US AIRWAYS November 11, 2013 VIA ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL Docket OST -1996-1960 U.S. Department of Transportation Docket Management Facility 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Michael Crook Coordinator, Transportation Disaster Operations National Transportation Safety Board 490 L'Enfant Plaza East, SW Washington, DC 20594 Re: Updated US Airways Family Assistance Plan Dear Ms. Ames and Mr. Crook: Enclosed is the updated US Airways Family Assistance Plan, which is hereby filed in accordance with the provisions of 49 U.S.C. SS 41113 and 1136, and the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act, as amended. The enclosed plan supersedes those that were previously filed by US Airways.. If you have any questions about the enclosed plan, please contact me or Deborah Thompson, US Airways' Director of Emergency Planning and Response. The US Airways Operations Control Center should be contacted immediately in the event of an emergency. Sincerely, Enclosure cc: Paul Sledzik, NTSB (via electronic mail) Daeleen Chesley, DOT (via electronic mail) 1401 H Street NW, Suite 1075, Washington, DC 20005:
---- u.s AIR"W"AYS Family Assistance Plan This Plan was developed in accordance with the provisions of 49 U.S.C. ~~ 41113 and 1136, and the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996, as amended, and will be utilized by US Airways and carriers operating as US Airways Express.
TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION : 3 PROVISION OF FAMILY ASSISTANCE 4 COMMITMENT OF SUFFICIENT RESOURCES 5 HUMANITARIAN TEAM 6 TRAINING 7 FAMILY INQUIRIES : 8 FAMILY NOTIFICATION, 9 COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING PROMPT NOTIFICATION 10 RELEASING PASSENGER NAMES 11 PROVIDING THE PASSENGER LIST 12 FAMILY TRAVEL TO ACCIDENT LOCATION 13 ASSISTANCE AT ACCIDENT AND GATHERING LOCATIONS 14 DISPOSITION OF REMAINS AND PERSONAL EFFECTS 15 ASSOCIATION WITH DESIGNATED ORGANIZATION 16 COMPENSATION OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZATION 17 SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY DAMAGE 18 NTSB PUBLIC HEARINGS 19 MONUMENTS 20 CONTACT LIST : 21 Page 2
INTRODUCTION The US Airways Family Assistance Plan ("the Plan") incorporates family assistance-related elements of the US Airways Emergency Response Manual ("ERM") and Emergency Response Plan ("ERP"), and describes how US Airways and affiliated carriers. ("the Airline") will provide assistance to passengers' family members after an accident... The Plan complies with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. SS 41113 and 1136. The Airline will allocate resources sufficient to provide family assistance in the event of an accident, including retention of certain vendors possessing expertise in specialized family assistance services. All Airline personnel providing survivor and/or family assistance will be trained in crisis response, and will be required to demonstrate compassion, technical expertise and professionalism. The Plan also applies to the following carriers operating as US Airways Express: Air Wisconsin Airlines; Mesa Air; Piedmont Airlines; PSA Airlines; Republic Airlines; SkyWest Airlines; and Trans States Airlines. The term "accident" refers to any aviation disaster, regardless of its cause, that is covered by the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996, as amended. Page 3
PROVISION OF FAMILY ASSISTANCE The Airline provides uniform family assistance without regard to an individual's status as a revenue customer, non-revenue passenger, or other victim of the accident. In the event the Airline voluntarily provides family assistance to United States citizens within the United States as a result of an accident occurring outside the United States, the Airline will coordinate with appropriate personnel within the National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB") and the Department of State. Page 4
COMMITMENT OF SUFFICIENT RESOURCES The Airline utilizes comprehensive corporate, operational, and local emergency response and family assistance programs in the event of an accident. In such situations, hundreds of motivated, specially-trained employees work on issues such as family assistance, incident investigation, media relations and communication with government agencies and support organizations. These employees are directed through the Airline's dedicated command center network. The Airline maintains cooperative working relationships with all organizations involved in a crisis. It has designed its emergency response structure to facilitate the effective management of a crisis, while ensuring the continued safe operation of the Airline. Page 5
HUMANITARIAN TEAM US Airways' ERP requires coordination among numerous Airline departments. The Airline's Humanitarian Team manages the needs of families after an accident and is comprised of personnel in the Airline's Family Support Center and Care Team. The Family Support Center is staffed with employees from Customer Relations, Reservations, and US Airways corporate headquarters who have been trained in family assistance. It is the primary liaison between the Airline and the families affected by an accident, and facilitates the care and support required by the families following an accident. The Care Team is comprised of management employees, Station personnel, Sales employees, Finance employees, and Flight Attendants who are deployed to accident locations to facilitate the needs of survivors and families. Care Team members work closely with the Family Support Center, and are assigned to families to facilitate their immediate needs while on location. Family Support Center personnel and Care Team members will, as appropriate, coordinate assistance from the organization designated under 49 U.S.C. S l136(a)(2) as having primary responsibility for coordinating the emotional care and support ofthe families. The Humanitarian Team is also supported by departmental command centers assembled to develop a response based on departmental expertise, and an administrative support team deployed to the accident location. Page 6
