FAA Plans to Move Faster on Hazmat Investigations

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he Federal Aviation Administration will develop a plan by Dec. 31 to speed investigations and encourage air carriers to voluntarily report hazardous materials violations, in the wake of a recent report by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s inspector general criticizing the agency’s monitoring of hazardous materials, an FAA spokeswoman said.

“A lot of the things the IG recommended are things we are already doing or we will be doing by Dec. 31,” FAA spokeswoman Rebecca Trexler said.

The report said that “improperly shipping hazmat by air through either negligent or illicit behavior can have the same consequences as a terrorist attack,” and cited the 1996 ValuJet Florida Everglades crash that killed 110 people.

That crash was blamed on a fire caused by the illegal shipment of oxygen generators in the plane’s cargo hold.

For the full story, see the Dec. 6 edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.