Were the pilots’ protestations justified? The question has no simple answer. The Federal Aviation Administration last week stepped up its monitoring of the ATR and called public attention to its new ATR operating standards, which include avoiding the use of autopilot equipment during icy conditions. But it did not strengthen its watered-down version of a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation that the planes not be flown during icy conditions. Instead, says the FAA, airlines should ““maximize avoidance’’ of such conditions. American Eagle officials vowed to uphold the new standards and say they are confident of the ATR’s safety. (So far, pilots from other airlines have apparently not refused to fly on the planes.) But some safety experts note that forecasting icy conditions is not always easy and call the regulatory guidelines inadequate. ““The FAA is in the process of sticking Band-Aids all around,’’ says David Stempler of the International Airline Passengers Association, which represents more than 100,000 travelers. ““But it’s not getting at the problem itself. The burden should not fall on the pilots to make these decisions.''

American Eagle may have made matters worse by the way it handled the ATR controversy. In another incident last month, American Eagle advised two pilots who refused to fly ATRs to report to the company’s employee-assistance program to talk about their fears. Whether the action constituted strong-arming is debatable. American officials say they would never force a pilot to take a flight that he or she feels is un-safe. Says spokesman Marty Heires: ““We want our pilots to question anything that they feel might have an impact on the safe operation of their flights.’’ Last week the airline announced that some pilots in the Midwest would no longer be required to fly ATRs, providing they were willing to move to the airline’s Dallas hub.

Both pilots and flight attendants say that’s not good enough. On Nov. 23 the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) wrote a letter to Simmons Airlines, operator of some of American Eagle’s ATRs, asking for stricter safety guidelines and no retaliation for employees who refuse to fly because of safety issues. The AFA asks that the company ground aircraft in icy conditions. It also asks that crew who do not want to fly on ATR planes be relieved from duty without loss of pay. Air Line Pilots Association spokesman Bob Flocke says the decision to ground themselves is not one that flight crews make lightly. ““They look at the weather report and decide whether the trip should be flown. [It’s not the same] as you or I getting up and not wanting to go to work.''

But some experts believe the unions are creating unnecessary turbulence. They note that the ATR-42 and the larger ATR-72 generally have good safety records. ““Here are people who choose a profession that’s very much [governed] by safety regulations,’’ says Aaron Gellman, of Northwestern University’s Transportation Center. ““If the FAA feels the airplane is safe, I find it somewhat disingenuous of the pilots to second-guess them.''

The debate could continue until investigators find a cause for the Roselawn crash. It’s still unclear whether the ATR turboprops actually perform worse in icy conditions than other planes do. Experts believe ice was responsible for the fatal crash of an ATR over Italy in 1987, but the plane’s manufacturer says it was caused by pilot error. According to safety officials, pilots in the Indiana crash flew the plane on autopilot during icy conditions, masking the icing problem. Final results of the investigation may not come for months. But until investigators finally figure out what happened to that plane, passengers on ATRs will still have questions about how the aircraft perform in bad weather.

ATR-42s 72s American Executive Airlines* 5 5 Flagshiop Airlines* 14 0 Simmons Airlines* 27 23 Continental Continental Express 42 2 Delta Atlanta South-east Airlines 0 12 TWA Trans World Express Inc. 11 0 Trans States Airlines ** 8 3 * American Eagle

  • Also flies for Alaska commuter, Northwest airlink and USAir express; These carriers, however, do not use any ATR aircraft. Source; Federal Aviation Admin.