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Feds investigate Asiana response to crash

Nancy Trejos
USA TODAY
Asiana Flight 214 lies on the ground after it crashed at the San Francisco International Airport July 6.

The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating whether Asiana Airlines failed to meet certain legal obligations to the families of passengers after one of its planes crashed at San Francisco International Airport in July.

Under U.S. law, the South Korean airline was required to provide a range of assistance to the families of the 291 passengers on board, such as a toll-free number to call for information and transportation.

Three people died and more than 100 were injured when Asiana Flight 214 crashed on final approach on July 6 en route to San Francisco from Seoul.

Congress created rules in the late 1990s requiring airlines to have plans to assist families of victims in the event of a crash after airlines were widely criticized for their handling of some incidents.

Airlines must describe how they would fulfill 18 "assurances," such as providing the toll-free number, having a process for notifying and providing assistance to families, and having the resources to carry out the plan, says Transportation Department spokesman Bill Mosley.

A review by the Associated Press of Asiana's family assistance plan, filed with the government, showed that the airline failed to do such things as keep its emergency contact information current and post a public information number within an hour. The plan had also not been updated since 2004.

The AP found that the first record of a public number was a little more than three hours after the crash, and that it was to an automated Asiana reservations line. The next day, the carrier posted a different number. That also changed days later, according to the AP.

Staff from the National Transportation Safety Board notified the Transportation Department immediately after the crash of concerns about Asiana's response, NTSB spokesman Keith Holloway told USA TODAY. The NTSB followed up three weeks later with additional information, he says.

USA TODAY could not reach Asiana Airlines. Asiana spokeswoman Lee Hyomin declined to discuss the airline's family assistance plan with the AP but said the airline had publicized toll-free numbers in the U.S., Korea and China and e-mailed and called family members.

Mosley told USA TODAY that the Transportation Department conducts five or six audits of U.S. airlines each year for their compliance with a variety of its rules, including the family assistance plan requirements.

"In order to provide the necessary information and services to the family members of air accident victims, it is essential that airlines make sure their family assistance plans are up to date and that they are prepared to carry out these plans during an emergency," he wrote in an e-mail. "The U.S. Department of Transportation periodically audits airlines' plans, and after an accident works with the National Transportation Safety Board to make sure the airline is carrying out its plan effectively in real time."

He says carriers must update their plans and submit them to the Transportation Department if they change any of the 18 assurances.

The department has found only one instance of an airline failing to update a plan when required. That involved Malaysian Airlines, after the AP reviewed that carrier's plan and notified the department that it was outdated.

So far, no airline has been found to be in violation of the family assistance plan requirement, Mosley says.

Carriers can be fined up to $27,500 per violation.

Robert Jensen, CEO of Kenyon International Emergency Services, which has contracts with airlines to assist them after crashes, told USA TODAY that his company once had a contract with Asiana. Asiana terminated it a few years ago, but did not indicate a reason or say if it had found a replacement, he says.

"Airlines as a rule aren't good at crashes, which is a good thing because they don't do it all the time," he says.

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