The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the target of a Nov.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was the target of a Nov. 6 visitant editorial in the New York Times newspaper. Titled, "Toughen Up the dominions of the Sky," the article was co-authored by the agency of consumer activist Ralph Nader and Paul Hudson director of the Aviation Consumer Action plot (ACAP). They charged that, as in the case of the Egyptair crash, "the federal rule is expert at recovering wreckage, however not so good at preventing wrecks" It went upon to catalogue various instances where the FAA could improve safety. Here's undivided example: Nader and Hudson claimed that the FAA permits a certain 300 waivers and exemptions by means of year from Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), or roughly common every working day. "For example, while a method requires that the aisle between seats leading to extremity window exits be 20 inches wide, the FAA has made exceptions to allow spaces as small as 14 inches and is considering further relaxation to 10 inches." (see ASW, Aug. 3 1998) They finished with a flourish: "Neglecting air safety is like stretching a rubber band. At a certain point, the rubber band snaps." >> ACAP, tel 202/638-4000 << COPYRIGHT 1999 Phillips Publishing International, Inc. |
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