Commercial Plane Crashes: What Happens When a Search for Victims is Called Off?

Assessing the challenges families of plane crash victims face after search operations cease.

Families of plane crash victims often face many challenges in the aftermath of losing their loved ones that can compound their grief. A massive search may be required to recover plane wreckage and the remains of victims. These circumstances can become highly distressing for families as they await news about whether their loved ones have been found. Many are forced to face the tragic reality that even after widespread search efforts, such a recovery may never be made.

This is the predicament that several surviving relatives of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crash victims are now facing. Recent media reports say that the official search for the bodies of crash victims who have yet to be found has been called off. The news was announced by the head of Indonesia’s rescue agency.

Source: BBC Report “AirAsia 8501 crash: Official search for bodies ends”

“The search for remaining bodies from a plane crash in the Java Sea ends on Tuesday night, the head of Indonesia’s rescue agency has confirmed. The ships involved in the search will then be pulled out on Wednesday, Bambang Soelistyo told the BBC.”

There were 162 people on board the flight, which was en route to Singapore from Surabaya in Indonesia when the crash occurred amid inclement weather, killing all of the passengers in December. A reported 106 bodies have been recovered while 56 remain unaccounted for.

AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes signaled before the recent announcement that the search would soon be coming to a close.

Source: AFP Report “Indonesia calls off AirAsia search”

The chief of the Malaysian low-cost airline said that the operation had been “successful” but added that it could not “go on indefinitely.”

“There is a time period and we’ve agreed with the families that this is obviously not something that can go on indefinitely,” he said.

Click here to read the full AFP report.

Surviving relatives of plane crash victims involved in commercial aviation accidents often face legal challenges in settling the affairs of the deceased. This can include any wrongful death and personal injury claims that they are eligible to pursue. When a victim’s remains are not recovered however, it can prove to be even more difficult to move forward in these matters.

According to New York based aviation accident attorney Jonathan C. Reiter, whose law firm has handled a number of high profile plane crash cases, even in the event that the bodies of plane crash victims remain unaccounted for, and search efforts are discontinued, there are ways families can still move forward legally. Says the attorney, “officials will typically make an official determination of death, or families can seek such a declaration from courts if they are stuck in limbo in settling a missing plane crash victim’s affairs.”

According to the AFP report, the families of victims in the Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crash agreed with the decision to bring the search effort to a close. BBC’s Alice Budisatrijo in Jakarta reported, “The families of those missing are disappointed but understand that the search cannot go on indefinitely.”

The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee is reportedly still investigating the cause of the crash. A final report is expected to be released by August.

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Southwest Grounds One-Fifth of Fleet Over Missed Inspections: Cause for Concern?

The fourth largest airline in the U.S. recently took an unexpected step after discovering several planes had missed safety inspections.

Recent reports say Southwest Airlines decided to ground 128 planes that had missed inspections. The grounding is stated to comprise approximately one-fifth of the fleet of the fourth largest airline in the U.S.

Source: AP Report “Southwest grounding 128 planes over missed inspections”

“DALLAS (AP) — Southwest Airlines Co. says it has grounded 128 planes after failing to inspect backup hydraulic systems used to control the rudder if the main system fails.”

According to a spokesperson for the airline, Brandy King, federal safety regulators were immediately notified of the oversight and the issue concerning the operation of the multiple Boeing 737-700 jets was in the process of being fixed at the time of the most recent reports. The inspections were expected to be completed in the few days following the mass grounding.

For some, the matter has raised concerns regarding the safety of passengers when it comes to procedures the major airline has put into place. Upon the discovery of the maintenance oversight, the 128 planes had reportedly already flown the beyond the point of the inspections being required.

Source: International Business Times Report “Southwest Airlines Maintenance Snafu Raises Safety Concerns”

“The overdue inspections involved the hydraulic systems that control the plane’s rudder if the main system fails. “This is a periodic inspection of a backup system,” the FAA said in a statement. “The FAA evaluated the risk and agreed that the airline could continue to operate the planes during the short interim.”

The report by the International Business Times further points out that Southwest has had maintenance compliance issues previously, including a $12 million civil penalty initiated against the airline by the Federal Aviation Administration last year. A lawsuit was filed by the Justice Department alleging Southwest Airlines had flown planes that the FAA indicated had not been airworthy following improper repairs.

The report also notes; however, that most experts say the airline has had an excellent safety record despite the recent concerns. There have been no fatalities in the air reported in the airline’s more than four decades long history.

According to aviation accident lawyer Jonathan C. Reiter, whose law firm handles both domestic and international cases involving aviation accident injury, inspection oversight is among the topic issues linked to plane crashes that involve commercial carriers. Says the attorney, “an airline may exhibit a strong record when it comes to having limited in air fatalities; however, attention must also be paid to how maintenance and daily operations are handled when assessing inadequacies regarding safety.”

Other experts seem to agree. Aviation safety specialist Christine Negroni is quoted by the International Business Times as stating of Southwest, “Too much attention is paid by the public to fatal accidents. The true indicator of whether an airline is safe is not the highly unusual fatal airplane accident, but rather how it handles everyday maintenance and operations. With that criteria, clearly Southwest has some remedial work to do.”

Some suggest that due to the FAA’s allowance of the Boeing 737s to remain in commission in spite of the missed inspections there was no serious threat posed to flyers as a result of the recently reported oversight. However, as noted by aviation attorney Jonathan C. Reiter the airline will likely face some challenges when it comes to how the flying public will view the safety of Southwest planes until the matter is fully resolved.

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