Friday, February 15, 2002

Dayton Daily News

By FRED CHESBRO OTHER VOICES

I STILL VIVIDLY REMEMBER THE middle-of-the-night phone call I got two years ago Saturday. I'll never forget turning on CNN and watching the live broadcast of the fiery spectacle--the aftermath of Emery Worldwide Airlines Flight 17.

It was a massive inferno. Literally, it looked like hell on earth. I knew then that none of the crew members would be found alive. I knew then that I would never again see my good friend and brother-in-law, Kevin Stables. I knew then that my sister had prematurely become a widow.

Kevin Stables was the captain of the Emery Worldwide Airlines DC-8 cargo jet that crashed in Sacramento shortly after takeoff on Feb. 16, 2000. A day later, I escorted family members to the crash site, and we laid flowers and notes where his body was found.

We, his family, are still yearning for an explanation. The yearning has only intensified, given the now-well-documented, extensive notice that was provided to the Federal Aviation Administration leadership and Emery Worldwide Airlines prior to the crash of Flight 17. The stage was set for disaster well before it happened.

By May, 2000, top National Transportation Safety Board leaders assured in writing, "There will be a hearing on the Emery accident." Later, during a congressional hearing in March 2001, top NTSB leaders testified that an Emery 17 public hearing was forthcoming. In July 2001, the board officially announced that hearings would occur in August 2001.

We're still waiting, and now, two years after the gigantic DC-8 crashed uncontrollably, the board is considering scrapping the hearings, according to press reports.

The NTSB is held in high esteem by the public. But even such a popular agency will not maintain its stature while failing to honor its commitments and failing to fulfill its responsibilities.

Emery 17 wasn't the first DC-8 cargo jet in recent years to wipe out its entire aircrew shortly after takeoff. Thirty months earlier, Fine Air 101 slammed into the ground, killing five people. The probable cause finding included the "failure of the FAA to ensure that known cargo-related deficiencies were corrected."

Similarly, I believe the FAA's failure to provide adequate oversight and its failure to enforce federal aviation regulations are direct causes of the Emery tragedy.

The air cargo industry is the fastest-growing segment of the commercial airline industry. It is also famous for being remarkably underregulated. FAA and carrier oversight of third-party maintenance stations also is widely considered inadequate by government and industry experts.

The NTSB never has convened a public hearing on an air-cargo-only accident. The board's earlier decision to convene the Emery hearing suggested to many a turning point and an indication that substandard oversight, inadequate maintenance and unsafe operational practices would no longer be ignored.

Some industry watchers believe the delay in the hearing stems from criticism that the NTSB has gone too far in connecting crashes to poor airline management and lax FAA oversight. True or not, one thing is certain: Giving public-relations cover to the FAA is plainly not in the NTSB's charter. Anything less than a thorough public hearing will constitute an abdication of the board's responsibility to hold industry and government accountable.

Some think an Emery 17 public hearing is no longer necessary since Emery Worldwide remains grounded by the FAA. But although Emery Worldwide is no longer flying, the FAA is still regulating; its practices should be reviewed. And so should the practices of maintenance contractors.

Additionally, Emery Worldwide retains its certification, suggesting to some that the news of the company's demise is greatly exaggerated. Finally, Emery Worldwide's parent company continues to fly Emery Worldwide freight aboard a large fleet of its own 727 cargo jets operated by a company other than Emery Worldwide.

Fine Air 101 and Emery 17 will likely not be the last fatal air cargo disasters in the air cargo industry. The NTSB must not follow in the footsteps of the FAA by failing to respond even when provided with ample notice and warning.

It is completely unacceptable for the NTSB to even contemplate not convening quickly an Emery 17 public hearing, consistent with its previous personal assurances and public statements.

Fred Chesbro is a military pilot who lives in Springfield, Va.