ORANGE AIR, LLC

Family Assistance Plan

(Filed with the Department of Transportation and

the National Transportation Safety Board)
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Overview

This Orange Air Family Assistance Plan describes the methods by which Orange Air, in 

cooperation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), other governmental entities, 

and the American Red Cross or other organization named under 49 U.S.C. § 1136(a)(2), will 

provide family assistance after an aviation accident involving a flight operated by Orange Air. 

The purpose of this plan is to ensure that Orange Air efforts are made in the best interests of 

survivors and families and to respect the cultural & religious backgrounds of survivors and 

families.

Orange Air provides family assistance without regard to an individual's status as a revenue 

customer, non-revenue customer, crew member, or other victim of an accident. The Orange Air 

plan meets the provisions of the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996, as amended.

Certain specialized services that are required following an accident may be accomplished on 

behalf of Orange Air by vendors having expertise in those areas.

Pre-Response Planning 

Committing Sufficient Resources

Orange Air maintains agreements with providers who offer comprehensive emergency response 

and family assistance programs, which utilize a broad spectrum of human and technological 

resources in the event of an accident. During such crises, thousands of specially trained 

responders work around the clock on issues including family assistance, accident investigation, 

media relations, and liaisons with government agencies and support organizations. They are 

directed via a dedicated command center network linked by worldwide communications.

Orange Air maintains a cooperative working relationships with the external organizations 

involved in a crisis and has designed its emergency response structure specifically to allow 

separate management of the crisis while continuing the safe operation of the airline.

Orange Air Family Assistance

Orange Air is a member of the Family Assistance Foundation, a non-profit organization that 

supplements Orange Air’s resources with a pool of thousands of organized and trained volunteers 

established to enhance communication between Orange Air and the families affected by an 

accident and to respond to needs that survivors and families may have. Every effort is made to 

ensure well-trained volunteers are available in all areas served by Orange Air around the world 

and organized in a manner that will allow for immediate mobilization. 
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Training

In addition to the intensive training provided to family assistance teams, customer service 

training is also provided to personnel in public-contact positions throughout the Orange Air

system. Families may call any reservation office or may seek assistance at airports served by 

Orange Air that are neither the origin nor the destination of the flight involved in an accident. As 

with any training program, enhancements are continually made to include lessons learned from 

survivors, family members, industry partners, and mental health professionals.

Periodic simulations of Orange Air’s comprehensive emergency response plan are made in 

cooperation with regular airport drills around the world. In addition, Orange Air and its partners 

routinely coordinate with federal, state, and local authorities that have emergency 

responsibilities.

Toll-free telephone number

Orange Air will activate a toll-free telephone number within one hour after notification to our 

emergency call center provider, after receiving information indicating that an aircraft operated by 

Orange Air has been involved in an accident and that there are serious injuries and/or fatalities. 

This number will be staffed by our Emergency Call Center provider. These trained individuals 

will provide information authorized for release by Orange Air’s Corporate Communications 

department and will collect contact information from inquiring individuals. 
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Passenger Manifest, Ticket Reconciliation, and Notification

Passenger Manifest and Ticket Reconciliation

Immediately after the accident, Orange Air will begin the process to match the current 

computerized reservations (Passenger Name Records) for that flight with the ticket coupons or

other verifying data that were collected at the departure airport(s.) All known passengers will be 

validated including those with reservations, standby tickets, rerouted tickets, jump seat 

authorization, and non-revenue passengers and crew. Unfortunately, this process can be delayed 

by persons traveling under different names, changing seats, and infants traveling without tickets. 

Accordingly, Orange Air’s Reservations Sales policy prohibits the unauthorized release of this 

confidential, sensitive manifest information.

Upon the request of the National Transportation Safety Board and/or the American Red Cross, a 

list of names of passengers aboard the aircraft (based on the best information available at the 

time of the request) will be sent to the NTSB Office of Transportation Disaster Assistance and 

American Red Cross. The Manager of Orange Air’s Family Assistance will ensure that the list is 

marked “preliminary and unconfirmed” and will continue to update it periodically. Although the 

Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996 does not state a time frame for this action, a 

preliminary list will be available within the first three hours. As names of persons on board are 

reconciled, they will be given to our Emergency Call Center provider, so the notification process 

can proceed while the remainder of the manifest continues to be verified. If citizens of countries 

other than the United States are on board, Orange Air will transmit a list of their names to the 

United States Department of State.

