SIGN UP FOR OUR In an article published 4 days ago by Fox News, titled “Deadly Costa Rica crash highlights dangers of non-commercial tourism flights, aviation experts say” (//fxn.ws/2mdaTjd) James Hall, the former head of the National Transportation Safety Board offers Fox News’ Cristina Corbin the following remarks over a telephone interview:
“These private tourist flights do not have the type of oversight and regulation that we have with commercial aviation in the United States”… “The average tourist is not going to be able to make a determination about the safety of these flights”.
Strong statements were also provided to Fox News by Ladd Sanger a Texas-based aviation attorney:
“It’s very hard for the consumer to be able to vet and understand the pilot training of any of these operators,’ said Sanger. “Even as a commercial licensed pilot, I don’t have access to such information – how they train their pilots and what kinds of maintenance practices they use.”
“You need to understand that your risk of getting on a single engine aircraft being operated in a third world country is significantly higher than flying on a commercial airliner with two jet engines and two professional pilots in the United States,”
Regarding these declarations, Enio Cubillo, Director of Civil Aviation in Costa Rica told national newspaper La Nacion “This is a very subjective position, using a fatality that eventually could take place in any country and in any aerial space (…) it is an unwise statement that lacks proper information. Saying that there is a deficiency by the authorities seems very irresponsible to me”.
The Costa Rica Tourism Chamber considers it is still too early to tell whether the tragic accident where 12 people (10 US tourists and 2 Costa Rican pilots) lost their lives on December 31st in Guanacaste, will have an impact on the industry; however some tourism agencies and tour operators stated they had received several cancelations and changes to already planned itineraries since travelers prefer not to take a domestic flight.
