THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701300414
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 55 lines
The Federal Aviation Administration announced Wednesday it will use the Internet to disseminate voluminous airline safety data that previously had been deemed confidential agency information.
But the FAA will not rank the airlines' safety records in the same way it already ranks airlines' on-time and lost-luggage performance.
Officials said even an informed reading of the agency data will not offer much help to travelers seeking to determine which airlines are least likely to have crashes. The reason is that serious accidents are so infrequent, safety experts said.
Airline officials heavily lobbied the FAA and Congress to limit the specificity of the data the agency pumps out. Ultimately, federal aviation safety officials agreed with the airlines and even with some consumer groups that said certain FAA data was prone to misinterpretation and should not be released.
Congress pressured the FAA to release more information about airlines' safety performances after the May 1996 crash of a ValuJet Airlines jet in the Florida Everglades, which killed all 110 people aboard. Later, the news emerged that the fast-growing airline had suffered a higher-than-usual rate of mishaps and that the FAA had been conducting a behind-the-scenes review of its maintenance record.
``This is a good beginning,'' said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who, with Sen. Wendell H. Ford, D-Ky., pressed the FAA to release more data. ``It will give the public its first look at how the FAA polices airlines.''
The Air Transport Association, representing major airlines, expressed muted support for the FAA action while saying it is ``concerned with any program which may foster competition within the industry on safety issues.''
Starting Feb. 1, the agency will issue press releases on complaints seeking civil penalties of at least $50,000 against airlines. Previously, the FAA had released such news on an ad hoc basis. Airlines opposed this change, arguing that they often prevail in administrative proceedings looking into FAA complaints.
Beginning Feb. 28, the FAA will launch an Internet page, www.faa.gov, dedicated to safety information. It will include data on FAA ``incidents'' and ``accidents,'' ranging from crashes to turbulence that causes injury. Previously, citizens could have obtained much of that information only by filing Freedom of Information Act requests. The page also will list the types of aircraft each airline flies.
The agency will not include information about maintenance violations, such as engine trouble or missed repair schedules because officials said that might discourage airlines from volunteering information about flight or maintenance problems to the FAA. ILLUSTRATION: WEB SITE
The FAA's World Wide Web site is http://www.faa.gov on the Internet.
The new info will be available Feb. 1.