104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3923

AN ACT

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require

aircraft accidents.the needs of families of passengers involved inindividual air carriers to take actions to addressthe National Transportation Safety Board and
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3923

AN ACT

To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National Transportation Safety Board and individual air

carriers to take actions to address the needs of families

of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation Disaster

3 Family Assistance Act of 1996’’.

4 SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFE5 TY BOARD TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS IN6 VOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.

7 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter

9 11 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by

10 adding at the end the following:

11 ‘‘§ 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved

12 in aircraft accidents

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after

14 being notified of an aircraft accident within the United

15 States involving an air carrier or foreign air carrier and

16 resulting in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the Na17 tional Transportation Safety Board shall—

18 ‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and

19 phone number of a director of family support serv20 ices who shall be an employee of the Board and shall

21 be responsible for acting as a point of contact within

22 the Federal Government for the families of pas23 sengers involved in the accident and a liaison be24 tween the air carrier or foreign air carrier and the

25 families; and
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1 ‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi2 zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma

3 communication with families, which shall have pri4 mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional

5 care and support of the families of passengers in6 volved in the accident.

7 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board

8 shall have primary Federal responsibility for facilitating

9 the recovery and identification of fatally-injured pas10 sengers involved in an accident described in subsection (a).

11 ‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA12 TION.—The organization designated for an accident under

13 subsection (a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities

14 with respect to the families of passengers involved in the

15 accident:

16 ‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling

17 services, in coordination with the disaster response

18 team of the air carrier or foreign air carrier in19 volved.

20 ‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary

21 to provide an environment in which the families may

22 grieve in private.

23 ‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav24 eled to the location of the accident, to contact the

25 families unable to travel to such location, and to
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1 contact all affected families periodically thereafter

2 until such time as the organization, in consultation

3 with the director of family support services des4 ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), de5 termines that further assistance is no longer needed.

6 ‘‘(4) To communicate with the families as to

7 the roles of the organization, government agencies,

8 and the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved

9 with respect to the accident and the post-accident

10 activities.

11 ‘‘(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in

12 consultation with the families.

13 ‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY

16 SUPPORT SERVICES.—It shall be the respon17 sibility of the director of family support services

18 designated for an accident under subsection

19 (a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from

20 the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in

21 the accident a list, which is based on the best

22 available information at the time of the request,

23 of the names of the passengers that were

24 aboard the aircraft involved in the accident.
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1 ‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI2 ZATION.—The organization designated for an

3 accident under subsection (a)(2) may request

4 from the air carrier or foreign air carrier in5 volved in the accident a list described in sub6 paragraph (A).

7 ‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of

8 family support services and the organization may

9 not release to any person information on a list ob10 tained under paragraph (1) but may provide infor11 mation on the list about a passenger to the family

12 of the passenger to the extent that the director of

13 family support services or the organization considers

14 appropriate.

15 ‘‘(e) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE

16 BOARD.—In the course of its investigation of an accident

17 described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the maxi18 mum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas19 sengers involved in the accident—

20 ‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing,

21 about the accident, its causes, and any other find22 ings from the investigation; and

23 ‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to

24 attend any public hearings and meetings of the

25 Board about the accident.
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1 ‘‘(f) USE OF AIR CARRIER RESOURCES.—To the ex2 tent practicable, the organization designated for an acci3 dent under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities

4 with the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in the

5 accident so that the resources of the carrier can be used

6 to the greatest extent possible to carry out the organiza7 tion’s responsibilities under this section.

8 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—

9 ‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No

10 person (including a State or political subdivision)

11 may impede the ability of the Board (including the

12 director of family support services designated for an

13 accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization

14 designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2),

15 to carry out its responsibilities under this section or

16 the ability of the families of passengers involved in

17 the accident to have contact with one another.

18 ‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—In the

19 event of an accident involving an air carrier provid20 ing interstate or foreign air transportation, no unso21 licited communication concerning a potential action

22 for personal injury or wrongful death may be made

23 by an attorney, representative of an attorney, insur24 ance company, or air carrier litigation representative

25 to an individual injured in the accident, or to a rel-
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1 ative of an individual involved in the accident, before

2 the 30th day following the date of the accident.

3 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following

4 definitions apply:

5 ‘‘(1) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT.—The term ‘aircraft

6 accident’ means any aviation disaster regardless of

7 its cause or suspected cause.

8 ‘‘(2) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ in9 cludes an employee of an air carrier aboard an air10 craft.’’.

11 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of

12 sections for chapter 11 of such title is amended by

13 inserting after the item relating to section 1135 the

14 following:

‘‘1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.’’.

15 (b) PENALTIES.—Section 1155(a)(1) of such title is

16 amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘or 1134(b) or (f)(1)’’ and in18 serting ‘‘, section 1134(b), section 1134(f)(1), or

19 section 1136(g)’’; and

20 (2) by striking ‘‘either of’’ and inserting ‘‘any

21 of’’.
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1 SEC. 3. AIR CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMI2 LIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIR3 CRAFT ACCIDENTS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 411 of title 49, United

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow6 ing:

7 ‘‘§ 41113. Plans to address needs of families of pas8 sengers involved in aircraft accidents

9 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF PLANS.—Not later than 6

10 months after the date of the enactment of this section,

11 each air carrier holding a certificate of public convenience

12 and necessity under section 41102 of this title shall sub13 mit to the Secretary and the Chairman of the National

14 Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the

15 needs of the families of passengers involved in any aircraft

16 accident involving an aircraft of the air carrier and result17 ing in a major loss of life.

18 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted

19 by an air carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a

20 minimum, the following:

21 ‘‘(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free

22 telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle

23 calls from the families of the passengers.

