NCJ Number
204804
Date Published
October 2003
Length
126 pages
Annotation
This report discusses the regulatory actions taken by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to improve passenger safety and identifies potential advancements in cabin occupant safety.
Abstract
Airline travel in the United States is one of the safest modes of transportation. More than 76 percent of the passengers involved in the 26 major commercial airliner accidents between 1982 and 2001 survived the accident. Research has indicated that more passengers would have survived had they been better protected from smoke and fire, and if they had been better able to evacuate the aircraft. In response, the FAA has been taking regulatory actions that require the implementation of technological and operational improvements to aircraft safety. Additionally, the FAA and its partners have engaged in technological and operational research designed to improve cabin and passenger safety. In order to identify regulatory actions taken by the FAA and the main advancements that are either currently available or are being developed, a review of the literature and FAA documentation was conducted and FAA officials were interviewed. The results indicate that the regulatory actions and advancements fall into four broad categories: (1) minimize injuries from the impact of a crash; (2) prevent fire or mitigate its effects; (3) improve the chances and speed of aircraft evacuation; and (4) improve the general safety and health of cabin occupants. Specifically, the review identified 18 completed actions, including safer seats, cushions with fire-blocking properties, and better emergency floor lighting. Another 28 advancements were identified that may improve cabin safety. The advancements vary in their readiness for implementation and include inflatable lap seat belts, easier opening exits, and photo-luminescent floor lighting. Factors that have slowed the implementation of cabin safety advancements have included the FAA’s long rule-making process; negotiations between United States and foreign aviation authorities concerning differences in requirements; and the time it takes to adopt or install advancements in commercial airliners. Additionally, the FAA’s research capacity is limited by a lack of autopsy and survivor information from airliner crashes. The General Accounting Office (GAO) recommends that the FAA discuss the possibility of obtaining autopsy and survivor information from the National Transportation Safety Board and that the FAA supplement its current research process with a cost effectiveness analysis for each cabin occupant safety and health advancement under consideration for research funding. Tables, figures, appendix