CARE Emergency Procedures Manual

AMR FAP

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AMR Family Assistance Plan

AMR Family Assistance Plan (as on file with D.O.T.)

Introduction

The Survivor/Family Assistance Plan, established pursuant to the Aviation Disaster 

Family Assistance Act, unites elements from several internal source documents into 

one policy which describes the methods by which the Airline* provides assistance to 

survivors and/or family members after aviation disasters involving aircraft operated 

by the Airline. The Airline utilizes this plan regardless of the accident’s location. 

If the Airline provides assistance to United States citizens within the United States as 

a result of an accident outside the United States, the Airline will consult with the 

appropriate personnel within the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and 

Department of State on the provision of that assistance.

Certain specialized services required following an accident may be accomplished on 

behalf of the Airline by contractors having expertise in those areas. 

Principles of Survivor/Family Assistance

The Airline subscribes to the following principles regarding assistance provided to 

survivors and family members:

 Survivors and families shall be treated with dignity and respect.

 The cultural, religious, and ethnic diversity of those involved shall be 

respected, and accommodated wherever possible.

 Information shall be provided as promptly as possible.

 Wherever possible and appropriate, the wishes of survivors and families shall 

be the basis for the Airline’s actions in all matters associated with the 

passenger.

*For the purposes of this document, “the Airline” shall refer to American Airlines, Inc. 

(“American”) or any of its affiliated and unaffiliated carriers, as applicable, with 

respect to flights they operate for American (under American’s code).
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Committing Sufficient Resources

The Airline maintains corporate, departmental, and local emergency response and 

family assistance programs that utilize a broad spectrum of human and technological 

resources in the event of an accident. During such crises, employees are assigned 

to functions including family assistance, accident investigation, media relations, and 

liaison with government agencies and support organizations. The Airline’s 

resources are directed through a command center network linked by worldwide 

communications.

The Airline establishes cooperative working relationships between all internal and 

external organizations involved in the crisis, and has specifically designed its 

emergency response structure to allow separate management of the crisis and 

continued safe operation of the Airline.

Initial Notification to the NTSB

The Airline’s Flight Safety Department is responsible for the accident notification to 

the NTSB Communications Center at 202-314-6290. Notification by the Airline’s 

Flight Safety Department will include:

– Incident location

– Number of passengers and crewmembers onboard based on preliminary 

departure information 

– Number of injured and fatalities (if known)

– Flight number, origination, connection points and final destination

– Domestic or international flight

– Name and telephone number of the person/persons in charge of the carrier’s 

humanitarian response, passenger manifest reconciliation, and family 

notification process

– Name, telephone number and location of the facility designated as the Family 

Assistance Center (FAC) and Joint Family Support Operations Center 

(JFSOC)

The American Airlines Emergency Response & CARE Program will provide a 

courtesy notification to the NTSB Communications Center requesting that the 

Transportation Disaster Assistance team be notified of the accident.
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AMR Family Assistance Plan (continued)

Training

The Airline’s emergency response involves numerous departments across the entire 

corporate structure. Employees who internally support emergency response efforts 

receive departmental training on accomplishing specific tasks.

The Airline has ongoing training programs designed to help prepare employees who 

directly assist survivors and/or family members following an aircraft accident. 

Current and planned training includes:

Customer Assistance Relief Effort (CARE) training for CARE Team Members

 Periodic recurrent training for CARE Team Members

 Local Emergency Procedures Plan training for selected managers and 

supervisors

Customer Assistance Relief Effort (CARE) 

The Airline’s primary mechanism for assisting survivors and/or family members is 

the Customer Assistance Relief Effort (CARE). Comprised of hundreds of specially 

trained volunteer employees, CARE provides a conduit of communication between 

the Airline and survivors and/or family members following an accident, and facilitates 

necessary tasks.

The Airline holds CARE training classes several times each year. The two-day crisis 

response training prepares CARE Team Members to assist survivors and/or families 

following an aviation emergency or accident. Training topics include:

 Background and history of the CARE program

 The unique nature of aviation disasters

 Crisis communications skills

 Making initial contact

 How to relate effectively with highly distressed people

 Logistics

 Crisis management

 Ensuring one’s own well-being

Periodic recurrent training refreshes team members’ skills and provides information 

and guidance on relevant issues.
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Uniform Provision of Assistance

The Airline provides assistance to passengers and crewmembers, including 

employees of air carriers, and their respective family members, without regard to an 

individual’s status as a revenue customer, non-revenue passenger, or crewmember; 

whether the person paid for the transportation, occupied a seat, or held a reservation 

for the flight.

