Nolan Law Group - Press Releases

November 14, 2005

NTSB “Most Wanted” List Is Needed To Save Lives, Nolan Law Group Says

Chicago, Illinois (November 14, 2005).—The National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) Most Wanted Transportation and Safety Improvements 2005 – 2006 hearing is set for today, when the agency will address critical changes that need to be made in order to reduce the number of aviation accidents and fatalities nation wide. With regard to some of the recommendations, “time is of the essence in order to save lives,” according to Tom Ellis, spokesperson for Nolan Law Group in Chicago. “We don’t want to see a repeat of the tragedies we have seen in the past.”

“Winter is coming and so are the dangers of flight into icing conditions,” Ellis says. “The unnecessary loss of life to victims and their families has been overwhelming in the past few years due to poor deicing system design and lack of accurate information to flight crews to assess the true nature of the icing conditions they face.”

Some of the most notable and recurring disasters to date involve Cessna’s most profitable model, the Caravan. Serious questions have been raised about the design of this single prop engine plane and it’s ability to handle icy conditions. “There is research now available,” Ellis says, “that shows we need to revise the way these aircraft are designed and certified for flight into icing conditions. It’s time for the FAA to act, and our hope is that the NTSB will recommend prompt action.”

Also on the NTSB “Most Wanted” list is eliminating runway incursions and ground collisions of aircraft. “Ground radar, improved communication and proper markings may have prevented the Singapore Airlines 747 from taking off on a closed runway,” Ellis says. The NTSB is considering recommending that the Federal Aviation Administration require that flight crews be given direct warnings immediately of probable collisions or incursions.

The NTSB will also consider recommending that the FAA mandate video recorders in cockpits and improvements in audio and data recorders. “There is nothing bad about having too much information,” Ellis says. He believes that both Silk Air Flight 185 and Egypt Air Flight 990 could have been understood better had there been actual video recorders of the cockpit at the time of each catastrophic crash. “Even though we disagree with the NTSB probable cause finding,” Ellis says, “had we had video recorders in place, we would not have had that dispute.”

Also, it’s about time the FAA requires restraint systems for children under age two. “During takeoffs, landings and in turbulent conditions,” Ellis commented, “infants and small children should have the same protection as other passengers.” Ellis recalled United Flight 232, where many children died due to the lack of restraints.

The NTSB hearing will be viewable via live webcast. Information on viewing the webcast is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/events/webcasts.htm.

About Nolan Law Group
Nolan Law Group helps individuals and families, in Chicago and around the world, after a tragic loss or serious personal injury. The law firm focuses its practice primarily on mass tort aviation and closed brain injury litigation.

Nolan Law Group is one of small number of law firms with a niche in the highly complex and ever-changing area of aviation litigation and is active all over the world. With regard to traumatic brain injury litigation, Nolan Law Group has pioneered the use of sophisticated technology to demonstrate the extent of brain damage that can occur as a result of accidents.

The firm has earned recognition by the legal industry’s leading authority, Martindale-Hubbell, for impeccable professional ethics and for legal abilities of the highest caliber.