Friday,
August 13, 1999
Four
years far too long to remove suspect insulation, transport
group says
By
RICHARD DOOLEY -- The Daily News
A Canadian aviation
safety lobby group says commercial passengers are being exposed
to danger in the skies because of regulatory foot-dragging.
Transport 2000 Canada,
a not-for-profit organization that speaks on transportation
safety issues, is applauding recommendations made by crash
investigators from the Transportation Safety Board looking
for the cause of the crash of Swissair Flight 111.
The safety board has
determined acoustical thermal insulation blankets in the fuselage
of the MD-11 that crashed near Peggy's Cove last year contributed
to the spread of a fire aboard the plane.
The cause of the fire
is still under investigation, but investigators suspect a
wiring problem.
The TSB recommends metalized
Mylar insulation blankets be removed from planes and fire
safety tests for aircraft insulation be toughened.
The Federal Aviation
Administration in the U.S., the world's leading aviation regulator,
has ordered the removal of the metalized Mylar insulation
blankets from 699 commercial planes, but is giving airlines
four years to do it.
Transport 2000 Canada
spokesman Michael Murphy says that's too long and puts too
many lives in danger. Murphy said the FAA has known about
the problem for years.
"It's already five
years too late," said Murphy. "Giving another four
years on top of that and we have a problem that's a decade
in the making."
There are no planes
operated by Canadian airlines that incorporate metalized Mylar
insulation blankets, but Murphy said foreign airlines flying
into Canada could be using planes made with the inflammable
material.
He thinks passengers
should know the risk.
"The travelling,
trusting and generally uninformed public is literally being
taken for a ride," said Murphy.
He suggests a Web site
detailing which airlines operate planes manufactured with
metalized Mylar be established or tickets issued to flyers
come with warnings.
Transport 2000 is also
pushing Transport Canada to adopt tough new standards for
aircraft flying with aging electrical wiring and stringent
policies for dealing with electrical problems in flight.
The lobby group wants
Transport Canada to take the lead in airline safety rather
than waiting for the FAA.
"We have a lot
of respect for the FAA, but they haven't covered themselves
in glory with this particular issue," said Murphy.