Managing Telephone Inquiries

The Airline will establish and publicize a dedicated toll-free telephone number within 

one hour after its System Operations Control center confirms that an aircraft 

operated by the Airline has been involved in an accident and that there are serious 

injuries and/or fatalities.

The toll-free number will be staffed by the Initial Response Group, which is 

comprised of hundreds of specially trained reservations agents. Depending on call 

volume, routine reservations calls will be redistributed to other reservations centers. 

Initial Response Group members will answer questions, provide information 

authorized for release by the Airline, and gather relevant information. They will also 

have access to a preliminary passenger manifest for the purpose of identifying 

callers whose family members are believed to be aboard the accident flight. 

Once such callers are identified, a second group of volunteers who are fully CAREtrained and known as the RES CARE Team will establish contact as rapidly as 

possible with the immediate family of those believed to be aboard. The Airline will 

then provide a separate toll-free number to survivors and/or family members through 

which they can reach the RES CARE Team directly.
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Notification and Preliminary Passenger List

For notification purposes, the Airline utilizes a preliminary passenger manifest 

comprised of passenger names and seat numbers. The Airline’s Initial Response 

Group compares the names provided by callers to names appearing on this 

preliminary passenger manifest, and the Airline’s CARE Team promptly 

acknowledges the presence of a specific name to callers who have identified 

themselves as (and apparently are) immediate family members.

The Airline rapidly distributes the preliminary passenger manifest internally so the 

notification process can proceed while the list is further verified. Verification involves 

comparing ticket coupons and other verifying data at the departure airport to the list 

of those individuals holding reservations or desiring standby space aboard the flight. 

Internal distribution of the preliminary passenger manifest and associated Passenger 

Name Records (PNRs) initiates the process of determining the passengers’ next-ofkin and establishing contact. This process includes identifying callers who have 

family members believed to be aboard the accident aircraft as described above and 

making outbound calls where contact data is available. If calls are received during 

the brief period before the preliminary list becomes available, the Airline will request 

contact information from all callers and contact the immediate family of those 

believed to be aboard once the preliminary passenger manifest is received. 

Once contact is established, specific CARE Team Members are dedicated to each 

survivor and family, and are available to travel to their location to offer personal 

assistance and logistical support. 

Ensuring Prompt Notification

The Airline, including the CARE Team, mobilizes as rapidly as possible, and will 

promptly attempt to establish contact with survivors and/or the immediate family of 

any passenger whose name appears on the passenger list. 

The Airline will notify passengers’ families of the passenger’s presence aboard the 

aircraft promptly when that information is available, whether or not the names of all 

passengers on board the aircraft are available. 
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Provision of Passenger List

Immediately upon request, the Airline will provide to the authorities described below 

a list of names of passengers that its records indicate were aboard the aircraft 

(based on the best information available at the time of the request). 

The Airline will transmit this information to the NTSB Director of Transportation 

Disaster Assistance designated for the accident and to the organization designated 

for the accident under section 1136(a) (2) of Title VII, Section 703 of the Federal 

Aviation Reauthorization Act of 1996, and will periodically update the list. If foreign 

nationals are aboard, the Airline will transmit a list of their names to the Department 

of State.

The System Operations Control Command Center is responsible for transmission of 

the passenger list and subsequent updates to the receiving agencies. Each copy of 

the passenger list will be annotated with the date and time to ensure the current 

version is distinguishable from previous copies. 

Release of Passenger and Crew Names to the Media

The Airline will not release the names of passengers or crew members directly to the 

media until after CARE verifies that the next-of-kin have been notified. If the next-ofkin requests that a passenger’s name not be released to the media, the Airline will 

honor the request.

The Airline will provide the media with continuous updates on the progress of the 

notification process, such as providing the number of victims’ families notified and 

the remaining to be notified, until the process is complete and all families are 

notified.
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AMR Family Assistance Plan (continued)

Travel and Visits to Accident Site

The Airline will provide for reasonable physical care, accommodations, and 

transportation for survivors and/or family members. This includes family travel to the 

location of the accident if desired. The Airline, through its CARE Team Members, will 

also maintain regular contact with families who elect not to travel to the location of 

the accident.

Upon request, the Airline will work with the responsible authorities to arrange visits 

to the accident site for survivors and/or family members. Access to the site may be 

limited by terrain, biohazard and/or hazardous materials concerns, security 

measures, or other unforeseen conditions. 

To the extent possible, the Airline will secure a suitable facility to isolate survivors 

and/or families from intrusions by the media and by unwelcome solicitors at the 

accident flight’s origin and destination, as well as at any connecting airports or en 

route stops.
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Assistance at Location of Accident

To the extent possible, the Airline will secure a suitable facility to isolate survivors 

and/or families from intrusions by the media and by unwelcome solicitors and will 

coordinate family access to briefings held by government agencies.

