Panel questions safety of lap children on planes

[December 16, 2010]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal advisory panel recommended steps Wednesday that could end the practice of having very young children in their parents' laps when flying.

The Federal Aviation Administration has the final say on regulations governing the airline industry, but a 19-member advisory panel said the federal agency should look at whether it would be safer to have children belted into their own seats instead of being in their parents' laps. Putting children into their own seats or using child seats requires the purchase of an extra ticket at most airlines.

The recommendation was among 23 items identified by the panel, appointed a year ago by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to find ways to bolster the chronically ailing airline industry and fix some of its more pressing problems. It also called for government aid to help airlines equip planes for a new air traffic control system, among other issues at the top of the industry's wish list.

"I guarantee you that this report and these recommendations will not sit on a shelf," LaHood said after receiving the panel's recommendations at a meeting at the Transportation Department.

The panel urged the FAA to update its economic and safety data on families traveling with small children, including incidents involving injuries and deaths, and then decide whether to issue new regulations regarding whether children should be allowed to continue to travel in their parents' laps or whether they should be belted into their seat.

Safety advocates say small children run a much greater risk of being injured or killed in a crash or by air turbulence if they are held in parents' laps.

The FAA has resisted requiring the use of child seats or other means to secure children in their own seats. The agency says its research shows families will choose to drive instead of fly because of the expense of buying extra tickets. Agency officials say that increases the danger to children since a fatal accident is more likely to happen on the road than in the air.

But some of the agency's research dates back 15 years and may not account for the availability of low-cost air carriers, said Bill McGee, a consumer advocate on the panel.

"There is a question about whether the data that supports this is correct anymore," McGee said.

National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman said the recommendation doesn't go far enough.

"We would have preferred to see the FAA be mandated to require that every person including our youngest children be restrained appropriately for their age and size," she said in a statement. "The era of the lap child on airplanes should come to an end."

The panel also wants the government to help aircraft owners pay for cockpit equipment that is necessary to effectively use the new air traffic control system FAA is in the process of putting in place. The new system is based on satellite technology rather than World War II-era radar technology. The recommendation suggests a menu of financial options, including loans and grants. Planes with the equipment on board would get preference for the best takeoff and landing slots.

FAA anticipates spending $15 billion to $22 billion on the NextGen program before it's completed some time after 2020. The agency's plans call for airlines to spend an additional $14 billion to $20 billion to install equipment in their planes.

Another recommendation urges airlines clearly inform passengers when buying tickets that one or more legs of the flight will be operated by another airline. About half the U.S. domestic airline flights are operated by regional carriers who often operate under names similar to their larger partners. Their planes are even painted in the same colors as the major carriers

The transition from major carrier to regional airline partner is so seamless from the ticketing online to the boarding gate that most passengers don't realize that it's not all one airline, McGee said.

The safety of regional air carriers became an issue last year when a Continental Connection flight crashed near Buffalo, N.Y., killing 50 people. The flight was operated by regional carrier Colgan Air for Continental Airlines. Passengers bought their tickets through Continental, but Colgan was responsible for the hiring and training of the pilots and the maintenance of the plane.

One politically sensitive proposal calls for a re-examination of government subsidies of commercial air service to smaller destinations. The Essential Air Service program has strong support among lawmakers from rural states, but critics say there are too few benefits for its $200 million annual cost.

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Online:

The Department of Transportation http://www.dot.gov/

[Associated Press]

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