Will it soon be safe to fly...
Posted by navi8orgirl
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Will it soon be safe to fly... December 09, 2010 |
Saw this on the news this morning...the NTSB is pushing to get parents to buckle their kids in while on planes. They are moving for "voluntary" for now but we know parents won't spend the money for the seat.
They should be in seats...there are at least two incidents (US Airways Hudson landing, and Continental's skidding off the runway in Denver) where kids could have or did become projectiles. Yet parents don't want to spend the money because "well, we can share a seat belt."
WASHINGTON — The nation's transportation safety watchdogs will try to persuade the public today to voluntarily buckle their infants into child-safety seats on planes after failing for decades to get the government to order it.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTS
, which monitors and advises on travel safety, has investigated several accidents in which airliners were buffeted so severely that babies sitting in parents' laps were flung through the air, sometimes with tragic consequences.
"If we are so careful to strap our children into car seats when we drive to the airport, then why are we not as diligent in securing them in a seat of their own on the aircraft?" NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman says.
The agency is having a one-day forum on the importance of child-safety restraints in aircraft and motor vehicles.
Now, parents can hold their infants in their laps on planes and secure them with their own seatbelts. But accident investigators say that it's impossible to hold onto a baby in an accident, which could turn a 20-pound child into the equivalent of a 100-pound missile. "Was it hard holding onto a baby in a plane crash? Absolutely," says Jim Whitaker, who volunteered to safeguard the 9-month-old boy whose mother was sitting next to him on the US Airways flight that splashed down onto the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009.
Tess Sosa, who handed baby Damian to Whitaker, says what she saw during the rough water landing convinced her that child restraints should be required.
After decades of public debate between accident investigators and aviation regulators, there's little likelihood that the rules — which allow children age 2 and under to sit in a parent's lap — will change any time soon.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the government agency that regulates airlines, agrees that babies should sit in approved car seats or other restraint devices when flying.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last month in his blog urged parents traveling during the holidays to strap in their babies on planes.
But the FAA concluded in 2004 that it wouldn't require families to buy an airline seat for babies because the increased cost would shift travel onto more dangerous highways, thereby causing more deaths than it would save.
"There has not been a preventable commercial aviation fatality of a child under 2 in 16 years," says FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.
For Hersman and other child-safety advocates, the lack of recent fatalities is little solace.
Whitaker successfully held onto baby Damian in the Hudson River crash landing last year. But a passenger aboard a Continental Airlines jet that skidded off a runway in Denver on Dec. 20, 2008, briefly lost her grasp on her child.
The unidentified woman told NTSB investigators that as the jet bounced over gullies, her baby "floated" out of her arms toward the seat in front of her before she could grab the child out of the air.
Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union, says that airlines and the FAA should do more to promote use of safety seats, such as providing training on how to correctly install the seats.
Airlines encourage passengers to use the safety seats and have urged the FAA to require the seats, says David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents large carriers.
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From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
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I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."
They should be in seats...there are at least two incidents (US Airways Hudson landing, and Continental's skidding off the runway in Denver) where kids could have or did become projectiles. Yet parents don't want to spend the money because "well, we can share a seat belt."
WASHINGTON — The nation's transportation safety watchdogs will try to persuade the public today to voluntarily buckle their infants into child-safety seats on planes after failing for decades to get the government to order it.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTS
, which monitors and advises on travel safety, has investigated several accidents in which airliners were buffeted so severely that babies sitting in parents' laps were flung through the air, sometimes with tragic consequences."If we are so careful to strap our children into car seats when we drive to the airport, then why are we not as diligent in securing them in a seat of their own on the aircraft?" NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman says.
The agency is having a one-day forum on the importance of child-safety restraints in aircraft and motor vehicles.
Now, parents can hold their infants in their laps on planes and secure them with their own seatbelts. But accident investigators say that it's impossible to hold onto a baby in an accident, which could turn a 20-pound child into the equivalent of a 100-pound missile. "Was it hard holding onto a baby in a plane crash? Absolutely," says Jim Whitaker, who volunteered to safeguard the 9-month-old boy whose mother was sitting next to him on the US Airways flight that splashed down onto the Hudson River on Jan. 15, 2009.