In addition, the Airline will make provisions for a joint family support operations 

center to include space, communications, and logistical support for the assisting 

local and federal staff. 

The Airline will assist survivors and/or family members as they travel to and from the 

accident site by informing flight crews and airport personnel that family members are 

on particular flights. The Airline will also assist families as they depart the accident 

location and maintain contact until no longer appropriate.

Remains

Recovery, identification, and disposition of identifiable and unidentifiable remains is 

the responsibility of the local medical examiner, coroner, or other designated 

authority. The Airline will comply with decisions made by the responsible authority. 

The Airline will consult with the next-of-kin and honor their reasonable wishes for 

remains identified as those of the passenger. 

Personal Effects

The Airline retains a contractor having expertise in the recovery, cleaning, and 

restoration of personal effects. For items within the control of the Airline that are 

identified by a survivor and/or family member as belonging to a passenger, the 

Airline or a representative of its contractor will describe to the survivor or next-of-kin 

the personal effect and its condition. The Airline will follow the direction of the 

survivor or next-of-kin as to the return or other disposition of each item, regardless of 

its condition.

After returning all personal effects that can be associated with a specific passenger, 

the Airline will retain any unclaimed personal effects that are within its control for no 

less than 18 months. The Airline or its contractor will create an inventory of these 

items and store them.
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AMR Family Assistance Plan (continued)

Working with Designated Organization

The Airline will establish a liaison with any organization designated under section 

1136(a) (2) of Title VII, Section 703 of the Federal Aviation Reauthorization Act of 

1996 on an ongoing basis to ensure that survivors and family members receive an 

appropriate level of services and assistance following each accident.

The Airline’s CARE Team Members will inquire whether survivors and/or family 

members desire assistance from the designated organization responsible for family 

care and mental health, and will coordinate such assistance with that organization.

Compensation of Designated Organization

The Airline will provide reasonable compensation to any organization designated 

under section 1136(a) (2) of Title VII, Section 703 of the Federal Aviation 

Reauthorization Act of 1996 for services provided by the organization. The Airline 

will request a plan of tasks and anticipated expenses prior to the designated 

organization’s full deployment. 

The designated organization should consult with the Airline as costs are incurred. 

Material changes to the plan or unanticipated expenses should be coordinated with 

the Airline’s System Operations Control Command Center. 

The Airline will expect an itemized listing of services rendered and expenses to 

accompany the organization’s invoice.

Monuments

The Airline will consult with survivors and/or the family of each passenger about 

construction by the Airline of any monument to the passengers, including any 

inscription on the monument. 

Should a monument be constructed, the Airline will consider all feedback from 

survivors and/or families along with the statutory and/or regulatory requirements or 

considerations of the place of construction. While it is preferable to have every 

survivor and/or family agree with the specific design, it may not be possible to obtain 

a full consensus. To avoid lengthy delays, the Airline will implement a plan 

agreeable to the majority.

Each survivor and/or family will be given a choice of including or not including the 

passenger’s name if inscription of the names is planned in the agreed design. 
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AMR Family Assistance Plan (continued)

Survivors and/or next-of-kin will be given an opportunity to visit the monument when 

construction is complete. 

Vision 100 

If an accident results in significant damage to a manmade structure or other property 

on the ground that is not government-owned, the Airline will: Promptly provide, to the 

extent practicable, written notice to the property owner regarding any liability for 

property damage and means for obtaining compensation. The notice shall advise an 

owner:

 to contact the insurer of the property as the authoritative source for 

information about coverage and compensation

 to not rely on unofficial information offered by air carrier representatives 

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

 to obtain photographic or other detailed evidence of property damage as 

soon as possible after the accident, consistent with access restrictions at 

the site

In the event of an accident in which the National Transportation Safety Board 

conducts a public hearing or comparable proceeding at a location greater than 80 

miles from the accident site, the Airline will:

 Ensure that the proceeding is made available simultaneously by electronic 

means at a location open to the public at the origin city and destination city 

of the air carrier’s flight if that city is located in the United States

Conclusion

The Airline originally developed the Survivor/Family Assistance Plan in cooperation 

with the following:

 Survivors and family members of past accidents; 

 The National Transportation Safety Board;

 Airlines For America (formerly, Air Transport Association) and its member 

carriers;

 The American Red Cross;

 The Department of Health and Human Services; and

 The Department of State.

The Airline actively supports ongoing industry efforts to ensure that survivors and 

families receive prompt and effective assistance following aviation disasters.