Re: Plan to Address the Needs of Families of Passengers Involved in Aircraft Accidents -- Submission of Plan for Comlux Aruba NV.

Transcription

1 Hogan Lovells Hogan love lis US llp Columbia Square 555 Thirteenth Street, NW Washington, D~OO4 August26,2014 BY ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION BY ELECTRONIC MAIL Docket DOT-OST Docket Operations Facility U.S. Department of Transportation West Building GrouAd Floor, Room W12-14Q New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC Michael Crook Coordinator, Transportation Disaster Operations Transportation Disaster Assistance Division National Transportation Safety Board 490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW Washington, DC Re: Plan to Address the Needs of Families of Passengers Involved in Aircraft Accidents -- Submission of Plan for Comlux Aruba NV. ladies-and Gentlemen: Pursuant to 49 U.S.C and DOT's Notice dated January 20,2004, Com lux Aruba NY ("Com lux Aruba") hereby submits an updated plan to address the needs of families of passengers involved in accidents within the United States that involve aircraft under the operational control of Comlux Aruba ("Plan"). The enclosed Plan, extracted from Com lux Aruba's Emergency Response MaAl:.IaI;describes- procedures that comply: wittl, the-requirements of the Foreign Air Carrier Family Support Act of 1997, as amended by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21) and the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act.. Comlux Aruba's updated 24-hour contact information for use in the event of an emergency (contact information deleted -- from DOT version of letter): Telephone: Fax: is as follows Please contact me if you need additional information regarding Com lux Aruba's Plan. s~~~ Sheryl R. lsrael Counsel Counsel for Comlux Aruba NV Enclosure Hogan Lovells US LLP is a limited liability partnership registered in the District of Columbia. "Hoqan Lovells" is an intemationallegal practice that indudes Hogan Lovells US LLP and Hogan Lovena-tnternattonet Ll.Prwttrr offices: in:", : Alicante Amsterdam. Baltimore-- Beijing'" Brussels Caracas Colorado Springs Denver Dubai Dusseldorf Frankfurt Hamburg Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City Hong Kong Houston Johannesburg London Los Angeles Luxembourg Madrid Mexico City Miami Milan Monterrey Moscow Munich New York Northern Virginia Paris Philadelphia Rio de Janeiro Rome San Francisco Sac Paulo Shanghai Silicon Valley Singapore Tokyo -tj1aanbaatar Warsaw Washington DC Associated offices: Budapest Jakarta Jeddah ~iyadh Zagreb. For more information see W>WI.hoganlovells.com \\DC vi

2 C0lY!J~,~ E... m.. e...::rg~en... cy~re:..:.;sp::.:o_ns... e... O...;rg::.:.a ni... za...:..tio.:..n.:.. Edition 1...;R.:.:ev;.:.:i.:..sio::.:.n...;9=---_ 4.6 Organization Accident Side within United States Territory AVIATION DISASTER FAMilY ASSISTANCE PLAN Introduction Com lux is committed to comply with both its legal and moral obligations in the event of an accident involving an aircraft under Com lux control. It is ComluxAviahon's goal to meetthe emotional needs of both the victims and their tam ilie5thatwould arise as a result of an accident involving loss of life or serious injury. The goal is to provide quick, efficient and sensitive notification of an accident to the passengers' families and a flow of information always mindful of the families' privacy. It will be Com lux Aviation's major objective to expedite the return of personal property and human remains to speed the grieving process and aid in emotional recovery. Thi~is best done through cooperation with federal, state and-local authorities as well as volunteer organizations and consultation with affected fam m~s Telephone Procedures In the event of an aircraft accident within the United States, Com lux Aviation's home base will be responsible for comm unicating an emergency toll free num berto NTSB/DOT and to the media for public dissemination and for arranging staff to take calls to such number from fam iresof passengers. Com lux through Kenyon will only advise callers that a particular passenger was on board after verification of that name but will not give out general information as to passengers on board and will only respond to specific inquiries as to particular passengers. To confirm the medical status is the sole duty of the authorities. If the medical status is verified by: the authorities, Com lux wilt adv~e the caller if authorized to do so. Com lux will not withhold verified in- formation from fcjmilymembers regarding individual passengers pending verification of the entire passenger J!j>t Family Notification To the extent practicable, Comlux will notify in person the families of passengers involved in an accident. Such notification will be provided either by suitably trained Com lux representatives (particularly if the family mem bers are present at the airport of departure or intended arrival), or by using the services of the organisahondesignated for the accident under 49 U.S.C (a)(2). Com lux will conduct notification procedures to each fam ily as soon as the nam es of Emergency Response Manual, Chapter Page 6 copyright by Com lux Aruba NV

