of these 15 sections is highlighted in this anniversary report.

Since the Task Force issued its final report, there has been one disaster involving two air carriers who have plans on file with the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board. The crash of a Swissair MD-11 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, on September 3, 1998, claimed the lives of all 215 passengers and 14 crew on board. The 229 people on board included 53 Delta Air Line passengers and one Delta Air Lines crew member, as this flight included a "code share" between Swissair and Delta.

While U.S. law did not require either Swissair or Delta to meet the requirements of either Family Assistance Act, as the event occurred outside the territory of United States, both Swissair and Delta met and surpassed the requirements of U.S. law in assisting the families of the victims. As this event occurred a relatively short time ago, all of the "lessons learned" from this disaster have yet to be revealed. However, where possible, instances where Swissair and Delta utilized the recommendations of the Task Force are contained in this report.

While this report also attempts to chronicle the work of the Canadian government and people to the families and the airlines following the accident, it does not do their efforts justice. A similar accident in another location could have had very different results. The standards set in this case could be unattainable no matter how hard an airline worked in a country less able to provide the kind of federal, state, and local support as was done in this case.

This report cites specific examples of where the Task Force recommendations have been implemented by certain air carries to give a context to how certain air carriers have responded to the Task Force report. Both U.S. and foreign air carriers have been proactive in preparing family assistance plans, and the Task Force members who have had the opportunity to work with various airlines recognize that we are all better prepared to deal with a situation we all hope will never occur.

Implementation of Task Force Recomendations || Task Force Home Page