Notifying Passengers’ Families

Specially trained personnel from our Emergency Call Center provider will notify the family of 

each passenger as soon as it appears that the individual was on board; Orange Air recognizes the 

Act's preference for in-person notification to the extent practicable. Orange Air will not wait for 

all the names of passengers to be verified. However, identifying and contacting some 

passengers’ next-of-kin may be delayed depending on the amount and accuracy of information 

available. Other callers who have inquired about a name appearing on the manifest will not be 

contacted by our provider until Orange Air is satisfied that the next-of-kin or the person who 

stated that they were the family’s contact has been notified. As the passenger list is validated, 

subsequent incoming calls from family members will be routed to our call center provider for 

appropriate handling.

Orange Air will not release a passenger’s name publicly until after the next-of-kin has been 

notified. If the next-of-kin requests that the passenger’s name not be made public, Orange Air

will convey that information to the NTSB in order to honor the request.
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Passenger Identification

The local medical examiner or coroner in the county or location of the accident is responsible for 

the positive identification of fatalities and will provide official notification of death to the family. 

In cases where local capacity for victim identification and mortuary services is exceeded, this 

task may be supplemented by members of the Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. 

These teams (D-MORT) are organized and activated by the Public Health Service, a division of 

the US Department of Health and Human Services. For injured passengers, the hospital is 

responsible for periodic status updates and either the hospital or Orange Air will continue to 

advise the families.

Family Access to the Accident City

Orange Air will arrange for the family of a passenger to travel to the city nearest the accident if 

they so desire. Once at the location, family assistance personnel will be assigned and dedicated 

to each family to coordinate such things as accommodations, ground transportation, 

communications, the purchase of personal incidentals, visiting survivors in the hospitals, etc. If a 

family prefers, family assistance personnel will be available to travel to the family's home 

location to provide personal assistance, communications, and logistical support. When requested 

by survivors or family members, professional counseling services will be made available through 

Orange Air’s close coordination with the American Red Cross which is responsible for mental 

health assistance.

Orange Air will make provisions for a joint family support operations center to include space, 

communications, and logistical support for federal and American Red Cross staff. Orange Air

will endeavor to secure a suitable facility to protect families from intrusions by the media and by 

unwelcome solicitors.

The National Transportation Safety Board has accident-site jurisdiction. Within site security 

limitations that these authorities establish, Orange Air will respond to family requests for visits to 

the accident scene. Access to the site may be limited by terrain, biohazard and/or hazardous 

materials concerns, security measures, or other unforeseen conditions.

Orange Air family assistance personnel will continue to assist family members as they depart the 

accident location and Orange Air personnel will maintain contact with the family until they 

advise that this is no longer necessary.
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Human Remains and Personal Effects

The local medical examiner or coroner in the county or location of the accident is responsible for 

the disposition of identifiable and unidentifiable human remains. Disaster Mortuary Operational 

Response Teams may be activated by the NTSB to assist with this process. Orange Air and its 

provider contracted to assist with these tasks will comply with decisions made by the responsible 

authorities and help to ensure that the families are advised as to the plans for disposition. The 

next-of-kin's wishes as to arrangements for remains identified as those of the passenger will be 

honored.

Personal Effects

Local authorities such as the medical examiner or coroner should return identifiable personal 

items to the passenger’s family rather than having the airline become custodian of them and local 

authorities should determine disposition of unidentifiable personal effects.

If personal items come into the airline’s control, Orange Air or its provider will consult with each 

family about the disposition of the possessions unless such possessions are needed for the 

accident investigation or any criminal investigation. Unless requested otherwise, Orange Air or 

its vendor will describe to the next-of-kin the condition of each such possession and follow the 

direction of the next-of-kin as to the return or other disposition of such items regardless of their 

condition. Because specialized services such as the cleaning and restoration of personal effects 

may require a certain expertise, Orange Air has arranged for a contractor with this expertise to 

handle this with care on the airline’s behalf. After returning all possessions which can be 

associated with specific passengers, Orange Air will retain any unclaimed possessions which are 

within its control for no less than 18 months. Orange Air or its personal effects' vendor will 

create an inventory of these items and carefully store them.

