The Safety is Not for Sale Act, introduced last week in the Senate, would require airline carriers to adopt additional safety features and require aircraft manufacturers offer or provide all non-required safety enhancing equipment as part of the aircraft’s list price.
The bill was crafted in response to two recent crashes involving the Boeing 737 MAX 8. The aircraft was not equipped with two safety features that could have helped aviation mechanics and the pilots recognize false readings from the sensors connected to the aircraft’s new flight control system.
Additionally, aviation regulators, including the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), did not require these features to be standard. Boeing offered the features, but at an additional fee.
Last month, 17 senators urged Boeing to offer the safety-enhancing equipment for free, but Boeing declined.
“For Boeing, safety features that could have saved 346 lives on two of their 737 MAX 8s were yet another profit center, deemed optional like premium seats, extra bathrooms, or fancy lighting,”Sen.Edward J. Markey (D-MA), who cosponsored the bill, said.
The bill is supported by the Association of Flight Attendants and the National Consumers League. Both organizations believe safety technology should be standard equipment and its inclusion would save lives.