Boeing Blowout Intensifies Bid to Boost Air Crash Safety Rules

When a Japan Airlines plane successfully evacuated all 379 passengers and crew from a fiery crash earlier this month, it raised the question: Could a US airline respond with such speed?

Current US regulations require airlines to be able to empty an entire plane of passengers in just 90 seconds in an emergency. Skeptics argue that enforcement is too lax because simulations have failed to account for disabled passengers, children or obstacles like bags. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), chair of the Senate aviation subcommittee, is turning to the incident in Japan to press for updating these standards.

“Aviation regulations are written in blood,” Duckworth said in an interview, pointing to a deadly 1985 crash in Japan that led to more stringent procedures that helped forestall a greater disaster in the Jan. 2 runway collision. “Japan Airlines had the very best evacuation they could possibly have done with things that we don’t have on our aircraft now like bullhorns.”

The evacuation in Japan of an Airbus A350, along with last week’s midair fuselage blowout on an Alaska Airlines’ Boeing 737 Max 9 flight, drew fresh scrutiny of airline safety, evacuation procedures, and cockpit recording devices. It’s also fueling urgency to enact stalled aviation legislation.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth arrives for a briefing at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 20, 2023.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Senators have already called for oversight and a hearing on the Boeing 737 Max 9 door-plug failure. In the meantime, lawmakers want Congress to act on a five-year bill reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration before it expires March 8. Lawmakers have punted several deadlines on the measure.

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Duckworth, herself wheelchair-bound after losing both legs in combat in Iraq, secured a provision in the Senate’s draft FAA bill (S. 1939) to reevaluate emergency evacuation standards for aircraft. The recent mishaps show why it needs to pass now, she said.

“The air crew need to know what they’re going to have to deal with to get people off the aircraft,” she said. Senators are “very, very close” on moving the FAA bill after ironing out differences over pilot training, she said. Disputes remain over issues such as raising pilots’ retirement age and extending distance limits for planes using Reagan National Airport across the river from Washington.

Cockpit Recordings

As investigators probe the blowout on the Alaska Airline’s Boeing 737 Max 9, concerns have re-emerged about regulations for storing cockpit voice-recordings. That data was overwritten for the Alaska Airlines flight, leaving nothing on the recorder and hurting the investigation, Jennifer Homendy, chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, said.

Cockpit voice recorders are required to save two hours of data before starting over again. The Transportation Department last month proposed increasing that to 25 hours, but only for new aircraft. Homendy told reporters the Alaska Airlines incident shows it should be increased to 25 hours for all planes and called on the FAA to change the proposed rulemaking.

“If FAA won’t do it, we hope Congress will take action in the FAA authorization bill to ensure that it does,” Homendy said. “I cannot emphasize enough how important that is for safety.”

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.) said the House-passed FAA bill (H.R. 3935) would require that cockpit voice recorders store 25 hours worth of audio —”data that would have been invaluable in investigating this serious incident.” The House bill would also require a panel to review and propose updates to evacuation standards.

“Unfortunately, this legislation is being held up in the Senate. I urge my Senate colleagues to recognize the dire need to pass this bill and act with urgency,” DeSaulnier, a member of the House aviation subcommittee, said.