Monuments

If Orange Air considers the construction of a monument for the accident site, Orange Air will 

consult with the family of each passenger about its construction, including any inscription on the 

monument. All comments and concerns from families (along with the statutory and/or regulatory 

requirements or considerations of the place of construction) will be given careful consideration. 

Each family will be given a choice of including or not including the passenger’s name if an 

inscription of the names is planned in the agreed design. The goal will be to achieve a full 

consensus of all families on a specific design. Should that not be possible, in an effort to avoid 

lengthy delays, it may be necessary to implement a plan agreeable to the majority of the families.

The next-of-kin will be given an opportunity to visit the monument when construction is 

complete.
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Relationship with the American Red Cross

Compensation to the American Red Cross

Orange Air will work with the American Red Cross or other organization designated under 49 

U.S.C. § 1136(a)(2) on an ongoing basis to ensure that families of passengers receive an 

appropriate level of services and assistance following an accident. A procedure will be 

developed to pay reasonable compensation to the American Red Cross for services provided by 

the organization. Orange Air has requested and expects to receive a plan of tasks and anticipated 

expenses prior to the American Red Cross’ full deployment, consultation about costs as they are 

incurred, and an itemized list of services rendered and expenses to accompany the organization's 

invoice.

Relationship with Domestic and International Partner Airlines

Orange Air will systematically work throughout the year on all elements of emergency response 

planning and procedures with the airlines that may have a contracted partnership agreement with 

Orange Air. Goals will include consistent terminology and structure, identification of mutual 

resources, maximum efficiency of resource deployment, cooperative management during drills 

and an accident response, etc. If applicable, Orange Air will be committed to providing each 

domestic connection or international code-share partner with assistance and support if they, as 

the operating carrier, have an accident. Conversely, in the event of a Orange Air accident, the 

partner airlines will provide assistance to meet language, resource, and personnel needs.

Flight Reservation Information

Orange Air will ensure, through its authorized providers, that it will inform any family of a 

passenger on the flight involved in an accident, whether or not their family member’s name 

appeared on any preliminary passenger manifests, if requested by the family.

Training Of Employees And Agents

Orange Air will ensure that all personnel involved in supporting families are adequately trained 

in meeting the needs of survivors and family members following an accident. This includes both 

employees of Orange Air and its authorized providers. Orange Air is committed to training its 

employees and using providers who employ only the most recent best practices for supporting 

both passenger and family survivors following an accident.

Accidents Occurring Outside the United States

In the event of an accident involving a flight operated by Orange Air, but occurring outside of the 

United States, Orange Air will provide support to passengers and families that is consistent with 
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the type of support that would be provided for accidents occurring within the United States. 

Furthermore, when providing support to passengers and families who are United States Citizens, 

Orange Air and its authorized providers will consult with both the National Transportation Safety 

Board and the US Department of State with respect to support for those persons.

Damage To Man-Made Structures And Other Property On The Ground

In the event that an accident involving an Orange Air flight causes damage to man-made 

structures or other property on the ground, Orange Air will promptly provide written notice to the

property owner(s) advising them to: contact their insurer(s) in order to obtain authoritative 

information with regard to coverage and compensation; not rely on unofficial information offered 

by air carrier representatives about compensation by the air carrier for accident-site property 

damage; and to obtain photographic or other detailed evidence of any property damage as soon as 

possible after the accident, consistent with restrictions on access to the accident site.

NTSB Hearings Greater Than Eighty Miles From the Accident Site

Should the National Transportation Safety Board conduct public hearings (or comparable 

hearings) at a location that is greater than eighty (80) miles from the accident site, Orange Air

will provide a means to simultaneously broadcast the hearing by electronic means at both the 

originating and destination city of the flight that was involved in the accident, if those cities are 

located in the United States.

Filing Airline Plan With DOT and NTSB

Orange Air has filed this Plan as required by the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 

1996. 

In addition, Orange Air has submitted to the National Transportation Safety Board contact 

telephone numbers at its operational center, which can be used by the NTSB 24 hours per day, 

seven days per week.