Canadian Authorities Bicker Over Mandatory Escape Hatches For Amphibians

"I just don't buy that at all."

That's what a Canadian Transport Safety Board investigator says when he hears Transport Canada's claim that it has no authority to order escape hatches on float planes.

"They can set whatever regulations they deem necessary," said TSB Investigator Bill Kemp, who was quoted by the Canadian Press. "They are passing the buck as far as I am concerned."

Over the last 20 years, at least 37 people have drowned in Canadian float plane mishaps because they couldn't get out of the sinking aircraft. Kemp wants Transport Canada to order the mandatory installation of doors that can be jettisoned, or at least pop-out windows, to make egress easier.

The controversy centered on US-made Cessna and DeHavilland aircraft. Transport Canada officials ruled they had no authority to order modifications to the aircraft because they're not made in Canada.

What about the FAA? It can certainly mandate those modifications. But an FAA official in Washington said there has been no formal request for such a ruling.

Cost, of course, is a factor in the dispute. Modifying existing aircraft could become prohibitively expensive, Kemp said. He told CP he suspected that's why Transport Canada was reluctant to issue a retrofit order.

"When it comes to engineering changes on existing airplanes, somebody is burdened by the cost and the cost could be considerable," he said. So his plan calls for a five-year phase-in program aimed only at commercial aircraft.

"There have been suggestions to make the windows bigger to be able to get out of them more easily," Transport Canada spokeswoman Lucie Vignola told CP. "Making them bigger could have some other impact on the aircraft."

FMI: www.tc.gc.ca, www.tsb.gc.ca