I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3923
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National Transpor-
tation Safety Board and individual air carriers to take actions to address
the needs of families of passengers involved in aircraft accidents.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 31, 1996
Mr. SHUSTER (for himself, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. OBERSTAR, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.
HUTCHINSON, Mr. BAKER of California, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr.
BLUTE, Mr. EHLERS, Mr. BACHUS, Ms. BROWN of Florida, Mr.
LATHAM, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. LATOURETTE, Mr. MASCARA, Mr. LAZIO of
New York, and Mr. LAHOOD) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
A BILL
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 accident within the United States in-
volving an aircraft of an air carrier and resulting in a sig-
nificant loss of life, the Chairman of the National Trans-
portation Safety Board shall—
‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and
phone number of a family advocate who shall be an
employee of the Board and shall be responsible for
acting as a point of contact within the Federal Gov-
ernment for the families of passengers involved in
the accident and a liaison between the 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 care and
support of the families of passengers involved in the
accident.
‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD.—The Board
shall have primary responsibility for coordinating the re-
covery and identification of passengers involved in an acci-
dent 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 involved.
‘‘(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 determines 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 involved with respect to the acci-
dent and the post-accident activities.
‘‘(5) To arrange a suitable memorial service in
consultation with the families.
‘‘(d) OBTAINING PASSENGER LISTS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—It shall be the responsibil-
ity of the family advocate designated for an accident
under subsection (a)(1), and the organization des-
ignated for the accident under subsection (a)(2), to
each request, as soon as practicable, from the 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.
‘‘(2) USE OF INFORMATION.—The family advo-
cate and the organization shall each take such ac-
tions as may be necessary to keep any list obtained
under paragraph (1) confidential but may provide
information on the list about a passenger to the
family of the passenger to the extent that the family
advocate 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 use and coordinate the
use of the resources and personnel of the air carrier in-
volved in the accident in carrying out the organization’s
responsibilities under this section.
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—No person (including a
State or political subdivision) may impede the ability of
the Board (including the family advocate 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 abil-
ity of the families of passengers involved in the accident
to have contact with one another.
‘‘(h) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘aircraft accident’ means any aviation disas-
ter regardless of its cause or suspected cause.’’.
(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 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’’.
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 a plan for addressing the needs of
the families of passengers involved in any accident involv-
ing an aircraft of the air carrier and resulting in a signifi-
cant 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-
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 family advocate designated for the acci-
dent under section 1136(a)(1) of this title, and to
the organization designated for the accident under
section 1136(a)(2) of this title, immediately upon re-
quest, 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 periodi-
cally 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
(regardless of its condition) will be returned to the
family unless the possession is needed for the acci-
dent investigation or any criminal investigation.
‘‘(7) An assurance that any unclaimed posses-
sion of a passenger will be retained by the air carrier
for at least 2 years.
‘‘(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.
‘‘(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) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT DEFINED.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘aircraft accident’ has the meaning such
term has 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.
The Secretary of Transportation, 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 to de-
velop—
(1) a model plan to assist air carriers in re-
sponding to aircraft accidents; and
(2) recommendations to Congress on methods
to ensure that attorneys and representatives of
media organizations do not intrude on the privacy of
families of passengers involved in an aircraft acci-
dent.
SEC. 5. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that each State bar asso-
ciation should adopt a rule providing that in the case of
a transportation accident no unsolicited communication
concerning a potential action for personal injury or wrong-
ful death should be made to an individual injured in the
accident, or a relative of an individual killed in the acci-
dent, before the 30th day following the date of the acci-
dent.
SEC. 6. 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 in providing assistance to the families
of passengers involved in an aircraft accident.
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