Graham Warwick/ATLANTA
MORE THAN 18 months after an American Eagle ATR 72 crashed near Roselawn, Indiana killing all 68 people on board, repercussions of the accident continue to reverberate through the US regional-airline industry.
The consequences of that accident, and the deaths of 15 people just 43 days later in the crash of an American Eagle Jetstream 31, will be centre-stage at the US Regional Airlines Association (RAA) annual convention in Orlando, Florida, on 20-22 May.
In the aftermath of the crashes, regional-airline safety was tried, found wanting, and convicted before the industry could react. The US Federal Aviation Administration rushed into law the so-called commuter rule, establishing "a single level of safety" for major and regional airlines. A clear picture of the impact of the rule on regionals has yet to emerge from the RAA, and an update on progress (and problems) with implementing the regulations, will be the centrepiece of the convention.
PR INITIATIVE
Also found guilty of inadequacy following the American Eagle accidents was the RAA's ability to provide public relations and crisis-management support to its airline members. Lacking a coordinated response to the media's savaging of its safety record, the entire industry suffered the economic fallout as passengers turned away from turboprops. Traffic has more than recovered, but the spectre still lurks that another accident, or accidents, could plunge the regionals back into deficit.
In response, the RAA will announce a new public-relations campaign, christened "Plane Sense", at Orlando. A package of materials tailored towards passengers, employees and travel agents will be distributed for adaptation and use by member airlines. At the same time, the RAA will unveil its crisis-communications plan, outlining the services, which it will make available to its members.
The plan will provide members with 24h access to crisis-management services, and the RAA says that it has established direct links with the FAA and the US National Transportation Safety Board for use in the event of a crisis. The Association will make available to the media experts able to comment on the regional industry in general, but will not discuss a specific airline involved in an accident.
Another consequence of the 1994 accidents, and the impotence felt by turboprop manufacturers as they watched their aircraft being branded unsafe, was the announcement at the 1995 convention that an associate-members' council would be formed to advise the RAA board. The 12-member council is now in place, representing the interests of the RAA's non-airline members, and will have its second meeting with the president's council, representing RAA member airlines, at Orlando.
ROUGH RIDE
The US regional-airline industry continues to be buffeted by regulatory activity. In addition to the pervasive commuter rule now in place, the FAA has just issued 18 airworthiness directives affecting 29 models of regional turboprop, instructing pilots how to recognise and escape severe icing of the type, which caused the Roselawn ATR crash. These result from an extensive test effort involving every type with unpowered flight-controls and pneumatic de-icing boots, to determine their susceptibility to control anomalies caused by super-cooled large-droplet icing.
Still on the horizon is the FAA's widely despised notice of proposed rule making (NPRM) on revised pilot flight and duty times. The RAA has joined the US Air Transport Association, representing the major airlines, and the US National Air Transportation Association, representing air-charter operators, in opposing the NPRM, which would have the effect of forcing operators to hire more pilots.
Experience levels among regional pilots are at an all-time high, a result of the lack of major-airline jobs available during the prolonged recession. The appetite shown for pilots by the major airlines is increasing rapidly, and the regionals are their principal breeding ground. There are concerns within the industry that experience levels at the regionals will fall as turnover rates rise, and that safety might suffer.
GROWING PAINS
Despite past and potential problems, the industry is once again growing, with airlines routinely reporting record passenger figures. The RAA convention is expected to reflect this, with advance registrations already ahead of those for 1995, when 1,400 people ultimately attended. Exhibition space is sold out and 130 companies will exhibit, more than in 1995.
The RAA convention is not known for its aircraft exhibits, but this year marks the debut of Embraer's EMB-145 50-seat regional jet, with which Embraer began a US sales, and later European, tour on 9 May.
As if underlining the turboprop-versus-jet battle which has raged anew since Roselawn, the Saab 2000 50-seat, high-speed turboprop will also be on show, while Bombardier hopes that Delta Connection carrier Comair will spare one of its Orlando-based 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets for display at the show.
Source: Flight International
