Australia grounds Tiger Airways over safety fears (AFP)

SYDNEY (AFP) – Aviation regulators grounded budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia Saturday because it posed a "serious and imminent risk to air safety", throwing the travel plans of thousands of people into chaos.

Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said Tiger's domestic services had been suspended with immediate effect following a series of incidents that had raised questions about its airworthiness.

The first grounding of an entire airline in Australian aviation history, the ban is for an initial five working days, after which officials can apply for a court-enforced extension to allow for further safety investigations.

A subsidiary of Singapore's Tiger Airways, Tiger Australia operates about 60 domestic flights a day, moving up to 9,000 passengers.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said about 35,000 people would be affected by the week-long ban, which he described as an "extremely regrettable" but necessary step.

CASA said it was considering applying for an extension and warned that Tiger's licence to fly was at stake, though that was "not so much in contemplation at this point".

"What we're looking at now is do we need more time to work on what response we're going to have to this situation, and if we do how much time, and putting an argument to the court to get that time," CASA spokesman Peter Gibson told AFP.

The engineers' union said Tiger was likely to remain grounded for "weeks".

"They have quite a way to go before they can satisfy the regulator that their aircraft are going to be in a fit state to fly," said union chief Steve Purvinas.

Australian authorities have been closely monitoring Tiger and issued the airline a "show cause" notice in March threatening to vary, suspend or cancel its licence over safety worries.

It was ordered to improve the proficiency of its pilots, boost pilot training and checking procedures, address fatigue management issues and ensure "appropriately qualified people fill management and operational positions".

CASA also ordered improvements to the airline's "maintenance control and ongoing airworthiness systems."

"Since Tiger Airways Australia was served the show cause notice there have been further events raising concerns about the airline?s ability to continue to conduct operations safely," the regulator said.

"CASA believes permitting the airline to continue to fly poses a serious and imminent risk to air safety," it added.

Barry Jackson, head of the pilots' union, said the move was a "wake-up call" for the industry and backed their claims that budget airlines were eroding national safety standards.

Tiger said the suspension related to "two recent operational incidents" -- reportedly involving aircraft flying dangerously low -- and it would cooperate fully with CASA.

"In the meantime the airline is doing all it can to minimise passenger disruption, especially for passengers who are travelling this weekend and over the next week," Tiger said, promising full refunds or ticket credits.

The grounding comes at the beginning of the extra busy school holiday period, throwing travel plans into chaos.

Budget rivals Jetstar and Virgin both promised to lay on extra flights to help stranded passengers and said they would offer special fares to those hit by the Tiger ban. Flag carrier Qantas also offered discount flights.

Qantas engineers called off strike action scheduled for next week at the request of the government to ensure disruptions were kept to a minimum.

"All our actions for next week have now been cancelled," said Purvinas.

But there were angry scenes at the nation's airports, where many passengers only learned their flights had been axed when they arrived to check in.

"You get here and then they're banned, 'sorry no flights'," said one woman. "This is just pathetic."

The ban comes at a fraught time for Australia's aviation sector, with industrial unrest brewing at Qantas and airlines still reeling from the unprecedented chaos caused by Chile's ash cloud.

Hundreds of thousands of passengers were stranded following the eruption of the Puyehue volcano, costing airlines tens of millions of dollars at a time they are already suffering from high oil prices and a surging Australian dollar.

Qantas has estimated losses at more than $200 million this year due to the Chilean ash, local floods and earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand.

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U.N. urges Japan nuclear safety overhaul after Fukushima (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) – U.N. atomic safety experts said Japan underestimated the threat from a killer wave to its crippled Fukushima power plant and urged sweeping changes to prevent a repeat of the crisis that triggered the word's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl.

In a report presented to Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday, an 18-member team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for a rethink of the way nuclear facilities are built, run and regulated.

Officials have been criticized for failing to plan for a tsunami that would overrun the 5.7-meter (19 ft) wall at the plant in the northeast of the country, despite forecasts from the government and Tokyo Electric Power Co's scientists that such a risk was looming.

The wave that crashed into the plant after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake of March 11 has been estimated at around 14 meters (46 ft), nearly two-and-a-half times the height of the wall.

The IAEA report represented the first outside review of the crisis at Fukushima, which has still not been brought under control, and suggested that power companies in quake-prone countries may face higher hurdles in coming years to meet new international standards.

