Rules Poor Response In 1996 Fire Cost A Dozen Lives

Far from helping protect passengers and flight crews in the event of an emergency, the FAA's rules governing on-airport firefighters and their equipment are inadequate and, in at least one case, led to the deaths of 12 people aboard a flight that caught fire while on the ground.

That's the word in an email from the Airport Rescue and Firefighting Requirements Working Group, obtained by a reporter with USA Today. The panel was set to make its findings public on Wednesday. The group, created by the FAA and comprised of firefighters, airport executives and union leaders, was originally tasked with making recommendations for improving firefighting on the field. Their findings carry no legal weight, according to USA Today, but they do have the collective ear of the FAA.

Firefighting safety and effectiveness have long been scrutinized in NTSB accident reports. In 1996, the safety board cited poor fire response as a factor in a fire aboard a United Express aircraft in Quincy (IL) that killed 12 people. Three years later, the NTSB also found deficiencies in the firefighter response to an accident involving an American Airlines MD-82 that landed extremely hard in a thunderstorm.

Among the recommendations reportedly to be announced Wednesday by the Airport Rescue and Firefighting Requirements Working Group were:

Stricter regulations on the number of airport fire trucks and the amount of foam they carry

Amending firefighters' missions to include actually rescuing passengers from a burning aircraft. Right now, the rules say firefighters must merely clear a path for evacuating passengers.

Requiring airports to conduct studies on the number of firefighters actually needed on the field.

FMI: www.faa.gov