Feds Want Cameras In Cockpits
The top U.S. air safety investigator says movements of EgyptAir Flight 990 as it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean were "consistent with a deliberate action on the part of one of the crewmembers."
James Hall, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee Tuesday that his agency is recommending that video recorders be installed in the cockpits of commercial airplanes because of crashes like the EgyptAir tragedy..
"The Safety Board's investigation into several recent crashes has highlighted the need for recording images of the cockpit environment," Hall said.
Egypt has resisted the suggestion that one of its pilots pushed the 767 into a suicide plunge off the Massachusetts island of Nantucket early last Oct. 31, killing all 217 people aboard, including 101 Americans.
Hall told Congress, "We have found no indication of a mechanical or weather-related event that could have caused the crash," but told the subcommittee the cause of the crash remains undetermined.
With the cost of investigating the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 expected to reach $17 million, an influential congressman said Tuesday he will seek reimbursement of some of the cost from Egypt.
Hall told the committee that the investigation has cost about $13 million to date and he expects the final total to be about $17 million.
Asked who was paying for the work, Hall said the money was coming from the board's budget, adding that he planned to seek a supplemental appropriation.
Rep. William Lipinski, D-Ill., wondered if the Egyptian government had been asked to contribute to this cost.
"I haven't made that request," said Hall. "I didn't feel it would be appropriate for me, heading the investigation, to make the request."
Lipinski responded: "I'll see to it that the request is made by someone for whom it isn't inappropriate."
Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R-N.J., quickly seconded Lipinski, expressing surprise that Egypt hadn't been approached earlier.
The plane crashed in international waters, meaning that the investigation is the responsibility of Egypt, where it was registered.
The Egyptians requested NTSB assistance in the probe, but have been unhappy with suggestions that the plane might have been deliberately crashed by a co-pilot.
Hall said a video recording of the cockpit might have helped settle that question.
He said the Board is recommending to the Federal Aviation Administration that two-hour video recorders be required in all new commercial planes starting in 2003 and that existing planes be retrofitted by 2005. That plan was challenged by the Air Line Pilots Association, contending that the recordings would be an invasion of privacy.
The subcommittee also raied the question of whether pilots should receive psychological testing and if standards need to be tightened for ability to speak English.
Associate FAA Administrator Thomas McSweeney said that a general psychological evaluation is a standard part of the semiannual medical exam required for all commercial transport pilots.
There was agreement on the need to be sure that foreign pilots flying to the United States speak English.
McSweeney noted that the International Civil Aviation Organization recommends that English be used in international flights. He said the FAA is working with that group to establish an official glossary of terms to help avoid misunderstandings between pilots and air traffic controllers.