104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3923
AN ACT
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Na-
tional Transportation Safety Board and individual air
carriers to take actions to address the needs of families
of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Aviation Disaster
Family Assistance Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. ASSISTANCE BY NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFE-
TY BOARD TO FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS IN-
VOLVED IN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENTS.
(a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter
11 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved
in aircraft accidents
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after
being notified of an aircraft accident within the United
States involving an air carrier or foreign air carrier and
resulting in a major loss of life, the Chairman of the Na-
tional Transportation Safety Board shall—
‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and
phone number of a director of family support serv-
ices who shall be an employee of the Board and shall
be responsible for acting as a point of contact within
the Federal Government for the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident and a liaison be-
tween the air carrier or foreign air carrier and the
families; and
‘‘(2) designate an independent nonprofit organi-
zation, with experience in disasters and posttrauma
communication with families, which shall have pri-
mary responsibility for coordinating the emotional
care and support of the families of passengers in-
volved in the accident.
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board
shall have primary Federal responsibility for facilitating
the recovery and identification of fatally-injured pas-
sengers involved in an accident described in subsection (a).
‘‘(c) RESPONSIBILITIES OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZA-
TION.—The organization designated for an accident under
subsection (a)(2) shall have the following responsibilities
with respect to the families of passengers involved in the
accident:
‘‘(1) To provide mental health and counseling
services, in coordination with the disaster response
team of the air carrier or foreign air carrier in-
volved.
‘‘(2) To take such actions as may be necessary
to provide an environment in which the families may
grieve in private.
‘‘(3) To meet with the families who have trav-
eled to the location of the accident, to contact the
families unable to travel to such location, and to
contact all affected families periodically thereafter
until such time as the organization, in consultation
with the director of family support services des-
ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(1), de-
termines that further assistance is no longer needed.
‘‘(4) To communicate with the families as to
the roles of the organization, government agencies,
and the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved
with respect to the accident and the post-accident
activities.
‘‘(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service, in
consultation with the families.
‘‘(d) PASSENGER LISTS.—
‘‘(1) REQUESTS FOR PASSENGER LISTS.—
‘‘(A) REQUESTS BY DIRECTOR OF FAMILY
SUPPORT
SERVICES.—It shall be the respon-
sibility of the director of family support services
designated for an accident under subsection
(a)(1) to request, as soon as practicable, from
the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in
the accident a list, which is based on the best
available information at the time of the request,
of the names of the passengers that were
aboard the aircraft involved in the accident.
‘‘(B) REQUESTS BY DESIGNATED ORGANI-
ZATION.—The organization designated for an
accident under subsection (a)(2) may request
from the air carrier or foreign air carrier in-
volved in the accident a list described in sub-
paragraph (A).
‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The director of
family support services and the organization may
not release to any person information on a list ob-
tained under paragraph (1) but may provide infor-
mation on the list about a passenger to the family
of the passenger to the extent that the director of
family support services or the organization considers
appropriate.
‘‘(e) 
CONTINUING
RESPONSIBILITIES
OF
THE
BOARD.—In the course of its investigation of an accident
described in subsection (a), the Board shall, to the maxi-
mum extent practicable, ensure that the families of pas-
sengers involved in the accident—
‘‘(1) are briefed, prior to any public briefing,
about the accident, its causes, and any other find-
ings from the investigation; and
‘‘(2) are individually informed of and allowed to
attend any public hearings and meetings of the
Board about the accident.
‘‘(f) USE OF AIR CARRIER RESOURCES.—To the ex-
tent practicable, the organization designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities
with the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in the
accident so that the resources of the carrier can be used
to the greatest extent possible to carry out the organiza-
tion’s responsibilities under this section.
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—
‘‘(1) ACTIONS
TO
IMPEDE
THE
BOARD.—No
person (including a State or political subdivision)
may impede the ability of the Board (including the
director of family support services designated for an
accident under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization
designated for an accident under subsection (a)(2),
to carry out its responsibilities under this section or
the ability of the families of passengers involved in
the accident to have contact with one another.
‘‘(2) UNSOLICITED COMMUNICATIONS.—In the
event of an accident involving an air carrier provid-
ing interstate or foreign air transportation, no unso-
licited communication concerning a potential action
for personal injury or wrongful death may be made
by an attorney, representative of an attorney, insur-
ance company, or air carrier litigation representative
to an individual injured in the accident, or to a rel-