The report could also mark a new phase in a growing debate within Japan about how -- and whether -- the country's 49 remaining nuclear plants can return to operation.

"What we are trying to do is reflect on this and push for the highest safety standards worldwide," said Michael Weightman, Britain's top nuclear safety regulator and the leader of the IAEA inspection team.

The three-page IAEA report urged Japan to overhaul its system of nuclear regulation in order to make officials overseeing safety independent of the ministry that promotes nuclear power.

In 2007, the IAEA was ignored when it called on Japan to create a more powerful and independent nuclear regulator and clarify the responsibilities of the four government agencies with some responsibility for plant safety.

Goshi Hosono, a Kan aide who received the IAEA report, said a set of post-disaster reforms due to be announced as soon as next week would take up the question of how to make its nuclear regulatory agency independent.

"I think that the way nuclear plants are regulated will be taken up as one of the problem areas," Hosono told reporters.

Workers and officials have described a scene of near chaos when the quake and tsunami hit Fukushima on March 11. Key safety systems, including gauges and vents, were disabled and it was not clear in the crucial first hours who was responsible for decision making, according to accounts.

The IAEA said workers at Fukushima had been "dedicated" and "determined" but urged Japan to build "hardened" command centers to allow for a better response in future emergencies.

FOCUS ON CONSEQUENCES

The Fukushima crisis has prompted a rethink of energy policy in Japan and around the world. Germany's government has vowed to abandon nuclear power.

Japan has pulled back from a commitment to build new reactors, but it remains uncertain how quickly existing plants will be allowed to restart.

Currently Japan is operating only 19 of its pre-Fukushima tally of 54 reactors. Unless local officials can be convinced that Tokyo has a plan to make the others resistant to the kind of blackout that plunged Fukushima into meltdown, more plants will drop off-line for maintenance.

In the worst case, all of Japan's reactors could be shut down by the middle of 2012. That would take out 30 percent of the nation's electricity generation and raise the risk of deeper, near-permanent power rationing, officials say.

Weightman said nuclear plants could be made safe in Japan, but said it would take a line of new defenses against tsunamis and a commitment to rethink safety standards over time.

"You can't predict when a natural disaster will occur, but you can say, 'let me predict the consequences'," he said.

The IAEA report said Japanese officials would need to show a longer-term plan for cleaning radiation from around Fukushima so that the more than 80,000 residents evacuated from the area could return. It urged stepped-up and long-term health monitoring for residents and workers.

Opposition parties seeking to topple Kan's government with a no-confidence vote say the government bungled the early response to Fukushima. Environmental critics, including Greenpeace, charge Japan with ignoring a growing risk to radiation spilling into sea and groundwater.

The crisis has also diverted resources from rebuilding after the quake and tsunami that killed about 24,000 people in northern coastal Japan.

Experts say the IAEA report represents a starting point in the debate over what needs to be done to make nuclear plants safe in a country where the risks of earthquakes are still imperfectly understood.

"There are aspects of the planning for the safety of the Fukushima plant which are, in retrospect, very stupid, and show a lack of imagination," said Kim Kearfott, a University of Michigan nuclear safety expert who toured Japan on her own this week. "The nuclear industry can do better than this."

(Editing by John Chalmers)

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Death penalty for food safety violations

A recent wave of exploding watermelons has spotlighted safety fears in China's food sector.The directive also calls for harsher punishment for officials who protect violatorsA series of scandals have outraged consumers106 people have been convicted in recent monthsAmnesty: China executes more people than all other countries combined

Beijing (CNN) -- Amid deepening public concerns over the country's food safety following a wave of recent scandals, China's highest court has ordered judges nationwide to hand down harsher sentences, including the death penalty, to people convicted of violating food safety regulations.

In a directive released by the state-run Xinhua news agency over the weekend, the Supreme People's Court said in cases where people die from food safety violations, convicted suspects should be given the death sentence, while criminals involved in non-lethal cases should face longer prison terms and larger fines.

It also called for harsher punishment for government officials found protecting food safety violators or accepting bribes from them.

"The overall food safety situation is stable and improving, but incidents that still occur regularly have seriously endangered people's lives and caused strong social reactions," the directive quoted Wang Shengjun, the country's top judge, as saying. "Our task to maintain food safety remains challenging."

From milk laced with melamine, pigs fed with performance-enhancing drugs to watermelons juiced up with growth-stimulating chemicals, a series of recent scandals have outraged Chinese consumers, despite ramped-up government crackdown and state media campaign against food safety violations.

