Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, January 6, 1995                   TAG: 9501060109
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: NEW YORK                                 LENGTH: Medium

LIFE RAFT HEAVE-HO DISTRESSES AIRLINE SAFETY ADVOCATES

Flight attendants and safety advocates say the carriers are sacrificing safety to save money.

The airlines are so confident now of jet-engine reliability that the decades-old rule, written for piston-engine planes, is considered an anachronism. If there were a problem, airline executives reason, the plane could glide to land within 13 minutes.

Otherwise, there are life preservers on board if a jet loses power and has to ``ditch'' in the water.

``That's deficient on its face ... And that's assuming you don't have some kind of problem that makes you come down right away,'' said Wayne Williams, former commander of the Air Force Ocean Survival School and a former head of the National Transportation Safety Foundation.

Safety advocates point out that bad weather could make it more difficult to glide and that reaching land doesn't always mean reaching an airport. In winter, floating in cold water can cause hypothermia to set in quickly.

The Air Line Pilots Association, the biggest pilot union in the country, says the level of risk in the waivers is acceptable in light of the unlikelihood of an airplane losing power in more than one engine.

ALPA says the last known attempt to reach land after losing power over water was more than 20 years ago.

Delta, Continental, Northwest and USAir have won exemptions from the rule on certain routes for specific types of aircraft. Overseas flights and trips more than about 160 miles from shore carry the equipment.

American and Northwest have had the exception from the Federal Aviation Administration requirement for at least 10 years, spokesmen say. Delta was given the waiver about a year ago. USAir got the waiver in order to shorten its flights between New York and Miami.

The 400-pound rafts, stored above the aisle on many planes, can carry 46 passengers. At least three rafts are needed for a typical domestic plane. In an emergency, flight attendants release the raft from storage and open it outside the plane after hitting water.

Airline executives said the exemption saves their airlines between $15,000 and $20,000 per year in fuel per plane. For an airline that has more than 100 jets covered by the waiver, the savings reach into the millions.