VOICE OF THE PEOPLE: ValuJet Crash Shows Flawed System

CHICAGO- As Americans try to recover from the shock of 110 deaths in the tragic crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades, they also grapple with events that led to this perhaps avoidable accident.

In its wake, the Tribune revealed confidential Federal Aviation Administration reports indicating that the economy airline was more accident-prone than its competitors, yet was allowed to continue to fly unchecked ("ValuJet mishaps were singled out in FAA report," Main News, May 16).

Further reports showed that the discount carrier had serious safety flaws in the months immediately before the crash, problems that had been overlooked-perhaps with a wink- by FAA officials. At the core of the problem:

too cozy a relationship between the airlines and the entity that regulates them, something that cannot be tolerated.

Even in the aftermath of the crash, FAA Administrator David Hinson and Transportation Secretary Federico Pena applauded the low-cost airlines' safety record, statements that were quickly hushed in light of the media's intrepid investigation.

Consider: pilot training with manuals from mismatched planes, an aged fleet accompanied by uninspected planes and mechanical procedures inadequately monitored by the FAA-all were tolerated by an agency in which the American public places its trust.

And soon after, conservative legislators in Washington lamented President Clinton's veto of a product-liability bill aimed at curtailing injured consumers' rights while at the same time furthering the type of negligent conduct of corporations like ValuJet.

So-called tort reform creates an environment in which no one is accountable. It sets up an unfair playing field in which the culpable go free and the innocent victims are victimized again by the very system that is set up to protect them, letting the perpetrators define the boundaries of their losses by capping damages.

Although Americans will always lament the loss 110 passengers killed in May, they should transfer some of the pain and anger to Washington, where they should be crying to their legislators to prevent such an accident from occurring again through the passage of stricter safety standards and through upholding a civil-justice system that works for the consumer.