Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, on July 10, 1997, the Subcommittee on Aviation held a very emotional hearing regarding TWA Flight 800. Family members of the victims were there to tell the stories of their loved ones and how, 1 year later, they are still struggling with their loss. The family members' main objective that day was to bring to our attention the gross inadequacy that is created when the Death on the High Seas Act is applied to aviation accidents. As Chairman Duncan said, if a plane crashes into the ocean more than 3 miles from land, as did TWA Flight 800, the Death on the High Seas Act applies. This act denies families the ability to win noneconomic damages in a lawsuit. This means that a family member could not be compensated, for example, for the loss of companionship of a loved one; parents could not be compensated for the loss of their teenaged sons and daughters; sons and daughters could not be compensated for the loss of their elderly parents. However, if a plane crashed on land, State tort law or the Warsaw Convention would apply. Both permit the award of noneconomic damages. The effect of applying the Death on the High Seas Act to aviation accidents is a threat to families, definitely depending on whether their loved ones died in an air crash into the sea or one that crashed on land. This is obviously absurd and unfair. The value of an individual's life does not change depending on where the plane happens to come down.”