|

Air Blue Families Safety Activists

As long as we’re talking about efforts made toward safer skies in Pakistan, we should mention Hans Ephraimson-Abt, the Air Crash Victims Families Group and the Air Blue Families which have been instrumental in:

  • Obtaining interesting progressive and unprecedented rulings from the Peshwar High Court;
  • Obtaining from the Government and Parliament, with the input of the Air Blue 202 families, a new progressive new Air Law;
  • “Lessons Learned” from past experiences;
  • 118 victims in BOJAH B4-123 were positively identified within 24 hours (in the fastest proceedings of other tragedies substantial ID took 4 days in Comair 191 (Lexington, KY);
  • The first 18 burials took place within 24 hours (Saturday);
  • 35 more burials and services could be conducted on Sunday;
  • The Government mandated the inspection of all commercial planes with the exception of PIA that had already been inspected previously.

    I can not emphasize too much how important the Family Association can be. A strong Family Association meets regularly and develops strategies to make sure that their voice is heard. They have a forum to express valid criticisms of flying conditions, the investigation, or other concerns that may develop. What is more important is that sometimes they have the strength to affect change to avoid future tragedies—as they are working to do in Pakistan. And when one Family Association has successes, it can be “catching”.

    In a recent case in Brazil, the Family Association pressured not only the airline company but the military, federal aviation department, and the airport commission all of whom were suspected to have contributed to the accident. The association pushed for criminal prosecution of those who were negligent, as well as against those who allowed wrongdoing to occur. And they didn’t stop there. Leaders like the secretary of Associação Brasileira de Parentes e Amigos das Vítimas de Acidentes Aéreo Christophe Haddad—who lost his fourteen year old daughter to the Tam crash—lend their experience and passion for justice—to other families struck down by tragedy. As Christophe recently told me “Again and again we see the same picture. Pain, sorrow, tragedy, families broken…Hard to comment about but here we are again.”

    With help from men like Christophe Haddad and Hans Ephraimson-ABT, the Air Blue Family Association is developing its own teachers, leaders, and power of influence. In Pakistan, we look forward to when the Air Blue Family Association may become equally as instrumental a force for change in Pakistan as the Brazil group is in Brazil. There is power in right. There is strength in numbers.

    Since 1985, Hans Ephraimson-ABT has been the Chairman of “The American Association for Families of KAL007 Victims.” Since 2000 he has been the spokesman for the “Air Crash Victims Families Group” and is also an invited observer delegate at the “International Civil Aviation Organization.” His group is a model for other groups, and he is a frequent spokesman. He has stakeholder status at the European Union. During the past 26 years, he has participated and served in various capacities in workgroups at the National Security Council, the National Economic Council, two Presidential Commissions, the Task Force that implemented the “Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996” and subsequently the ICAO “Guide on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families” of 2001. He has been invited to testify before Committees of the US Senate and the House of Representatives. He was one of the original members of the air carrier focus groups that developed and subsequently implemented post-crash crisis management plans in the United States. Since 1996, he has been asked to assist airlines and governments with the resolution of air transportation tragedies, including the “September 11, 2001 Victims Compensation Fund” and as the Chairman of the Advisory Board of the “Families of September 11th Association.” He is often invited to participate and speak at international conferences and he is a published author. He is not a disinterested observer in the fight for aviation safety. He is a survivor. In 1983, his daughter Alice Ephraimson-Abt was aboard Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by a Soviet pilot.

    To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.

    • Similar Posts

    • |

      FAA Press Release: What Pilots Need to Know About Winter Flying

      October 2009 – In the November/December 2009 issue of FAA Aviation News, the focus is on winter flying safety, including icing avoidance strategies, safe operations on icy runways, snow/frost contamination, and more.

      In “On Thin Ice,” Aerospace Engineer Paul Pellicano writes about ice contamination, the differing vulnerability of different airplanes, and the havoc ice can play with lift, weight, and drag. Contributing writer and flight instructor Meredith Saini explains “known icing conditions,” provides resources for finding ice, and then outlines strategies to avoid it. In “A Long Winter’s Nap,” Airworthiness Safety Inspector Suzanne Mejia writes about what to consider in storing your aircraft for the winter.

      Other articles address safety on icy or slushy runways, the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning during winter, and stress the importance of position reporting on the Common Traffic Advisory Frequency (CTAF).

      To read the issue, and to see previous issues for more safety information, go to: www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news.

      To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
    • | | |

      Remembering Air Blue Flight 202

      used
      On July 28, 2010, families waited for their loved ones at Benazir Bhutto International Airport. An accident happened, and they never disembarked. That was the day exactly two years ago that 152 people aboard Air Blue flight 202 lost their lives crashing into the Margalla Hills.

      There is not much good that can be said of a tragedy like this. The memory is burned like a brand into the hearts of family members, beginning a nightmare of chaos and confusion, of grief and shock that never ends. Some of the families learned right away, might even have heard the impact, saw the smoke, heard the crash. Some of the families were waiting at home, and learned later of their loss. All of them waited for loved ones who would never come home again. Some of them feel like they are still waiting, still listening for a footstep they will never hear again.

