NTSB -- NTSB ISSUES SAFETY ALERT TO URGE PARENTS TO USE CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS DURING AIR TRAVEL

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NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 27, 2010

SB-10-19

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NTSB ISSUES SAFETY ALERT TO URGE PARENTS TO USE CHILD

RESTRAINT SYSTEMS DURING AIR TRAVEL

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The National Transportation Safety Board today issued a

Safety Alert to advise parents of the dangers to young

children on aircraft when not restrained in an approved

child restraint system or device. The Safety Alert notes

that preventable injuries and deaths have occurred in

children younger than 2 years who were unrestrained.

Specific child passenger safety issues on aircraft include

the likelihood that parents and caregivers may not be able

to maintain a secure hold on a lap-held child during

turbulence and survivable accidents. Additionally,

unrestrained children have become separated from their

parents during survivable crashes and parents were unable to

locate them during the evacuation.

"As the summer travel season gets underway, the NTSB would

like to remind families traveling with children that child

restraints are the best way to keep youngsters safe -

whether traveling by car or air," said NTSB Chairman Deborah

A.P. Hersman. "While the NTSB would still like to see a

federal regulation requiring the use of child restraints on

aircraft, we continue to recommend that, when traveling by

air, all parents purchase an airline ticket for every child

in the family and place each child in a size-appropriate

restraint system to ensure that everyone travels safely."

The Safety Alert can be found on the NTSB website here:

http://ntsb.gov/alerts/SA_015.pdf. Additional information

about past NTSB safety recommendations on child passenger

safety on aircraft can be found on the website here:

http://ntsb.gov/aviation/aviation.htm

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NTSB Media Contact: Bridget Serchak

202-314-6100

Bridget.serchak@xxxxxxxx

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