ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, May 2, 1996 TAG: 9605020074
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
Federal Aviation Administrator David R. Hinson is sending reminders to the nation's flight instructors that it's their job to prevent accidents like the one that killed little Jessica Dubroff.
Hinson endorsed a bill to ban record flights by people too young to hold a pilot's license. FAA officials said later he also agreed with Transportation Secretary Federico Pena's suggestion to ban youngsters from making takeoffs and landings.
An array of witnesses told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee Wednesday that it cannot legislate common sense. Testimony sought to lay blame for the deadly April 11 crash in Cheyenne, Wyo., at the feet of Joe Reid, Jessica's instructor and the legal pilot in charge of the aircraft. Reid and Jessica's father, Lloyd Dubroff, also died in the crash.
Jessica, 7, was trying to become the youngest person to fly across the country. While individuals have to be 16 to get a student pilot's license, the law does not restrict who can take the controls of a plane, as long as a licensed pilot is in charge. Reid had made it clear that, barring an emergency, Jessica would be flying, although investigators have yet to determine who had control of the plane when it crashed in a rainstorm.
The subcommittee is considering a bill that would ban record-setting flights by anyone without a private pilot's license, which has an age limit of 17.
Hinson said he has sent letters reminding the nation's 80,000 certified flight instructors that they are responsible for the safety of flights they take part in and for using their judgment as to when it is safe to fly. Testimony noted that Reid may have caved in to pressure to keep on schedule.
Hinson told instructors they must use good judgment ``whenever approached by a potential student with an unusual training request.''
``That request may be from an eager parent who wants his or her child to experience the exhilaration we have all known from flying,'' Hinson said in his letter. ``Sometimes in these cases, parents do not exercise good judgment. It is your responsibility, then, to draw the line between common sense and poor judgment.''
LENGTH: Short : 48 linesby CNB