Demand mandatory safety measures for helicopters

Demand mandatory safety measures for helicopters

Started
January 29, 2020
Petition to
Signatures: 85,817Next Goal: 150,000
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Why this petition matters

Started by Karla Chernicky

On Sunday, January 26, 2020, a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter carrying five-time champion NBA basketball star and the league's fourth all-time leading scorer, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, along with 7 others closely associated with Bryant crashed into the rugged terrain in Calabasas, California near Malibu, in dense fog. The impact killed all aboard. 

In March 2004, a similar helicopter carrying 10 people crashed into the Gulf of Mexico in a night-time flight. All 10 people were killed by the impact.

In 2006, records show the National Transportation and Safety Board, (NTSB), recommended that the Federal Aviation Administration require helicopters like the one carrying Kobe Bryant and family and friends be equipped with a Terrain Awareness and Warning System (TAWS) technology to prevent such crashes.

Shockingly, the FAA refused this crucial safety technology.

Now, 9 more people have been killed unnecessarily by a preventable crash had this technology been incorporated.

This is unconscionable that the FAA would still, after 14 years, not make this warning system required on these types of helicopters.

Please sign this petition demanding the FAA require TAWS technology to prevent more crashes and lives lost.

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Signatures: 85,817Next Goal: 150,000
Support now
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Decision Makers

  • Federal Aviation Administration
  • Donald J. TrumpPresident of the United States
  • Steve Dickson AdministratorFAA
  • National Transportation and Safety Board
  • Daniel K. Elwell Deputy AdminstratorFAA Deputy Adminstrator