      They may have heard that the plane had made 13,500 flights. They might have asked themselves why was it not 13,501 flights? Why not 13,499? If the plane had made one more or one fewer flight, their loved ones would not have been aboard. They have asked themselves a thousand questions, wondering what happened in the cockpit, and why. They may have learned terms like CRM (cockpit resource management), which is a way the flight crew is trained to communicate more effectively amongst themselves, leading to better outcomes. The CRM aboard flight 202 was not what it should have been.

      They have found that official reports say how something happened. But they do not answer the questions in a human soul asking why their beloved——father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, child——had to die.

      Now that two years have passed, the families have had two years to accustom themselves to their loss. Two years seems so long, and yet it is hardly time enough to process a loss that is forever. And while it is true that the accident is the beginning of a tragedy that has no ending, the nightmare does fade.

      But this is what I have learned, after seeing so many tragic accidents. It takes time. In the beginning, the families make it through one day at a time. Time helps to ease the pain, and allows family members again learn to feel the sun, and not feel guilty for it; it takes time to learn the survival skill of illuminating the dark with sweet memories without feeling the grief; it takes time to find beauty in the world again. It takes time to relearn how to laugh, and not feel guilty for laughing.

      This is the job of the survivors. To continue. To live on. We grow stronger every day. When it comes down to it, we are all survivors. Maybe we have not all lost loved ones in a plane crash, but we have all loved and lost. And this is my message: Our survival is nothing to feel guilty for; it is our responsibility. It is a precious gift. Let us hold tight to the hands that are still here, and share the love. In every new moment of our lives, we do not walk alone. When we see a new sunset or sunrise, when we hear the laughter of a child, when we begin to see the vivid colors of life again, we do not see or feel these things alone. We carry with us the spirits of those we love.

      To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
    • |

      New Years Eve Air Rage Shakes Up Thomson Airways Flight

      What: Thomson Airways TOM133 out of Manchester en route to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic
      Where: Diverted to Bermuda
      When: New Years Eve
      Who: Three men engaged in an “air rage” incident
      Why: On board the plane, the three men fought over alleged homophobic public order offences, affray and smoking.

      A 35-year-old was arrested at Gatwick airport. The two other men are still in custody in Bermuda.

      To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
    • | |

      British Airways: Take This Class and Please Don’t Die on Our Plane

      Take This Class and Please Don’t Die on Our Plane. That will be £125. Thank you for not dying on British Airways.

      British Airways has a problem.

      It seems that they developed a class for British Petroleum. You see, BP sends their staff to remote locations which are only served by airlines on the EU banned list. As we described it on the last article the last time we talked about it, these poor BA employees ended up on flights on planes that skydivers wouldn’t touch with a ten foot parachute.

      Anyway, this class they worked up must now be like a friday night paycheck burning a hole in their pocket. You see, they keep trying to market this class as a product. Like the guy who gets stuck with a warehouse full of Widgets. The first time we heard this, the class was being offered for purchase, and the purpose of the class was to teach aviation safety and how to behave during a crash to increase your likelihood of not dying on their plane.

      We think the whole thing is kind of fishy, since the plane is not supposed to crash. Landing safety is the airline’s responsibility, not an option. I wouldn’t keep writing about this but I keep getting notices about this class.

      So they’re now looking for a new market, and they’ve found it. They announced that the£125 four hour class on how to survive a plane crash will be available for FREE. Or actually, only free to passengers who want to pay in mileage points, i.e. rich people. So. Rich people can pay in points (or perks) to get a lesson on how not to die. If anyone else wants to be safe, you’re going to have to ante up the cash.

      We are not really arguing against the class, if they want to provide it. Maybe it will make some people feel safer. (Though probably not. Why would you take a course in how to crash if you thought you were going to land safely? It’s probably going to be full of white-knuckled flyers anyway.) We just believe that, since arriving safely is the responsibility of the airline, that the class should be for free. After all, we don’t charge school students for fire drills.

      To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
    • |

      U.S. Aviation Safety Legislation at Hand

      Good news for Flyers: The FAA will not shut down Sunday due to lack of funds. Operating funds till the September 30th close of the 2010 fiscal year have been tacked on to a bill going through the Senate today.

      The main forse of the legislation stems from the Continental Connection Flight 3407 disaster, and as part of the FAA legislation goes before the Senate on July 30 2010. The bill attempts to raise the quality of pilot performance, a problem which was a contributing factor in the Continental Buffalo-Niagara crash, among others.

      These safety measures have been lobbied for almost a year and a half; and will require the FAA to limit pilot scheduling based on sleep/fatigue research; increase required minimum flight experience for pilots; strengthen pilot training; develop pilot mentoring programs; require disclosure of airlines at point of sale so passengers can see if the carrier is a major or regional carrier.

      To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.
    • | |

      Hopefully Hiring Pilots Who Can

      Aviation is looking alive in India, according to Bombay’s * Economic Times.

      The corporation running Air India, National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), is hiring experienced Boeing 737 commanders, and for its Budget division (Air India Express), they are looking for experienced and inexperienced co-pilots.

      In this depressed global economy, jobs are always good news. Let’s hope that NACIL’s hiring practices involve some efforts at due diligence (hiring with a certain standard of care) and result in aviation excellence, even in its budget airlines Air India Express.

      Hiring is good news…as long as cutting cost in tough times does not mean cutting safety. Even travelers with modest incomes deserve to make it to their destination in one piece.

      “Recruitment gathers pace in aviation sector.” Economic Times. July, 2010.

      To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.