Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/495913
ByScottMayerowitz The Associated Press WASHINGTON Theshrink- ing space on airplanes is surely uncomfortable, but it might also be dangerous for passengers' health and safety. Planes are filled with more passengers than ever before. Fliers are older and heavier. Flight attendants warn about an increase in air rage, and experts ques- tion if having rows of seats packed closer together might make it harder for passengers to evacuate af- ter a crash. A consumer advisory group set up by the De- partment of Transportation dove into all those issues Tuesday at a public hearing as part of its role to make non-binding suggestions to government regulators. Charlie Leocha, the con- sumer representative on the committee, said the govern- ment sets standards for the conditions for dogs flying as cargo but doesn't dictate minimum space standards for passengers. "In a world where ani- mals have more rights to space and food than hu- mans," Leocha said, "it is time that the DOT and FAA take a stand for humane treatment of passengers." Fliers last summer squeezed into the least amount of personal space in the history of flying. In July, U.S. airlines sold a re- cord 87.8 percent of seats on domestic flights, accord- ing to the Bureau of Trans- portation Statics. And that figure does not include all the seats occupied by pas- sengers who redeemed fre- quent flier miles or airline employees flying for free. "Unfortunately, the days of the empty middle seat are a thing of the past," said Julie Frederick, a rep- resentative for the Amer- ican Airlines flight atten- dants union. Following the implemen- tation of checked-bag fees in 2008, Frederick said, more and more passengers are carrying on bags, fight- ing for overhead bin space. That anger carries over through the flight as pas- sengers bump elbows on armrests and bang their knees against tray tables. She said there are more cases of air rage, many of which go unreported. Questions were also raised if the increased den- sity of seats means passen- gers won't be able to evac- uate fast enough after a crash. The Federal Aviation Ad- ministration runs various tests including how fast passengers can evacuate a plane and how fast they can put on a life preserver. But Cynthia Corbertt, a human factors researcher with the FAA, testified that it conducts those tests us- ing planes with 31 inches between each row of seats. Many passenger jets today have less legroom. For in- stance, United Airlines has 30 inches of room, known as pitch, on some jets; Spirit Airlines offers 28 inches. "We just haven't con- sidered other pitches," Corbertt told the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection. Before any new jet is al- lowed to fly, the manufac- turer must prove that ev- erybody can evacuate in 90 seconds with half of the ex- its blocked. Carry-on baggage is strewn throughout the cabin, and the test is con- ducted in night-like condi- tions. However, the cabin is not filled with smoke, and all of the passengers are physi- cally fit, dressed in athletic clothing and know that an evacuation is coming. "We'd like to see more re- alistic simulations," Freder- ick testified. She added that most passengers don't pay attention to pre-flight safety briefings, especially now that they can use electronic devices from gate to gate. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane, who chairs the DOT com- mittee, noted concern that the FAA does not factor in human panic, especially parents who might take ex- tra time to ensure their chil- dren are safe before evac- uating. "So they aren't the aver- age traveler, quite honestly," Kane said. On long flights, there is another risk for fliers: deep vein thrombosis, where a blood clot forms, typically in a leg vein. If that clot gets lose and travels into the lungs, it can cause a blockage. Nimia L. Reyes, a medi- cal officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention, said that seat size isn't necessarily a factor in people developing the clots or not. The real issue, she said, was how able pas- sengers are to get up, walk around and stretch. Those in window seats have twice the risk of getting deep vein thrombosis than those on the aisle seats. Producing more legroom isn't that simple. After years of major losses and a wave of bank- ruptcies, airlines are finally profitable again after add- ing baggage fees and in- creasing the number of seats on jets. Last year, U.S. carriers earned more than a combined $11 billion. Airlines do offer coach passengers more legroom, if they are willing to pay for it — often $50 extra each way. Many travelers aren't. Keith Hansen, director of government affairs for bud- get carrier Allegiant Air, said the No. 1 thing vaca- tioners care about is price. "The only way we can of- fer a low airfare ... is to in- crease the seating density so we can divide the cost of operating a flight among the greatest number of peo- ple possible," Hansen said. CONSUMER GROUP Panel asks: Could cramped airline seats be dangerous? M.SPENCERGREEN—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Passengers wait at a United Airlines gate to board a flight in separate numbered lanes at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. By Ted S. Warren The Associated Press BONNEY LAKE, WASH. A Washington state couple who died when a large con- crete slab fell from a high- way overpass onto their pickup truck were youth ministers in their 20s and parents to a 6-month-old baby also killed in the freak accident. Josh and Vanessa Ellis and their baby, Hudson, died Monday when a chunk of concrete weighing thou- sands of pounds fell onto the cab of their truck as they drove underneath the span, said James Ludlow, their pastor at EastPointe Foursquare Church. "It's a tragic event," Lud- low said Tuesday. "In the blink of an eye, inhale and exhale, and they're in the presence of God." Construction crews were installing a sidewalk on the state Route 410 over- pass in Bonney Lake, about 30 miles southeast of Seat- tle, when a concrete bar- rier fell to the roadway be- low around 10:30 a.m. "We were just heading down the street ... and I could hear three snaps and down it went on top of the truck," Dawn Nelson, who was riding in a car behind the pickup, told Seattle tele- vision station KING. "There was nothing anyone could do. It was just surreal." It was not immedi- ately known what caused the concrete structure to fall. Bonney Lake police, the state Department of Transportation and repre- sentatives from contractor WHH Nisqually are inves- tigating. City spokesman Woody Edvalson said the mate- rial that fell was part of the original span, which was built in 1992 and has a suf- ficiency rating of 95.3 out of 100. Flowers, a cross and a teddy bear have been placed near the overpass, which has reopened along with the road underneath it. But debris from the concrete slab is still on the ground. Ludlow described the Ellis family as "great peo- ple" who were loved by kids in the church's con- gregation. They were "the type of people everybody loves and gravitates to," Ludlow said. Construction for a $1.8 million city sidewalk proj- ect to improve pedestrian access along the highway started about a month ago. WHH Nisqually had crews on scene Monday. FREAK ACCIDENT Couple killed by falling concrete slab were youth ministers | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015 6 B ★