U.S. Senator Ken Salazar

Member: Finance, Agriculture, Energy, Ethics and Aging Committees

 

2300 15th Street, Suite 450 Denver, CO 80202 | 702 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510

 

 

For Immediate Release

Thursday, May 1, 2008

CONTACT: Stephanie Valencia – 202-494- 8790
Cody Wertz – 303-350-0032

Senator Salazar Introduces Amendment to FAA Reauthorization to Address De-icing Issues at DIA

 

WASHINGTON, DC – Last night, United States Senator Ken Salazar introduced an amendment to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization that the Senate is considering this week to address de-icing issues that occurred at Denver International Airport late last year. Senator Salazar’s amendment requires the FAA to review de-icing and anti-icing training and programs to ensure compliance with FAA policy. The amendment also sets out deadlines and procedures to bring non-compliant de-icing programs into compliance and requires the FAA to report back to Congress on their review.

“Over 25 million people fly through Denver International Airport on a yearly basis. Ensuring the safety of those passengers and the millions more who travel across the nation is of the upmost importance,” said Senator Salazar. “The de-icing situation that was uncovered at DIA and other airports across the nation last year was shocking and could have put lives at risk. This amendment will help ensure that the FAA remains vigilant about how their de-icing contractors follow the rules and employ qualified workers to do the job.”

In the fall of 2007, it was discovered that a de-icing contractor at Denver International Airport, and several other major airports across the country, had compromised safety by providing its employees with test answers during an actual employee test and then instructing the employees what score to place on their tests.

De-icing and anti-icing are critical safety functions. Ice on a plane, especially on wings, negatively impacts the smooth flow of air which increases drag and decreases lift of the wings. Both the airlines that contract for de-icing services and the FAA have a responsibility to conduct proper oversight of these de-icing programs.

In response to this situation the FAA’s Air Transport Division issued notices to its Aviation Safety Inspectors to review de-icing programs to ensure they were indeed in compliance with current FAA Policy. Senator Salazar’s amendment codifies the FAA directive to ensure that all de-icing and anti-icing training and programs fully comply with current FAA policy. The amendment also requires the FAA to report back to Congress on its review.

 

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