“Aviation safety reforms may be stalled again”

Aviation safety reforms may be stalled again

Posted: 17 Jul 2010 03:52 AM PDT

Issue centers on flights into Reagan National

WASHINGTON — Yet another issue that has nothing to do with aviation safety has emerged to potentially stand in the way of the safety reforms backed by the Families of Continental Connection Flight 3407.

Senators from Virginia are battling anew with their colleagues from western states who want to increase the number of long-haul flights into Washington's Reagan National Airport.

It's a proposal that could further stall the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that includes the safety reforms. And to the families — whose fight for aviation safety legislation increasingly looks like a game of whack-a-mole— it's a matter of great frustration.

"I think we're between a rock and a hard place," said Kevin Kuwik, one of the most active members of the families group.

After weeks of concern about House-Senate disagreements over the bill, now "the Senate can't even get out of its own way," Kuwik said.

Despite those disagreements, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is pressing to bring an aviation bill to the floor as soon as possible, even if the House would be unhappy with some of its provisions.

But the Reagan National Airport issue could stand in the way of Reid's wishes.

Virginia's senators are negotiating with their western colleagues to try to resolve the issue, said Kevin Hall, a spokesman for Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

But Warner and Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., are under pressure from their northern Virginia constituents to block the bill if it includes a provision to vastly expand the number of flights beyond the 1,250-mile perimeter that's long been set at Reagan National.

"By asking our senators to block the bill until this is resolved, we'd obviously delay a badly needed bill," said Leo Schefer, president of the Washington Airports Task Force, a nonprofit group that has fought to limit the number of flights at National.

That airport is near condo towers and residential neighborhoods as well as downtown Washington, whereas Dulles International Airport is 30 miles away in the far suburbs. Close-in Residents have long fought bringing more flights into Reagan National, fearing they might bring more noise. Schefer said the airlines are pushing for the proposal so they could add more lucrative long-haul flights.

The proposal put forth by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., would not expand the number of flights at Reagan National. But it would allow airlines to shift 24 "slots" from hubs within the 1,250-mile perimeter to cities beyond it.

USAirways and other airlines are pushing for the change, saying it makes sense for Washington- area residents to have convenient service to major western cities.

"We're supportive of the FAA reauthorization bill," said James. T. Olson, vice president for corporate communications at USAirways. "But USAirways is also very supportive of the Boxer- Ensign provision . . . After 40 years, it's overdue."

But to the families who lost loved ones in the February 2009 crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Clarence, safety reforms are both overdue and far more important.

"We are talking about public safety and human lives, and yet we are letting a personal convenience like flying into Reagan National get in the way," said Scott Maurer, who lost his daughter, Lorin, in the crash. "No wonder the public is fed up" with Congress, Maurer added.

e-mail: jzremski@buffnews.com

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