H. R. 2476
One Hundred Fifth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the seventh day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-seven
An Act
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require the National Transportation
Safety Board and individual foreign air carriers to address the needs of families
of passengers involved in aircraft accidents involving foreign air carriers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PLANS TO ADDRESS NEEDS OF FAMILIES OF PASSENGERS
INVOLVED IN FOREIGN AIR CARRIER ACCIDENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 413 of title 49, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘§ 41313. Plans to address needs of families of passengers
involved in foreign air carrier accidents
‘‘(a) 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, that occurs within the United States; and
‘‘(2) 
PASSENGER.—The 
term 
‘passenger’ 
includes 
an
employee of a foreign air carrier or air carrier aboard an
aircraft.
‘‘(b) SUBMISSION
OF PLANS.—A foreign air carrier providing
foreign air transportation under this chapter shall transmit to
the Secretary of Transportation and the Chairman of the National
Transportation Safety Board a plan for addressing the needs of
the families of passengers involved in an aircraft accident that
involves an aircraft under the control of the foreign air carrier
and results in a significant loss of life.
‘‘(c) CONTENTS OF PLANS.—To the extent permitted by foreign
law which was in effect on the date of the enactment of this
section, a plan submitted by a foreign air carrier under subsection
(b) shall include the following:
‘‘(1) TELEPHONE NUMBER.—A plan for publicizing a reliable,
toll-free telephone number and staff to take calls to such num-
ber from families of passengers involved in an aircraft accident
that involves an aircraft under the control of the foreign air
carrier and results in a significant loss of life.
‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF FAMILIES.—A process for notifying,
in person to the extent practicable, the families of passengers
involved in an aircraft accident that involves an aircraft under
the control of the foreign air carrier and results in a significant
loss of life before providing any public notice of the names
of such passengers. Such notice shall be provided by using
the services of—
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‘‘(A) the organization designated for the accident under
section 1136(a)(2); or
‘‘(B) other suitably trained individuals.
‘‘(3) NOTICE PROVIDED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.—An assurance
that the notice required by paragraph (2) shall be provided
as soon as practicable after the foreign air carrier has verified
the identity of a passenger on the foreign aircraft, whether
or not the names of all of the passengers have been verified.
‘‘(4) LIST OF PASSENGERS.—An assurance that the foreign
air carrier shall provide, immediately upon request, and update
a list (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), to—
‘‘(A) the director of family support services designated
for the accident under section 1136(a)(1); and
‘‘(B) the organization designated for the accident under
section 1136(a)(2).
‘‘(5) CONSULTATION
REGARDING
DISPOSITION
OF
REMAINS
AND EFFECTS.—An assurance that the family of each passenger
will be consulted about the disposition of any remains and
personal effects of the passenger that are within the control
of the foreign air carrier.
‘‘(6) RETURN
OF
POSSESSIONS.—An assurance that, if
requested by the family of a passenger, any possession (regard-
less of its condition) of that passenger that is within the control
of the foreign air carrier will be returned to the family unless
the possession is needed for the accident investigation or a
criminal investigation.
‘‘(7) UNCLAIMED
POSSESSIONS
RETAINED.—An assurance
that any unclaimed possession of a passenger within the control
of the foreign air carrier will be retained by the foreign air
carrier for not less than 18 months after the date of the
accident.
‘‘(8) MONUMENTS.—An assurance that the family of each
passenger will be consulted about construction by the foreign
air carrier of any monument to the passengers built in the
United States, including any inscription on the monument.
‘‘(9) EQUAL TREATMENT OF PASSENGERS.—An assurance that
the treatment of the families of nonrevenue passengers will
be the same as the treatment of the families of revenue
passengers.
‘‘(10) SERVICE
AND
ASSISTANCE
TO
FAMILIES
OF
PASSEN-
GERS.—An assurance that the foreign air carrier will work
with any organization designated under section 1136(a)(2) on
an ongoing basis to ensure that families of passengers receive
an appropriate level of services and assistance following an
accident.
‘‘(11) COMPENSATION
TO
SERVICE
ORGANIZATIONS.—An
assurance that the foreign air carrier will provide reasonable
compensation to any organization designated under section
1136(a)(2) for services and assistance provided by the organiza-
tion.
‘‘(12) TRAVEL AND CARE EXPENSES.—An assurance that the
foreign air carrier will assist the family of any passenger in
traveling to the location of the accident and provide for the
physical care of the family while the family is staying at such
location.
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‘‘(13) RESOURCES FOR PLAN.—An assurance that the foreign
air carrier will commit sufficient resources to carry out the
plan.
‘‘(14) SUBSTITUTE MEASURES.—If a foreign air carrier does
not wish to comply with paragraph (10), (11), or (12), a descrip-
tion of proposed adequate substitute measures for the
requirements of each paragraph with which the foreign air
carrier does not wish to comply.
‘‘(d) PERMIT
AND EXEMPTION REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary
shall not approve an application for a permit under section 41302
unless the applicant has included as part of the application or
request for exemption a plan that meets the requirements of
subsection (c).
‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON LIABILITY.—A foreign air carrier shall not
be liable for damages in any action brought in a Federal or State
court arising out of the performance of the foreign air carrier
in preparing or providing a passenger list pursuant to a plan
submitted by the foreign air carrier under subsection (c), unless
the liability was caused by conduct of the foreign air carrier which
was grossly negligent or which constituted intentional misconduct.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sections for such
chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘41313. Plans to address needs of families of passengers involved in foreign air
carrier accidents.’’.
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by this section
shall take effect on the 180th day following the date of the
enactment of this Act.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.