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Nation Is it safe to fly? Deadly plane crashes raise aviation safety debate By Timothy Bannon United Press International WASHINGTON - Despite two re­ cent airline disasters -v in Dallas and Japan -- U.S. aviation officials and critics alike say flying is unde­ niably safe. A battery of federal statistics seems to prove flying on a commer­ cial airliner is safer than riding a car or boat -- or even walking down the street. But public attention is riveted on the crashes of Delta Flight 191 that killed 133 persons at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Ja- v pan Air Lines Flight 123 in which 520 perished on a remote Japanese mountainside. Many nervous travelers are re­ questing seats at the rear of air­ planes, mentioning that the survi­ vors of those two crashes were sitting in the tail sections. And those who monitor aviation events are beginning to wonder what is safe enough. On Friday, Transporation Secre­ tary Elizabeth Dole released results of a two-year study that said the Federal Aviation Administration does not respond swiftly enought to i d e n t i f y a n d c o r r e c t s a f e t y problems. FAA Administrator Donald En- gen vigorously defends his agency's performance in keeping the skies safe, while admitting recommenda­ tions in Dole's report "are on the mark" and that a "number of re­ forms" are in process. In an interview with United Press International, Engen said air travel i s " t h e s a f e s t m e t h o d o f transportation. "And U.S. air travel safety is the best in the world," Engen said. "I'm convinced of that. Experts all over the world come to this country to learn from us." Walter Coleman, director of oper­ ations for the airline industry's Air Transport Association, said the rel­ ative infrequency of air crashes helps amplify the horror of each one. "The airline industry is a very visible industry, and when you have three wide-bodied airplanes disap­ pear or crash, it brings an awful lot of attention to the industry," he said. He referred not only to the two most recent accidents, but also to a n A i r I n d i a B o e i n g 7 4 7 t h a t dropped into the sea off southwest Ireland in June, killing 329 people. A terrorist bomb is suspected as a possible cause. "People are proper in asking questions as to whether it's safe," Coleman said. "It is safe, has been safe, and the number of fatal air carrier accidents over the last five years has been the lowest ever." Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Calif., who chairs a House subcommittee on aviation, said the safety record compiled by commercial airlines is a mixed blessing. "Aviation has become such a safe enterprise that I think one of the main problems is an attitude by both in the industry and govern­ ment that we can relax because the job of safety is done," Mineta said. Mineta has long suspected the FAA of being delinquent in the num­ ber of inspectors it assigns to moni­ tor airline flight activities and claims to have found proof in a recent study by the General Ac­ counting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The study showed that in 1984, some airlines received no FAA in­ spections on certain aspects of their operations, which includes mainte­ nance, while others received only a handful of inspections. Possible structural and mainte­ nance deficiencies are a suspected cause in the crash of the JAL airlin­ er, and structural weaknesses in engine bolts were identified as a cause in the 1979 crash of an Ameri­ can Airlines DC-10 in which 275 per­ sons died. "The concern was, 'Are airlines safe?'" one congressional source said. "We don't know from the FAA's perspective whethei* they are unsafe" because of lax inspection practices. One of Mineta's colleagues, Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., chair­ man of a House investigations and oversight panel on transportation, said that while flying is safe, "things may well get worse before they get better." Oberstar called reports of near- collisions an "early warning sys­ tem" of lapses in aviation safety. Earlier this year, the FAA wifs forced to revise its reports of near collisions, which Engen said in Jan­ uary has declined by 50 percent since 1981, when 11,400 air traffic controllers were fired in an illegal strike. The Aviation Consumer Action Project, a Ralph Nader-founded consumer advocacy group, found more than 100 near collisions had been reported to FAA regional of­ fices in 1983 and 1984, but were not included in the agency's nationally published totals. Christopher Witkowski, the con­ sumer action project's executive di­ rector, said, "In 1984, the near colli­ sions were the highest in U.S. FLYING-Page 15B Van Gogh suffered rare neurosii By London Observer Service Vincent Van Gogh could not have known it, but he may have been suffering from a strange and only recently identified psychiatric condition. A leading American neurologist, Dr. Shahram Khoshbin, believes Van Gogh's peculiar behavior -- which included severing his ear. eating paint and drinking kerosene -- reveals he was a victim of "Geschwind's syndrome." Khoshbin, of Harvard Medical School, outlined tails of the condition that occurs when physical and disease damage the brain's temporal lobe. 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CARY, ILLINOIS 60013 It pays to use less What Is a On Peak Alert days (like the hottest days of summer) there's an extra-high demand for electricity. And this demand tests our ability to provide the energy you need If we announce a Peak Alert, it means £ we already have our thrifty coal and nuclear generators on the job. But even they can't provide enough electricity to meet everyone's needs. So we must also use generators that run on oil to meet the additional demand. Unfortunately, some fuels are more . „ , expensive than others. Oil-produced power costs -t; v about four times more than nuclear-generated power. And all of us pay for that extra fuel expense in our electric bills Tou can lower your energy bills this summer. Every summer day, and especially when we've issued a Peak Alert, adopt some of these energy- saving, money-saving habits: II you stay indoors: • Set your air conditioner at 78° or higher. • Keep your curtains closed so the sun's hot rays will stay outside. • Wash your clothes and run your dishwasher on a cool day • Use all large appliances before 9 AM or after 10 PM. 1 Open your refrigerator only when necessary. Switch to outdoor activities. • Head to the beach or find a refreshing pool. • Dry your clothes outdoors. Added humidity inside your house only makes your air conditioner work harder. • Cook on char­ coal (instead of the stove). Or don't cook at all--try a light sandwich or salads. :""" Ask lor our Iree Waste \ Watcher's Guide. It lists 101 things you can do to save energy every day, if you'll just switch your habits. For your copy, write: Energy Information, P.O. Box 767, Chicago, IL 60690 And in the meantime, remember that when there's a Peak Alert, it pays to use less. f-^SL Commonwealth Edison $ $ $ £ v v > o #L