24 ‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the

25 passengers, before providing any public notice of the

26 names of the passengers, either by utilizing the serv-
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1 ices of the organization designated for the accident

2 under section 1136(a)(2) of this title or the services

3 of other suitably trained individuals.

4 ‘‘(3) An assurance that the notice described in

5 paragraph (2) will be provided to the family of a

6 passenger as soon as the air carrier has verified that

7 the passenger was aboard the aircraft (whether or

8 not the names of all of the passengers have been

9 verified) and, to the extent practicable, in person.

10 ‘‘(4) An assurance that the air carrier will pro11 vide to the director of family support services des12 ignated for the accident under section 1136(a)(1) of

13 this title, and to the organization designated for the

14 accident under section 1136(a)(2) of this title, im15 mediately upon request, a list (which is based on the

16 best available information at the time of the request)

17 of the names of the passengers aboard the aircraft

18 (whether or not such names have been verified), and

19 will periodically update the list.

20 ‘‘(5) An assurance that the family of each pas21 senger will be consulted about the disposition of all

22 remains and personal effects of the passenger.

23 ‘‘(6) An assurance that if requested by the fam24 ily of a passenger, any possession of the passenger

25 within the control of the air carrier (regardless of its
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1 condition) will be returned to the family unless the

2 possession is needed for the accident investigation or

3 any criminal investigation.

4 ‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses5 sion of a passenger within the control of the air car6 rier will be retained by the air carrier for at least

7 18 months.

8 ‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas9 senger will be consulted about construction by the

10 air carrier of any monument to the passengers, in11 cluding any inscription on the monument.

12 ‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the

13 families of nonrevenue passengers (and any other

14 victim of the accident) will be the same as the treat15 ment of the families of revenue passengers.

16 ‘‘(10) An assurance that the air carrier will

17 work with any organization designated under section

18 1136(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing basis to en19 sure that families of passengers receive an appro20 priate level of services and assistance following each

21 accident.

22 ‘‘(11) An assurance that the air carrier will

23 provide reasonable compensation to any organization

24 designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this title for

25 services provided by the organization.
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1 ‘‘(12) An assurance that the air carrier will as2 sist the family of a passenger in traveling to the lo3 cation of the accident and provide for the physical

4 care of the family while the family is staying at such

5 location.

6 ‘‘(13) An assurance that the air carrier will

7 commit sufficient resources to carry out the plan.

8 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENT.—After the date

9 that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this

10 section, the Secretary may not approve an application for

11 a certificate of public convenience and necessity under sec12 tion 41102 of this title unless the applicant has included

13 as part of such application a plan that meets the require14 ments of subsection (b).

15 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—An air carrier shall

16 not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Fed17 eral or State court arising out of the performance of the

18 air carrier in preparing or providing a passenger list pur19 suant to a plan submitted by the air carrier under sub20 section (b), unless such liability was caused by conduct

21 of the air carrier which was grossly negligent or which con22 stituted intentional misconduct.

23 ‘‘(e) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT AND PASSENGER DE24 FINED.—In this section, the terms ‘aircraft accident’ and
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1 ‘passenger’ have the meanings such terms have in section

2 1136 of this title.’’.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions for such chapter is amended by adding at the end

5 the following:

‘‘41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.’’.

6 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor8 tation, in cooperation with the National Transportation

9 Safety Board, the Federal Emergency Management Agen10 cy, the American Red Cross, air carriers, and families

11 which have been involved in aircraft accidents shall estab12 lish a task force consisting of representatives of such enti13 ties and families, representatives of air carrier employees,

14 and representatives of such other entities as the Secretary

15 considers appropriate.

16 (b) MODEL PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The

17 task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de18 velop—

19 (1) a model plan to assist air carriers in re20 sponding to aircraft accidents;

21 (2) recommendations on methods to ensure that

22 attorneys and representatives of media organizations

23 do not intrude on the privacy of families of pas24 sengers involved in an aircraft accident;
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1 (3) recommendations on methods to ensure that

2 the families of passengers involved in an aircraft ac3 cident who are not citizens of the United States re4 ceive appropriate assistance;

5 (4) recommendations on methods to ensure that

6 State mental health licensing laws do not act to pre7 vent out-of-state mental health workers from work8 ing at the site of an aircraft accident or other relat9 ed sites;

10 (5) recommendations on the extent to which

11 military experts and facilities can be used to aid in

12 the identification of the remains of passengers in13 volved in an aircraft accident; and

14 (6) recommendations on methods to improve

15 the timeliness of the notification provided by air car16 riers to the families of passengers involved in an air17 craft accident, including—

18 (A) an analysis of the steps that air car19 riers would have to take to ensure that an accu20 rate list of passengers on board the aircraft

21 would be available within 1 hour of the accident

22 and an analysis of such steps to ensure that

23 such list would be available within 3 hours of

24 the accident;
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1 (B) an analysis of the added costs to air

2 carriers and travel agents that would result if

3 air carriers were required to take the steps de4 scribed in subparagraph (A); and

5 (C) an analysis of any inconvenience to

6 passengers, including flight delays, that would

7 result if air carriers were required to take the

8 steps described in subparagraph (A).

9 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date

10 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit

11 to Congress a report containing the model plan and rec12 ommendations developed by the task force under sub13 section (b).

14 SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

15 Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this

16 Act may be construed as limiting the actions that an air

17 carrier may take, or the obligations that an air carrier

18 may have, in providing assistance to the families of pas19 sengers involved in an aircraft accident.

Passed the House of Representatives September 18,

1996.

Attest:

Clerk.