Union Calendar No. 431
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3923
[Report No. 104–793]
A BILL
To amend title 49, United States Code, to require
the National Transportation Safety Board and
individual air carriers to take actions to address
the needs of families of passengers involved in
aircraft accidents.
SEPTEMBER 17, 1996
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Commit-
tee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and
ordered to be printed
IB
Union Calendar No. 431
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3923
[Report No. 104–793]
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
SEPTEMBER 17, 1996
Additional sponsors: Mr. RAHALL, Ms. MOLINARI, Mr. CLEMENT, Mr.
WELLER, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. FRISA, Mr. CRAMER, Mr. TRAFICANT, Mr.
CLINGER, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, Mr. COBLE, Mr. FROST, Mr. EHRLICH,
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. COSTELLO, Mr. MCDADE, Mrs.
SEASTRAND, Mr. BALDACCI, Mr. PETE GEREN of Texas, Mr. GREEN-
WOOD, Mr. DINGELL, Mr. HALL of Ohio, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. PAYNE of
Virginia, Mr. GILLMOR, and Mr. EVANS
SEPTEMBER 17, 1996
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole
House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]
[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on July 31, 1996]
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 Fam-
ily 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 National Trans-
portation Safety Board shall—
‘‘(1) designate and publicize the name and phone
number of a director of family support services who
shall be an employee of the Board and shall be re-
sponsible for acting as a point of contact within the
Federal Government for the families of passengers in-
volved in the accident and a liaison between 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 passengers
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 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 traveled
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 di-
rector of family support services designated for the ac-
cident under subsection (a)(1), determines that fur-
ther 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 re-
spect 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 responsibil-
ity of the director of family support services des-
ignated for an accident under subsection (a)(1)
to request, as soon as practicable, from the air
carrier or foreign air carrier involved in the ac-
cident 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 ORGANIZA-
TION.—The organization designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(2) may request from
the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in
the accident a list described in subparagraph
(A).
‘‘(2) USE
OF
INFORMATION.—The director of
family support services and the organization may not
release to any person information on a list obtained
under paragraph (1) but may provide information on
the list about a passenger to the family of the pas-
senger 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 findings
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 extent
practicable, the organization designated for an accident
under subsection (a)(2) shall coordinate its activities with
the air carrier or foreign air carrier involved in the acci-
dent so that the resources of the carrier can be used to the
greatest extent possible to carry out the organization’s re-
sponsibilities under this section.
‘‘(g) PROHIBITED ACTIONS.—
‘‘(1) ACTIONS TO IMPEDE THE BOARD.—No per-
son (including a State or political subdivision) may
impede the ability of the Board (including the direc-
tor of family support services designated for an acci-
dent under subsection (a)(1)), or an organization des-
ignated 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-
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 defi-
nitions apply:
‘‘(1) AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT.—The term ‘aircraft
accident’ means any aviation disaster regardless of its
cause or suspected cause.
‘‘(2) PASSENGER.—The term ‘passenger’ includes
an employee of an air carrier aboard an aircraft.’’.
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec-
tions for chapter 11 of such title is amended by in-
serting after the item relating to section 1135 the fol-
lowing:
‘‘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 insert-
ing ‘‘, 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 following:
‘‘§ 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 car-
rier holding a certificate of public convenience and necessity
under section 41102 of this title shall submit to the Sec-
retary 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 resulting 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-
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 pas-
senger 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, imme-
diately 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 family
of a passenger, any possession of the passenger within
the control of the air carrier (regardless of its condi-
tion) will be returned to the family unless the posses-