From last September to April this year, Chinese courts have tried and convicted 106 people accused of violating food safety, including two who received life imprisonment last month in a "melamine milk" case, Xinhua reported.

"It's clear that the credibility of the system will suffer," said Peter K. Ben Embarek, the World Health Organization's food safety official. "The (Chinese) consumer will continue to lose confidence in Chinese products and consumers abroad will equally lose confidence in Chinese products."

The latest announcement by China's supreme court, however, seems to run counter to another recent initiative to limit the use of the death penalty by the same court.

In its annual work report, the Supreme People's Court last week instructed lower courts to suspend death sentences for two years if an immediate execution is not deemed necessary.

The Chinese legislature had earlier amended the country's penal code to reduce the number of crimes punishable by death by 13 to 55.

China executes more people than all other countries combined, according to Amnesty International. It estimated the figure, considered a state secret, to be in the thousands last year for "a wide range of crimes that include non-violent offences."

The number of executions elsewhere in the world in 2010 was at least 527, according to the London-based group's annual report released earlier this year.

CNN's Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.

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China urges factory safety after iPad plant blast (AP)

BEIJING – Beijing urged Foxconn Technology Group and other Taiwanese companies on Wednesday to ensure safety in their mainland China factories after a fatal blast at a facility that makes Apple iPads.

Last Friday's explosion at the facility owned by Foxconn, Apple's main manufacturing contractor, killed three employees. Foxconn blamed combustible dust in a workshop that polishes products and suspended production at the factory in the western city of Chengdu, prompting questions about whether supplies of the popular iPad 2 might be disrupted.

"We hope Foxconn and other Taiwan-invested enterprises can learn from this, carry out their safety responsibilities, strengthen internal inspection and management, root out hidden dangers in a timely way and ensure safe production," said Fan Liqing, a spokesman for Beijing's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Taiwanese companies have invested billions of dollars in the mainland despite their government's lack of formal ties with Beijing, which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory.

Fan said the Chengdu explosion was believed to be a "production safety incident" but gave no details.

Foxconn, a unit of Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., manufactures mobile phones, computers and other products under contract for Apple Inc. and other global brands such as Hewlett Packard Inc. The company employs an estimated 1 million to 1.1 million people in China at a series of huge factory campuses.

Other Taiwanese-owned factories in China producing clothing, toys and other goods employ millions more. They are moving into higher-value electronics, computer chips and other products.

Foxconn produces the iPad 2 in Chengdu and at its flagship China manufacturing campus in Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.

The company has not said how iPad 2 production might be affected, but research firm IHS iSuppli said lost output might total 500,000 units at a time when Apple says it is struggling to keep up with strong demand.

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Foxconn Technology Group: http://www.foxconn.com

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U.S. announces bus safety measures

WASHINGTON (AP) — It would be harder for tour bus companies to win permission to operate and easier for the government to put rogue operators out of business under a series of bus safety steps announced Thursday by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.

A man walks by discount buses to New York City on March 30 in Philadelphia. After a series of recent accidents, one of which killed 15 and injured more than a dozen others on March 12 on the Westchester County-Bronx border, discount bus services have come under scrutiny.

Other proposals announced by LaHood would make it easier for the government to take away bus drivers' commercial licenses if they violate drug and alcohol laws while operating a vehicle other than a bus or if they fail to pay fines.

Attention to bus safety by Transportation Department officials and members of Congress has been heightened since the March 12 crash of a bus returning to New York City's Chinatown after an overnight excursion to a Connecticut casino. Fifteen people were killed when the bus ? which safety investigators say was traveling at its maximum possible speed of 78 mph ? toppled off an elevated highway and struck a utility pole, peeling off its roof.

A passenger has said the driver fell asleep; the driver has said he was alert and well-rested. The accident is being investigated by the New York state police, as well as the National Transportation Safety Board.

The department also said Thursday it has made final previous proposals to tighten requirements for issuing a commercial driver's license. Drivers now will have to first obtain a special learner's permit before they can obtain a license. State licensing agencies will also be required to use a testing system that meets national standards.

And the use of foreign language interpreters during testing will be prohibited to reduce the potential for fraud, the department said.

The new proposals would require bus companies to pass a safety audit before receiving federal permission to operate. The audit would include an interview with the company's owners and a safety examination of the company's drivers and vehicles.

Penalties for operating buses without federal permission would increase from $2,000 a day to as much as $25,000.

