An Air Disaster’s Legacy

Air crashes will never be eliminated outright; some, like Swissair Flight 111 in 1998, might never be fully understood. The best that can be done is to learn as much as possible and act on the knowledge. That can be the ultimate legacy of ValuJet Flight 592, a DC-9 that caught fire and plunged into the Florida Everglades in 1996, killing all 110 people aboard.

The crash was blamed, in part, on the improper packing of spent oxygen canisters in the cargo hold by SabreTech, a now defunct airline maintenance company. But the problems went well beyond that to include the safety of cost-cutting start-up airlines and outside airline maintenance contractors, plus lax standards by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Much was discovered in the aftermath, including the fact that SabreTech employed workers who had no DC-9 systems training. SabreTech was recently convicted of causing the transportation of hazardous materials and of failing to provide training in handling hazardous materials. The company has also been charged in state court with murder and manslaughter in the crash.

In September, the Transportation Department barred the shipping of spent oxygen generators on aircraft. The passenger airline industry has been ordered to install fire detection and fire suppression systems in all cargo holds.

The FAA also hired nearly 1,000 more inspectors, increasing the total to about 3,700. The agency stiffened control over airline operations, start-up carriers and maintenance procedures.

More could be done. There are proposals, for example, for fire detection and suppression systems throughout an aircraft, not just for engines and cargo holds. The U.S. airline industry has an enviable safety record and is making healthy profits as the economy booms; it’s a good time to take such preemptive steps for flight safety. That’s the best tribute to the victims of the ValuJet crash.