Air crash that killed 16 led
to creation of new agency
By CRAIG SANDERS
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Air crash that killed 16 led |
CRAIG SANDERS A graduate student at Sangamon State University, he recently served an internship in aviation planning with the Bureau of Planning of the Illinois Department of Transportation.
THE SKY was overcast and visibility limited at the Greater Peoria Airport shortly after noon on October 21, 1971. The control tower cleared the landing of Chicago and Southern Airlines Flight 804 from Chicago Meigs Field to Springfield. The plane struck high tension powerlines two miles from the end of the runway, crashed and slid 152 feet into the base of a hedgewood tree. An intense fire ensued and captain of Flight 804 and president of Chicago and Southern, his copilot, and a capacity load of 14 passengers were killed. A National Transportation Safety Board investigation concluded pilot error caused the crash and recommended increased federal regulation of "third level" or commuter airlines such as Chicago and Southern.
Under Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) rules, third level carriers — airlines that operate aircraft weighing no more than 12, 500 pounds and carry no more than 30 passengers — are not required to hold a CAB certificate and operate basically unregulated. Subject to state regulation, these carriers have complete freedom of entry and exit to the cities they serve. This freedom from regulation has often been cited as the reason these carriers have been successful in providing air service to many smaller communities that larger airlines touch infrequently — if at all. But it has also led to abuses which state regulation has been ineffective in curbing.
At that time the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) regulated third level carriers in Illinois because the Illinois Public Utilities Act of 1921 included aircraft in the common carrier class regulated by the act. But because the ICC lacked the staff and expertise to oversee intrastate commuter flights, it merely issued route certificates and required regular reports on passengers carried and flights completed. No safety or economic controls were exercised by the ICC.
The Peoria crash set off demands for better and more effective state regulation of intrastate third level air carriers which culminated in the 1973 passage of the Illinois Air Carriers Act (Illinois Revised Statutes, Chapter 151/2, section 501ƒƒ). The act created an Illinois Aeronautics Board (IAB) and made Illinois the first state to provide for comprehensive regulation of third level and air taxi (charter) carriers. Among the IAB's duties are issuing intrastate route certificates, approving intrastate carriers, and certifying air taxi operators.
Creation of the IAB grew out of a legislative investigation. Just six days after the Peoria crash, the General Assembly called upon the Legislative Investigating Commission in House Joint Resolution 97 to study intrastate air carriers and their regulation by state and federal agencies. The commission's investigation of Chicago and Southern turned up evidence of ". . . numerous improprieties and 'operational shortcuts' which were hazardous to passenger safety." Among these were flying over- weight aircraft, altering pilots' flight logs to conceal excessive flying time, and poorly operating its maintenance base. The company was also in serious financial difficulties.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the Illinois Commerce Commission were criticized for inadequate regulation of carriers such as Chicago and Southern. State safety regulations were called "nonexistent" and state licensing supervision was "obviously inadequate." The investigating commission found FAA's policy of allowing Chicago and Southern to enforce its own safety standards to be "ineffectual and self defeating," and added that the ICC "at no point possessed the degree of staffing and expertise necessary to regulate both licensing and safety features of air traffic in Illinois." The commission concluded that ". . . intrastate air activities in Illinois are in dire need of increased government regulation. We have been appalled by the 'scarf and goggles' set who have provided the leadership of some intrastate airlines in Illinois."
The commission recommended that the Ice's regulatory powers over aviation, including safety, be given to the Illinois Division of Aeronautics (IDA), a component of the Illinois Department of Transportation, and that an Illinois Aeronautics Board (IAB) be set up to exercise these powers.
The IAB first met in January 1974 and was promptly faced with a petition by Air Illinois for a fare increase. The increase was granted 10 days later in an emergency meeting. IDA Director Guy Wood, who by statute is the IAB's chairman, noted that Air Illinois was surprised by the swiftness of the action since fare hike requests had taken months when ICC had jurisdiction. But getting started wasn't all that easy. Immediately, there was the knotty problem of defining what constituted intrastate air travel, and then a dispute arose over the issue of whether the state should regulate third level and air taxi carriers at all. The board decided "intrastate" meant at least two points
16 / January 1976 / Illinois Issues
Illinois Aeronautics Board, formed in 1973 act,
provides comprehensive regulation of 'third
level' (commuter) lines and air taxi services.
