The Buffalo News reported today that “Government inspectors harshly criticized the Federal Aviation Administration for its response to the Colgan Air crash in Clarence a year ago, saying the agency’s effort to get airlines to voluntarily fix safety problems had not addressed the problems the accident raised.” It was reported that the FAA has fallen behind in developing tougher rules on pilot training and fatigue, and has inadequately reviewed training programs at the airlines. The inspectors found that FAA initiates are falling behind or not reaching their goals. Although Colgan would like to focus on human error as the cause of the accident, proper pilot training and overworked pilots are at the source of the problem. By failing to voluntarily address the safety issues properly, Colgan has shown that it main concern is not the safety of its passengers, and that it places business concerns above all else.
Court Seals Documents at Expense of Consumer Safety
June 15, 2009
An AAJ article June 4, 2009 looks at the practice of courts sealing litigation documents to the advantage of manufacturers in certain product cases. For example, Bausch & Lomb settled hundreds of cases involving contact solution that involved blindness where the court ordered the documents to be sealed.