Chicago, Illinois
Today Jan Brown, the lead flight attendant on United Air Lines flight 232 (which crashed at Sioux City, Iowa on July 19, 1989), American Airlines Captain and Aviation Attorney Charles Barnett and Attorney David Rapoport, who represented many of the crew members in the Sioux City case, presented a program for the Aviation Law Section of the Chicago Bar Association called: Aviation Safety: Should Seats and Age Appropriate Restraints for Infants be Mandatory? During the program, Jan Brown recounted the horrific circumstances of flight 232 and what happened to the lap babies on board, who were not required to have a seat and age appropriate restraint. The panel described a disagreement that started during the flight 232 investigation and has gone on ever since between the National Transportation Safety Board, which favors implementing a rule that requires children under 2, like everyone else, to have a seat and age appropriate restraint; and the Federal Aviation Administration, which acknowledges the danger but prefers the status quo, which allows children under two to fly as lap babies without a seat. The panel concluded by pointing out seats for everyone is supported by the American Academy of Pediatricians, the Association of Flight Attendants and other prominent groups dedicated to child safety.
Presenter Jan Brown is the co-chair of Safe Seats for Every Air Traveler (SSEAT), which can be found online and on Facebook.
View the PowerPoint presentation the panel used for their discussion.
For further information about aviation law matters contact Rapoport Weisberg & Sims P.C..