TRAINING The Airline conducts annual training for new Family Support Center and Care Team members, as well as recurrent training for all personnel identified as Humanitarian Team members. The Airline also conducts periodic emergency drills to ensure comprehensive response preparedness. Topics addressed during training include: Roles of Family Support Center and Care Team personnel, and the importance of family assistance after an accident; Elements of aviation accidents; Crisis communication skills; Family notification and initial contact process; Grief process; Support and logistics; Media relations; and Provision and consideration for the well-being of all team members. Page 7
FAMILY INQUIRIES The Airline will publish a toll-free telephone number for accident-related calls as soon as practicable after its Operations Control Center confirms that an aircraft operated by the Airline has been involved in an accident. The toll-free number will be staffed by trained Reservations Agents who will be prepared to answer questions and provide information authorized for release by the Airline's Corporate Communications Department. Upon request by the family of a passenger, the Airline will inform the family whether the passenger's name appears on the Unconfirmed Manifest for the accident flight. The Family Support Center will maintain an additional, unpublished toll-free telephone number that immediate family members may use for direct contact with the Family Support Center. This telephone number will be provided to families upon initial contact with the Family Support Center. Page 8
FAMILY NOTIFICATION Following notification of an aircraft accident, the Airline will "lock down" flight records related to passengers' names, itineraries and reservations for the accident flight in order to restrict unauthorized access. The Airline will produce a Confirmed Manifest in as timely a manner as is practicable. When the Confirmed Manifest is available, the appropriate Family Support Center personnel will begin the family notification process. Where family members are present at secure facilities in departure, arrival, and connecting airports, they will be notified in person. In order to avoid undue delays, all other families will be notified via telephone. Callers who inquire about names listed on the Confirmed Manifest will be connected to trained employees in the Family Support Center. These Family Support Center employees will establish lines of.communication between the families and the Airline. Page 9
COMMITMENT TO PROVIDING PROMPT NOTIFICATION The Airline is committed to providing timely notification to passengers' families, and will complete that process as soon as practicable. A system has been established to ensure that identification and notification of passengers' family members is undertaken as soon as confirmed information is available. The Airline will notify a confirmed passenger's family as soon as it has verified that their family member was aboard the aircraft, regardless of whether all passengers have yet been verified. While the Family Support Center mobilizes immediately, identifying and contacting some passengers' families may be delayed where inaccurate or incomplete contact information has been provided to the Airline. Page 10
RELEASING PASSENGER NAMES The Airline will not release the Confirmed Manifest to the public, absent the presence of extenuating circumstances. Any decision to publicly release the Confirmed Manifest will be made by the Airline's senior executives based on an evaluation of the underlying circumstances. Prior to any public release of the Confirmed Manifest, the Airline will verify that all passengers' families have been notified. To the extent possible, the Airline will honor requests by families not to release the names of their family members. Page 11
PROVIDING THE PASSENGER LIST Immediately upon request, the Airline will provide a copy of the passenger manifest, based on the best information available at the time, to the NTSB Director of Family Support Services and the organization designated under 49 U.S.C. S I 136(a)(2) as having primary responsibility for coordinating the emotional care and support of the families. The Airline will periodically update and reissue the passenger manifest as additional, confirmed information is received. The Airline will transmit a list of the names of confirmed foreign nationals to the Department of State to facilitate interaction with appropriate foreign government personnel. Page 12
FAMILY TRAVEL TO ACCIDENT LOCATION The Airline will assist passengers' families in traveling to the location of the accident and will provide for the physical care of the families during their stay, including but not limited to transportation to the accident site or hospital location, lodging, meals, security, communications, and incidental expenses. The Family Support Center will maintain daily contact with families who elect not to travel to the accident location until the on-scene investigation has concluded. In order to assist family members as they travel to and from the accident location, the Airline will notify flight crews and airport personnel of family members aboard particular flights. At departure, connecting, and arrival airports, dedicated Care Team members will meet with and assist family members. If requested, the Airline will work with the responsible authorities, including the NTSB, to arrange site visits by family members, as may be appropriate. Access to the accident site may be limited by terrain and/or hazardous materials concerns, security measures, or other unforeseen conditions. Page 13
