Larry Pressler: “this morning we had excellent testimony in the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee from a number of…”

“this morning we had excellent testimony in the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee from a number of witnesses who represented the families of airplane crashes. I believe we had five or six unfortunate airplane crashes. We also had other representatives of next of kin there at the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. It was a very moving hearing. I want to commend the witnesses who appeared. I also want to say that it is time we act in terms of designating the National Transportation Safety Board as the responsible agency in terms of what happens after an airplane crash. We hope there are no airplane crashes. That would be an ideal situation. Whether it is a small crash or a big crash, inevitably in human history there will probably be some. We want the next of kin to be taken care of and notified in a sensitive and organized way. This is not entirely the fault of the airlines, as was pointed out in the balance of the testimony we received. In the past, the rules have not been clear as to who is in charge.”