NEWS RELEASE

No: 01/00

Date: November 21, 2000

The International Aviation Safety Association Praises the 'Wire System Safety Interagency Working Group'

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NEW YORK, Nov 21, 2000 /PRNewswire -- The International Aviation Safety Association ("IASA") commends the work of the "Wire System Safety Interagency Working Group" ("WSSIWG") as contained in its Final Report (November 2000) titled "Review of Federal Programs for Wire System Safety."

IASA hosted its annual symposium, "Aircraft Wiring - Cause for Concern?" at the Grand Hyatt New York on November 20, 2000 at which the President's Senior Policy Advisor on Aviation, Mr. Charles Huettner, made the first public announcement heralding The Final Report's publication. Although the Recommendations from the Final Report will not be available until March 2001, IASA recognizes the importance of the Final Report in addressing the issue of wiring in aging aircraft.

In a briefing at The White House on November 15, 2000, the Office of Science and Technology Policy ("OSTP"), praised IASA Chairman, Mrs. Lyn S. Romano, and IASA USA Vice Chairman, Mr. Edward B. Block, for focusing attention on aging wire issues. IASA would like to take this opportunity to thank the President's Executive Office, the OSTP and the WSSIWG for both the speed with which it acted on the information provided by IASA and for the insights shown in the Final Report.

Wiring in aging aircraft has been implicated in the deaths of hundreds of people in a series of high profile aviation disasters including Swissair flight 111 (September 2, 1998) and TWA 800 (July 17, 1996). It is now time for all those concerned with aviation safety -- manufacturers, operators and regulators alike -- to accept that wiring is an issue of national concern.

IASA will continue to focus attention on aging wire issues in commercial aircraft and looks forward to working with all those concerned with aviation safety towards the common goal of reducing the number of wiring related accidents -- regardless of the associated costs. No longer is it a defense for anyone to say dismissively "Wire is Wire."

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