The department also would have greater authority to pursue enforcement action against unsafe "reincarnated" or "chameleon" companies, which are operations that go out of business in one location after being cited for safety violations and reopen in another location under a new name.

But missing from LaHood's list of safety measures are requirements that buses be equipped with seat belts and have reinforced roofs and windows. Safety experts say if buses had to meet those requirements, most now-fatal accidents would be survivable.

Last year, the department proposed requiring seat belts on new buses. The proposal, which doesn't apply to buses already on the road, has not yet been made final.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently completed research on bus emergency exits that can be accessed by passengers in rollover accidents and standards for stronger roofs that don't crush in rollovers. Proposals for new regulations in those areas are expected later this year.

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Michelle Obama's Plane Flew Less Than 3 Miles to Military Jet, Safety Officials Say

The White House plane carrying first lady Michelle Obama came even closer to a military cargo jet than previously reported, according to a new report from the National Safety Transportation Safety Board.

The close call on Monday night left 2.94 miles of distance between the Obama plane and the 200-ton C-17 jet as they both approached landing at Andrews Air Force base just outside of Washington. Air traffic controllers at Andrews directed Obama's plane to abort a landing, the board said in a statement Friday.

The Federal Aviation Administration had previously said there was more than three miles between the planes, and had ordered controllers' supervisors to oversee flights carrying the first lady and the vice president. A supervisor was already required to monitors flights with President Obama on board.

Obama's plane, a Boeing 737, was considerably smaller than the 200-ton C17 ahead of it. Federal regulations require five miles between planes to avoid dangerous wake turbulence when the plane in the lead is significantly larger than the one trailing.

The planes were lined up for their landing approach into Andrews by a controller at a regional radar facility in Warrenton, Va., the board said. The planes were already too close when controllers at Andrews took over.

The Andrews controllers immediately ordered the 737 pilot to execute a series of turns to increase its distance from the cargo plane. When the distance continued to narrow, the controllers directed the 737 pilot to abort the landing and circle the airport until the cargo jet cleared the runway.

On board the plane with Mrs. Obama was Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Biden.

The board also said a Southwest Airlines jet with 142 people aboard came perilously close to a small plane over central Florida last month. The planes, traveling at more than 100 miles per hour, could have closed the short distance within seconds. They were flying at an altitude of about 11,000 feet at the time.

The board said previously that a controller at a regional radar facility near Jacksonville asked the Southwest pilot to fly close enough to look into the cockpit window of the smaller plane, a single-engine, four-seat Cirrus SR22. The Cirrus had been out of radio contact for over an hour.

Both planes landed safety. The controller has been suspended pending an investigation.

Also Friday, National Air Traffic Controllers Association President Paul Rinaldi called on the FAA to allow controllers to sleep on breaks during daytime shifts, and to take scheduled naps of as long as two hours during overnight shifts. Rinaldi also endorsed 10 other recommendations for combating fatigue offered by a working group of agency and union officials.

"If we are serious about addressing controller fatigue, then every recommendation must be adopted and implemented" Rinaldi said.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood have ruled out any change in policy to allow controllers to nap during work shifts, even on breaks. That's despite the disclosure since late March of at least five incidents of controllers dozing off at work.

Instead, Babbitt has increased by an hour the minimum amount of rest between work shifts. The FAA has also added a second controller on overnight shifts at 27 airports and a radar facility to prevent any more planes from landing without tower assistance because a controller working alone at night has fallen asleep.

Planes flew unguided because of a sleeping controller into Washington's Reagan National airport last month and in Reno, Nev., this month.

Rinaldi, while appreciative of the changes, said "they barely scratch the surface of the problem."

FAA officials declined comment.

The FAA has known for decades that controllers work exhausting schedules that can affect their ability to safely manage air traffic. The sleeping incidents, as well as recent errors by controllers, have shaken public confidence in the nation's air traffic system.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Coast Guard slams exploded Gulf rig's owner for 'poor safety culture'

By the CNN Wire Staff STORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: Transocean this week blamed BP, saying it "set the stage for this disaster"The Coast Guard releases a report a year after an explosion started the Gulf oil spillThe probe criticizes the rig owner, Transocean, for equipment and personnel issuesA Coast Guard spokesman says "there were serious safety management system failures" (CNN) -- A Coast Guard report released Friday criticizes Transocean, the owner of the Gulf of Mexico rig that exploded a year ago, for serious flaws in its safety management system that contributed to the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

"There were serious safety management system failures and a poor safety culture that Transocean had," said Cmdr. Chris O'Neil, a Coast Guard spokesman, summarizing the investigation's findings.