ASSISTANCE AT ACCIDENT AND GATHERING LOCATIONS To. the extent practicable, the Airline will secure suitable facilities at departure, arrival and connecting airports for family members who may be gathering. These secure facilities will enable family members to achieve some privacy, and facilitate the provision of updates regarding the reconciliation of the passenger manifest and other accident information. The Airline will also establish a facility near the accident site to be used as a Family Assistance Center. The Airline will make provision for a Joint Family Support Operations Center to include space, communication, and logistical support for the local and federal staff. The Airline will assign Care Team members trained in crisis response to meet privately with family members once they arrive at the accident location. The Airline will assist family members as they depart the accident location and maintain contact until no longer appropriate. The Airline will coordinate agencies. family access to briefings held by the NTSB or other government Page 14
DISPOSITION OF REMAINS AND PERSONAL EFFECTS Recovery, identification, and disposition of remains are the responsibility of the local medical examiner, coroner, or other designated authority. The Airline will comply with decisions made by the responsible authority, and will, to the extent practicable, consult with and communicate families' preferences regarding the disposition and handling of passenger remains. The Airline will retain vendors experienced in recovery and restoration of personal effects. The Airline, or a representative of its vendor, will consult with families regarding belongings within the Airline's control that are identified as passenger possessions. Personal effects will be offered for return to the families, regardless of their condition, unless required for the accident investigation or any criminal investigation. Unclaimed personal effects will be retained by the Airline or its vendor for a period of at least 18 months. Page 15
ASSOCIATION WITH DESIGNATED ORGANIZA non The Airline will establish a liaison with the organization designated by the Chairman of the NTSB under 49 U.S.C. S 1136(a)(2) as an independent nonprofit organization with experience in disasters and post-trauma communication with families, and win identify that organization to families of passengers to ensure that they receive appropriate services and assistance following an accident. ( Page 16
COMPENSATION OF DESIGNATED ORGANIZATION The Airline will provide reasonable compensation to the organization designated by the Chairman of the NTSB under 49 U.S.C. S 1136(a)(2), if requested by that organization following an accident. The organization shall submit to the Airline for approval a summary of its planned activities and anticipated expenses prior to the organization's mobilization or provision of such services. Changes to the organization's planned activities and unanticipated expenses shall be coordinated with the Airline's designated point of contact for family assistance. The organization will provide the Airline with invoices and itemized listings of services and expenses. Page 17
SIGNIFICANT PROPERTY DAMAGE To the extent practicable, the Airline will promptly provide written notice to the owners of any non-government owned, man-made structures or other property on the ground that receives significant damage as a result of an accident. The written notice will advise the owners: To contact the insurer of the property as the authoritative source for information about coverage and compensation; To not rely on unofficial information offered by Airline representatives about compensation by the Airline for accident site property damage; and To obtain photographic or other detailed evidence of property damage as soon as possible after an accident, consistent with restrictions on access to the accident site. Page 18
NTSB PUBLIC HEARINGS In the case of an accident in which the NTSB conducts a public hearing or comparable proceeding at a location greater than 80 miles from the accident site, the Airline will ensure that the proceeding is made available simultaneously at a location open to the public at the origin and destination cities of the subject flight, if those cities are in the United States. Page 19
MONUMENTS The Airline will consult with the family of each passenger regarding construction by the Airline of any monument to the passengers, and any inscription included on such monument. Should a monument be constructed by the Airline, the Airline will consult with and consider input from families, along with applicable statutory. or regulatory requirements. While it is desirable that every family agree with the specific design, it may not be possible to obtain unanimous agreement. To avoid extended delays, the Airline will adopt a plan agreeable to a majority ofthe families. Each family will be given the option of including their passenger's names is incorporated in the design. name if an inscription of the Page 20
CONTACT The principal point of contact regarding US Airways' Family Assistance Plan is: Deborah Thompson Director of Emergency Planning & Response US Ai~ways, Inc. Page 21