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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
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‘‘(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
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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.
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‘‘(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.
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‘‘(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-
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ative of an individual involved in the accident, before
the 30th day following the date of the accident.
‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the following
definitions apply:
‘‘(1) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT.—The term ‘aircraft
accident’ means any aviation disaster regardless of
its cause or suspected cause.
‘‘(2) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ in-
cludes an employee of an air carrier aboard an air-
craft.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of
sections for chapter 11 of such title is amended by
inserting after the item relating to section 1135 the
following:
‘‘1136. Assistance to families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.’’.
(b) PENALTIES.—Section 1155(a)(1) of such title is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘or 1134(b) or (f)(1)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘, section 1134(b), section 1134(f)(1), or
section 1136(g)’’; and
(2) by striking ‘‘either of’’ and inserting ‘‘any
of’’.
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SEC. 3. AIR CARRIER PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMI-
LIES OF PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN AIR-
CRAFT ACCIDENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 411 of title 49, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘§ 41113. Plans to address needs of families of pas-
sengers involved in aircraft accidents
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION
OF PLANS.—Not later than 6
months after the date of the enactment of this section,
each air carrier holding a certificate of public convenience
and necessity under section 41102 of this title shall sub-
mit to the Secretary and the Chairman of the National
Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the
needs of the families of passengers involved in any aircraft
accident involving an aircraft of the air carrier and result-
ing in a major loss of life.
‘‘(b) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—A plan to be submitted
by an air carrier under subsection (a) shall include, at a
minimum, the following:
‘‘(1) A plan for publicizing a reliable, toll-free
telephone number, and for providing staff, to handle
calls from the families of the passengers.
‘‘(2) A process for notifying the families of the
passengers, before providing any public notice of the
names of the passengers, either by utilizing the serv-
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ices of the organization designated for the accident
under section 1136(a)(2) of this title or the services
of other suitably trained individuals.
‘‘(3) An assurance that the notice described in
paragraph (2) will be provided to the family of a
passenger as soon as the air carrier has verified that
the passenger was aboard the aircraft (whether or
not the names of all of the passengers have been
verified) and, to the extent practicable, in person.
‘‘(4) An assurance that the air carrier will pro-
vide to the director of family support services des-
ignated for the accident under section 1136(a)(1) of
this title, and to the organization designated for the
accident under section 1136(a)(2) of this title, im-
mediately upon request, a list (which is based on the
best available information at the time of the request)
of the names of the passengers aboard the aircraft
(whether or not such names have been verified), and
will periodically update the list.
‘‘(5) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger will be consulted about the disposition of all
remains and personal effects of the passenger.
‘‘(6) An assurance that if requested by the fam-
ily of a passenger, any possession of the passenger
within the control of the air carrier (regardless of its
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condition) will be returned to the family unless the
possession is needed for the accident investigation or
any criminal investigation.
‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses-
sion of a passenger within the control of the air car-
rier will be retained by the air carrier for at least
18 months.
‘‘(8) An assurance that the family of each pas-
senger will be consulted about construction by the
air carrier of any monument to the passengers, in-
cluding any inscription on the monument.
‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the
families of nonrevenue passengers (and any other
victim of the accident) will be the same as the treat-
ment of the families of revenue passengers.
‘‘(10) An assurance that the air carrier will
work with any organization designated under section
1136(a)(2) of this title on an ongoing basis to en-
sure that families of passengers receive an appro-
priate level of services and assistance following each
accident.
‘‘(11) An assurance that the air carrier will
provide reasonable compensation to any organization
designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this title for
services provided by the organization.
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‘‘(12) An assurance that the air carrier will as-
sist the family of a passenger in traveling to the lo-
cation of the accident and provide for the physical
care of the family while the family is staying at such
location.
‘‘(13) An assurance that the air carrier will
commit sufficient resources to carry out the plan.
‘‘(c) CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENT.—After the date
that is 6 months after the date of the enactment of this
section, the Secretary may not approve an application for
a certificate of public convenience and necessity under sec-
tion 41102 of this title unless the applicant has included
as part of such application a plan that meets the require-
ments of subsection (b).
‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—An air carrier shall
not be liable for damages in any action brought in a Fed-
eral or State court arising out of the performance of the
air carrier in preparing or providing a passenger list pur-
suant to a plan submitted by the air carrier under sub-
section (b), unless such liability was caused by conduct
of the air carrier which was grossly negligent or which con-
stituted intentional misconduct.
‘‘(e) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT
AND PASSENGER DE-
FINED.—In this section, the terms ‘aircraft accident’ and
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‘passenger’ have the meanings such terms have in section
1136 of this title.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for such chapter is amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft ac-
cidents.’’.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF TASK FORCE.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation, in cooperation with the National Transportation
Safety Board, the Federal Emergency Management Agen-
cy, the American Red Cross, air carriers, and families
which have been involved in aircraft accidents shall estab-
lish a task force consisting of representatives of such enti-
ties and families, representatives of air carrier employees,
and representatives of such other entities as the Secretary
considers appropriate.
(b) MODEL PLAN
AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The
task force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall de-
velop—
(1) a model plan to assist air carriers in re-
sponding to aircraft accidents;
(2) recommendations on methods to ensure that
attorneys and representatives of media organizations
do not intrude on the privacy of families of pas-
sengers involved in an aircraft accident;
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(3) recommendations on methods to ensure that
the families of passengers involved in an aircraft ac-
cident who are not citizens of the United States re-
ceive appropriate assistance;
(4) recommendations on methods to ensure that
State mental health licensing laws do not act to pre-
vent out-of-state mental health workers from work-
ing at the site of an aircraft accident or other relat-
ed sites;
(5) recommendations on the extent to which
military experts and facilities can be used to aid in
the identification of the remains of passengers in-
volved in an aircraft accident; and
(6) recommendations on methods to improve
the timeliness of the notification provided by air car-
riers to the families of passengers involved in an air-
craft accident, including—
(A) an analysis of the steps that air car-
riers would have to take to ensure that an accu-
rate list of passengers on board the aircraft
would be available within 1 hour of the accident
and an analysis of such steps to ensure that
such list would be available within 3 hours of
the accident;
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(B) an analysis of the added costs to air
carriers and travel agents that would result if
air carriers were required to take the steps de-
scribed in subparagraph (A); and
(C) an analysis of any inconvenience to
passengers, including flight delays, that would
result if air carriers were required to take the
steps described in subparagraph (A).
(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall transmit
to Congress a report containing the model plan and rec-
ommendations developed by the task force under sub-
section (b).
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act or any amendment made by this
Act may be construed as limiting the actions that an air
carrier may take, or the obligations that an air carrier
may have, in providing assistance to the families of pas-
sengers involved in an aircraft accident.
Passed the House of Representatives September 18,
1996.
Attest:
ROBIN H. CARLE,
Clerk.