At first meeting, IAB was faced with petition
for a rate increase. But safety is prime concern
within the state with service between them, and the board worked with experienced CAB lawyers from Washington to make IAB rules consistent with CAB rules. The board decided, however, not to concern itself with larger CAB certified carriers (Ozark and United) that operate both intrastate and interstate.
At the IAB's first public hearing on its proposed rules held in June 1974, lobby representatives attended and expressed, according to Chairman Wood, "considerable opposition to what the state was doing." He said the opponents argued that air transportation is interstate by nature, and if the states wanted increased regulation they should ask federal agencies such as the FAA to do it nationwide. "No one wanted any control of any kind," Wood said, adding that the resistance was surprising since there had been no major opposition when the Illinois Air Carriers Act was going through the legislature. After the June hearing the IAB met with industry opponents to explain that its purpose wasn't to put them out of business. At its August meeting the board approved, with only minor changes, the proposed rules that had provoked the controversy over state regulation. By mid-October enforcement had begun.
At this point a number of operators complained to the IAB's Legislative Advisory Committee. This committee, which was created to see that the law was implemented, gave the IAB a 45 day trial period and was impressed when the board reported back at the end of December. Wood said, "The complaints just didn't hold up."
The rules dispute has been the only major problem the board has had to face thus far. Certification of scheduled carriers took place almost immediately, and registration of the almost 100 air taxi operators around the state has been virtually completed. The board did ask and receive from the legislature the power to levy fines and take emergency action.
Chairman Wood explained that under the original law the board had no penalty powers short of lifting an operator's license and could take no action at all without holding a hearing. The board can now take immediate action subject to a public hearing which the affected operator may request within 30 days of the action; IAB actions can also be challenged in court under Illinois' Administrative Review Act (chapter 110, section 264ƒƒ) Wood said the IAB can take quick action where the FAA can't. IAB member Jesse Stonecipher noted that the FAA admitted it didn't have sufficient staff to supervise an operator such as Chicago and Southern Airlines.
Much of the board's success is attributed by Chairman Wood to the fact that the IDA staff is by law the staff of the board. He said most of the operators regulated by the IAB have been overseen for years by IDA in connection with its authority to license airports and aircraft and to inspect fixed base operators. Wood added that most operators in Illinois are in sound financial condition and have good safety records. So far the board hasn't had to shut down anyone.
"There is a direct relation between economic health and safety," Stonecipher said. He explained that there is a tradeoff between safety and economics; and if a carrier is losing money, safety is one of the easiest areas to cut back on. The board sees the necessity of keeping rates above this danger level.
Promoting a good system of air transportation is another goal of some board members, and sometimes involves protecting an existing carrier from competition. "If we're trying to build a good system we can't have open competition," Chairman Wood said. Board member George Kirk explained that it wouldn't be a benefit to the community if competition hurt two rival carriers. "You have to have an economically viable carrier or everyone suffers," Kirk said.
Kirk also sees the board as an "appeals board" for communities that are unhappy with existing services. Although he believes the board should let the carriers determine their own schedules, Kirk said the board can aid a community in negotiating with a carrier for improved service. Chairman Wood believes establishing air service to a community is the responsibility of the community involved. However, Wood said the board can act as an interested party and assist a carrier in developing new routes.
From the perspective of most members, safety is still the board's primary responsibility. They agree that to operate safely a carrier must be in sound financial condition but overregulation should be avoided. "Everyone here is trying to prevent overregulation, and everything I've seen indicates this is the posture of the board," Kirk said. Wood added that the board's efforts have been praised by both the airlines and several Illinois airport managers. "We also work well with both the FAA and CAB," he added.
Former Board member Carlo thinks the board's efforts will be better appreciated in the future. "At first they thought we were just a bunch of bureaucrats, but now they know we do know what we're talking about."
Aeronautics Board
Legislative Advisory Committee
January 1976 / Illinois Issues / 17