3 Edition 1 ~ C:()l~llJ)( E_m~e~rg~en~~~R_e~sp~o_ns~e~O~rg~a_ni~za_tio_n R_e_vi_sio_n_9 _ passengers/crew can be verified. Com lux will not withhold confirmed information regarding individual passengers pending verification of a complete manifest Passenger Lists Comlu-x will provide- an initia~ passengef/crew list immediately upon request. This list will be updated periodically to reflect current information and will be provided regardless of whether all names have been verified. This list will be transmitted only to: a) The American Red Cross, which is the designated organization under 49 U.S.C. 1136(a)(2); b) The NTSB Director of Family Support Services designated under 49 U.S.C.1136a Disposition of Remains and Effects It is the responsibility of the local medical examiner, coroner, or other dssiqnated local, state or federal authority to recover, identify, dispose of or return to fam ilies the identifiable and unidentifiable human- remains. Comlux will comp/y:with the requiremeots.of these authorities and shall consult with the family of each passenger about the disposition of any remains or personal effects that are under its control Return of Possessions Any personal property or human remains of a passenger or crew m ember under the dominion and control of Com lux (regardless of its condition) will be returned to the family upon request. This includes any personal property under control of Comlux Aviation's vendor. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Com lux or its vendor will not return property that is required by competent authorities for the purpose of accident or criminal investigation until the authorities release said property Unclaimed Possessions Com lux or its vendor will retain any unclaimed personal property within Com lux Aviation's control for a period of not less than eighteen months Monuments Com lux will not construct any monumentto passengers and crew in the United States without prior consultation with each family as to construction, design and inscription. Emergency Response Manual, Chapter 4 \tl copyright by Comlux Aruba NV Page 7

4 Edition1 C:()fl11tl)( E~m~e~rg~en~~~R~~~p~o~ns~e~O~~~a~ni~za~tio~n~ ~R~e~vi=sio=n~9~ _ "'VI I"T'OO"" Equal Treatment of Passengers Comlux will not discriminate between families of revenue and non-revenue passengers when providing assistance under this plan Service and Assistance Com lux will cooperate fully with the DOT, NTSB and the American Red Cross which is the organization designated under 49 U.S.C. 1136(a)(2) on an ongoing basis to insure that families. receive appropriate care fouowing.an accident Com lux will also cooperate fully with FEMA, the Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services. Furthermore, in the event Comlux volunteers assistance to U.S. citizens within the U.s. with respect to an accident outside the U.S. involving major loss of life, Com lux will consult with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Department of State regarding the provisions of such assistance. Emergency Response Manual, Chapter 4 (l copyright by Com lux Aruba NV Page 8

5 Edition 1 C:()1l11lJ)( E_m_er~g_en_~~R_e~sp_o_ns_e_O~rg~an_iz_a_tio_n R_e_~s_io_n_9 _.Ivt,.IT'\)N Travel and Care Expense Comlux will assist families of passengers with travel to and accommodations at: 1. Thelocationof the accident, or 2. The U.S. airport of the flight's origin/destination if the accident is a considerable distance from the airport and/or occurs in a rem ote area without sufficient accommodations. Comlux will assist in providing transportation between these accommodations and the accident site if approved by NTSB, DOT, FBI, etc. The NTSB is responsible for coordinating access to the accident site. Com lux will arrange with local hotels at each destination served to provide accommodations on an urgent and ad hoc basis together with a common room to act.as a fam ily crisis centre and far removed from the media. Unless the fam ilies' wishes are to tt:je contrary, Com lux will discourage media access to them in order to ensure their privacy. Transportation and accommodation arrangements will be made either by Com lux or the task will have been contracted out to a reliable vendor Compensation to service Organizations Comlux will provide reasonable compensation to any organization designed under 49 U.S.C. 1136(a) (2) (presently the American Red Cross) for services and assistance provided by them. Com lux will settle in agreement with the appointed organization the costs also in the evert there is a material change in predicted costs including but not limited to costs whicb were not previously anticipated Resources Com lux will commit sufficient resources or credit to cover expenses associated with this plan. In addition, Com lux intends to arrange with its insurers a means of reimbursing Com lux for expenses- incurroo under this- plan-on a revclving-basi-s-to provide for a steady flow of funds.. Emergency Response Manual. Chapter 4 CI copyright by Comlux Aruba NV Page 9

6 Edition 1 CO~J ~,~ ---=E::m:.::.e~rg~en.:.:r:y:!...R:.::e::csp::..:o::ns::..:e:...:O::!rg:!:a:.::ni=za:.::tio::n:..._...:R.:.:e:.::vi::sio::n...;9=-- _ Damage to Property In the event that an accident causes significant damage to a m an-made structure or other property on the ground that is not government owned, Com lux would provide prompt written notice to the owner regarding liability for property damage with means for obtaining compensation. Such notice shall advise the owner: (i) to contact the insurer of the property as the authoritative source for inform ation about coverage and compensation; Oi) to not rely on unofficial information offered by foreign air carrier representatives about com pensation by the foreign air carrier for accident-site property damage; and (iii) to obtain photographic or other detailed evidence of property damage as soon as possible after the accident, consistent with restrictions on access to the accident site NTSBHearings In the event the NTSB holds a hearing on a flight's accident at a location more than 80 miles from the accident site, Com lux would ensure that such proceedings are simultaneously available by electronic means at- a location open to the public at both the origin ana destlnatien city of the flight (if such- city is-located in the United States) Further Assurances Com lux will provide adequate training to its employees and agents to meet the needs of survivors and fam ily m em bers following an accident. Comlux will pfomptlyadvise the DO-TJNTSB-of any Changes-to the above plan in writing. Emergency Response Manual, Chapter 4 copyright by Comlux Aruba NV Page 10