The Daily Alaska empire., 1948-02-28
Safety in the Air
Washington Post)

The final report of the Presidents Special Board of Inquiry Air Safety is by standard fam boyant. It recommends no earth shaking, or rather sky-shakng changes It is concerned more with methods than with gadgets and panaceas. Indeed, the ustifiable criticism of the report is that it is not more specific. This lack of specificty un- doubedly was due the effort to achieve unanmity on the part of the five board members, effort which unfortunately did not succeed. Despite its general character however the report is the whole factua documented study, of air safety practices that should serve guidebook both for the airlnes and for governmental agencies dealing with aviation
 Tn view of the attempts at conciliation ait is sur prising to have the dissent of Milton w. Arnold Vice President of the Air Transport Association on the ground that recommendations concerning ava ton economic problems were presented under cloak of safety" Presumably this objection has root in the boards cautious suggestion sthat base pay of pilots be increased to lessen their dependence on actual flying hours and hence minimize the impetus to flv in bad weather In similar vein the board cites for emulation the retirement plans operated by five airnes In both these instances We think MT Arnold has taken a mistakenly narrow view. This IS case in which airline safety and airline economics are indivisibe Moreover the safety boards concern with this problem seems wholly legitimate in view of the broad mandate given it by President Truman.
 Perhaps the most significant innovation recom- mended by the report is that airnes appoint full-
 time highlevel safety practices Safety directors al- ready have proved their value in many llneS o1 industry The innovation is one We should think air lines would welcome token of their acceptance of primary responsibility for air safety especially in view of their particularly vulnerable status. Another m- portant recommendation certain to have the approval of the commercial arnes is the suggestion that gov ernmenta agencies be given authority to require non-
 ertifcated and contract carriers to meet the same
 afety standards the old-lne companies The report
 so shows proper interest in such items as the ln-
 tallation of eecronic altmeters, called for in an
 arlier report standardized inspection procedure
 lethods of preventing and extinguishing fires and
 ct and mechanic training programs. These are
 oints on which there should be little controversy
 It is perhaps regrettable that, possibly to avoid urther altercation the report did not go into the
 uestion why there has not been more widespread
 doution of known safety devices for bad weather navigation and landing. Such an inquiry would nave hown first of all the foolish parsimony ot Congress n cutting appropriations for installation of sucn
 devices at arports Beyond this it would have dscoseo he inability of the airnes far to get together Ill concerted attack on the problem of bad-weather flying Such an attack assuredly would cost money /, great deal of money, with governmental heip But it is in our opinion, prime prerequisite to d really comprehensive approach to safety m the ar