sion 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, including
any inscription on the monument.
‘‘(9) An assurance that the treatment of the fam-
ilies of nonrevenue passengers (and any other victim
of the accident) will be the same as the treatment 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 ensure
that families of passengers receive an appropriate
level of services and assistance following each acci-
dent.
‘‘(11) An assurance that the air carrier will pro-
vide reasonable compensation to any organization
designated under section 1136(a)(2) of this title for
services provided by the organization.
‘‘(12) An assurance that the air carrier will as-
sist the family of a passenger in traveling to the loca-
tion of the accident and provide for the physical care
of the family while the family is staying at such loca-
tion.
‘‘(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 certifi-
cate of public convenience and necessity under section
41102 of this title unless the applicant has included as part
of such application a plan that meets the requirements 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
‘passenger’ have the meanings such terms have in section
1136 of this title.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections
for such chapter is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘41113. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft acci-
dents.’’.
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 Agency,
the American Red Cross, air carriers, and families which
have been involved in aircraft accidents shall establish a
task force consisting of representatives of such entities and
families, representatives of air carrier employees, and rep-
resentatives of such other entities as the Secretary considers
appropriate.
(b) MODEL PLAN AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—The task
force established pursuant to subsection (a) shall develop—
(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;
(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 working
at the site of an aircraft accident or other related
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 carriers
to the families of passengers involved in an aircraft
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 ac-
cident;
(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 subsection
(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 passengers
involved in an aircraft accident.