Tess Sosa, who handed baby Damian to Whitaker, says what she saw during the rough water landing convinced her that child restraints should be required.
After decades of public debate between accident investigators and aviation regulators, there's little likelihood that the rules — which allow children age 2 and under to sit in a parent's lap — will change any time soon.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the government agency that regulates airlines, agrees that babies should sit in approved car seats or other restraint devices when flying.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last month in his blog urged parents traveling during the holidays to strap in their babies on planes.
But the FAA concluded in 2004 that it wouldn't require families to buy an airline seat for babies because the increased cost would shift travel onto more dangerous highways, thereby causing more deaths than it would save.
"There has not been a preventable commercial aviation fatality of a child under 2 in 16 years," says FAA spokeswoman Alison Duquette.
For Hersman and other child-safety advocates, the lack of recent fatalities is little solace.
Whitaker successfully held onto baby Damian in the Hudson River crash landing last year. But a passenger aboard a Continental Airlines jet that skidded off a runway in Denver on Dec. 20, 2008, briefly lost her grasp on her child.
The unidentified woman told NTSB investigators that as the jet bounced over gullies, her baby "floated" out of her arms toward the seat in front of her before she could grab the child out of the air.
Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants union, says that airlines and the FAA should do more to promote use of safety seats, such as providing training on how to correctly install the seats.
Airlines encourage passengers to use the safety seats and have urged the FAA to require the seats, says David Castelveter, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents large carriers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."
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Re: Will it soon be safe to fly... December 09, 2010 |
Maybe they should be allowed to stuff them under the seat like I have to do with my laptop bag. 
larious
Frankly, even if they paid reduced fares, it is safer for all if they are strapped in. But it is cheaper, easier and more lucrative to hold the baby, then sue the airline for hitting turbulence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."
lariousFrankly, even if they paid reduced fares, it is safer for all if they are strapped in. But it is cheaper, easier and more lucrative to hold the baby, then sue the airline for hitting turbulence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."
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Re: Will it soon be safe to fly... December 09, 2010 |
Quote
Melanie
You know, you're so right about the hypocrisy. One minute the moos are trying to convince us that K'Hai-Leagh and Jaidonne are individuals who must not be denied their teachable moments in stores, restaurants and other public venues, they must have frigging Cirque du Soleil birthday parties starting at age 1 because their sensitive little feelings would wither with the old standard of a cupcake after the normal family meal; we have to put up with their unintelligible babbling on home answering machines and intercepted telephone calls because "they are people too," not to mention the cutesy written-as-if-from-baby-einstein cards, blog posts, FB entries, etc. -- and per some of the mawm boards we must not stare at them too hard or we'll hurt their peewins, we must not even look at them or breathe on them without parental permission lest their delicate minds be exposed to our strange glares.
But jesus, the minute cold hard cash comes into play (at least, if it's coming from the direction of their pocket to society, instead of the other way around) suddenly Madysinne and Ja-Herrod and Elijah-Evan are just hand luggage and no matter what amount of space, air, water, food and other resources they consume, the parents want us to play along with the fiction that surely this insignificant little practically invisibile munchkin can't possibly be using enough of anything to be worth charging for! The idea! As some have noted, I've seen kids eat far more than me and other adults at a sitting -- and we don't use 55 napkins, spill drinks, pee in "free" hotel beds and otherwise create extra expense and work for the proprietors who are passing along the cost of these freebies-to-kids to us, the paying customers.
QFT
The double standard is amazing.
Quote
Miss_Hannigan
Write your congress-critter and tell them to pass this bill!
Imagine no more babies on planes because of cheapass parents!
Imagine.
Yes.
larious_____________________________________________________________________________________________
"Not every ejaculation deserves a name" - George Carlin
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Re: Will it soon be safe to fly... December 09, 2010 |
Imagine and Yes made me larious
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."
larious~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From a bottle cap message on a Magic Hat #9 beer: Condoms Prevent Minivans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I want to pick up a bus full of unruly kids and feed them gummi bears and crack, then turn them loose in Hobby Lobby to ransack the place. They will all be wearing T shirts that say "You Could Have Prevented This."
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