<B> Washington Wire</B>
By Barbara Cook, Washington Correspondent
<B>FAA INSPECTIONS PLANNED</B>
The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed new directives to attack the problem of uncontained engine failure, the leading engine-related safety hazard in commercial aircraft. The proposed rules will require the airline industry to upgrade maintenance procedures for inspecting certain high-energy rotating engine components.
The agency said it does not expect flight delays or cancellations as a result of the inspections, which could be performed during routine engine maintenance. Approximately 26,000 engines in the worldwide fleet would be affected by the proposed inspection order, the FAA said, and the cost to U.S. operators is estimated at $5.8 million annually.
The proposed inspection upgrades would affect operators of all aircraft with certain General Electric, Pratt & Whitney, CFM International and International Aero Engines turbofan engines.
An FAA spokesperson said that additional stepped-up inspection procedures, targeted at engine fan disks, will be issued within the next three months, while other high-energy engine parts will be included in maintenance directives over the next 12 months.
<a name="story2"><B>DOT BILL WILL EXTEND SMOKING BAN</B>
Smoking on foreign airlines on flights that serve the United States would become a thing of the past under terms of legislation passed by the Senate.
An amendment offered by Sen. Richard Durbin (R-Ill.) and tacked onto the Department of Transportation's spending bill for the fiscal year 1999 would ban smoking on foreign flights to and from the United States. The amend-ment would require DOT within four months to issue regulations implementing the ban or to come up with a compromise that would limit smoking in the passenger cabins of foreign airlines.
Other amendments attached to the DOT spending bill include a requirement for the National Transportation Safety Board to reimburse the state of New York and local governments $6.1 million to cover costs incurred in connection with the TWA Flight 800 crash in 1996. The legislation also provides $555 million in funding for Amtrak for the coming year. The House must now pass its version of the DOT spending bill, and the two versions must be reconciled.
<a name="story3"><B>INS PROGRAM SHOULD SPEED ARRIVALS</B>
San Francisco International, Sea-Tac International, Washington Dulles, Vancouver International and Honolulu International are the next airports in line to get INSPASS, the Immigration and Naturalization Service's frequent traveler clearance program.
INSPASS, which stands for INS Passenger Accelerated Service System, was opened recently at Los Angeles International and is already in service at Newark International, John F. Kennedy International, Miami International and Pearson International in Toronto. The system employs hand biometrics to identify travelers who access an automated machine at the airports to complete their immigration inspection process.
The program is available to frequent international business travelers who enter or return to the United States at least three times a year. U.S. citizens and foreign nationals from Canada, Bermuda and any of the 26 countries now in the U.S. visa waiver program are eligible to use INSPASS. There is no charge for the service. Application forms can be downloaded from the INS Website, which can be accessed at www.usdoj.gov/ins/forms.