Officials: Airline safety action too slow

LOUISVILLE, Ky., Aug. 27 (UPI) -- Action on safety recommendations aimed at preventing accidents like a jet crash that killed 49 people in Kentucky are too slow in coming, officials say.

Four years after the crash of Comair Flight 5191 that tried to take off from the wrong runway at Lexington's Blue Grass Airport, some of the proposed changes in procedures and equipment by the National Transportation Safety Board have not been implemented by the Federal Aviation Administration, The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal reported Thursday.

The FAA has adopted some of the board's recommendations but not all, the newspaper said.

"We are encouraged by some of the changes that have taken place but, as in most things with the FAA, progress is just too slow," NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said. "It's great that they're working on our recommendations, but that's not going to prevent another accident from happening tomorrow."

The FAA usually agrees with the NTSB's safety recommendations, but rule-making to implement recommendations takes time, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., a proponent of aviation safety who is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said the system is "on the verge of getting better."

But there are still trouble spots.

Four years after the Comair accident, runway and taxiway markings and signs have not been improved at all airports, The Courier-Journal reported.