The April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig led to more than 200 million gallons of oil being released into the Gulf. Eleven people working on the rig died in the explosion, while another 16 were injured.

Besides the oil, hundreds of thousands of gallons of chemical dispersant went into the water as well. At the peak of the crisis, in June 2010, 37% of Gulf waters -- a total of 88,522 square miles -- were closed to fishing due to contamination.

The Coast Guard probe, one of several that delved into the incident, began six days after the incident and included seven hearings to compile information. The new report focuses on specific issues under that federal agency's purview. O'Neil said further conclusions will be released in the future.

"We didn't want to withhold what we had learned," he said, explaining that authorities thought it important to publicize "important recommendations that could be used to improve maritime safety" as soon as possible.

While noting that the events leading to the rig's sinking "were set into motion by the failure to prevent a well blowout," the report adds, "The investigation revealed numerous systems deficiencies, and acts and omissions by Transocean and its Deepwater Horizon crew that had an adverse impact on the ability to prevent or limit the magnitude of the disaster."

Specifically, the report claims that electrical equipment that might have ignited the explosion was poorly maintained and that gas alarms and automatic shutdown systems that might have prevented the blast were bypassed. In addition, on-hand personnel had insufficient training as to how and when to shut down engines and do other things that might have mitigated the disaster.

Besides Transocean, the probe also calls out the government of the Marshall Islands -- under whose flag the rig flew -- saying its "oversight and regulation of the Deepwater Horizon ... was ineffective." The republic delegated its inspections to "recognized organizations," the report says, without taking on the responsibilities itself.

In the 288-page report, investigators list 61 conclusions and offer 54 specific safety recommendations.

"We recognize that this report is important to a lot of people, particularly the families and friends of the 11 people who perished in the disaster," O'Neil said. "Nothing can bring those people back to us, but the investigation seeks to prevent a similar tragedy in the future."

Transocean did not respond immediately to requests for comment on this report. But on Thursday, Transocean issued a statement in which it blamed the oil company BP, which operated the oil well, for the disaster. This week, the two companies filed lawsuits against one another.

"The Deepwater Horizon was a world-class drilling rig manned by a top-flight crew that was put in jeopardy by BP ... through a series of cost-saving decisions that increased risk -- in some cases, severely," the Geneva, Switzerland, based company said in the statement. "BP set the stage for this disaster."

CNN's Melissa Gray contributed to this report.

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FAA holds meetings on air traffic control safety

New rules for air traffic controllersSTORY HIGHLIGHTSNEW: FAA officials, union representatives begin a cross-country tour in AtlantaNEW: FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt says mistakes "will not be tolerated" The FAA reported a seventh case of a controller asleep on the job this yearControllers now must have a minimum of nine hours off between shifts Atlanta (CNN) -- Top officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the air traffic controllers' union kicked off a cross-country tour of air traffic control facilities on Monday, two days after a seventh reported case this year of a controller falling asleep on the job.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and Paul Rinaldi, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, are expected to hold a series of meetings about safety and professionalism. Their first stop was at a radar facility in the Atlanta area.

"None of us in this business can tolerate any of this," Babbitt said of the sleeping controllers. "It absolutely has to stop. ... One mistake is one too many."

This "will not be tolerated," he insisted. "We run the safest system in the world," but these incidents have "cast a cloud."

Inside the life of an air traffic controller

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Auditors warn: Bishops drifting on child safety

the authors of the study warned.

Among the most common problems the auditors identified:

•Allowing clergy who had been barred from ministry to lead public prayers

•Downsizing local child safety offices, partly due to the recession, leaving key tasks undone

•Failing to meet with leaders of all religious orders that have priests working in a diocese

•Not checking whether safeguards were in place on the parish level, despite a directive since 2006 to do so

•Failing to collect written notice from parents who decide to keep their children from abuse prevention training

The bishops

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Plane crash victim's dad waits for flight safety regulations

Airline safety report cardSTORY HIGHLIGHTS The father of a Colgan Air crash victim wants more progress on new safety rules
A rule addressing pilot fatigue has not been finalized or implemented
FAA says it has implemented safety improvements that did not require regulationsRELATED TOPICSAir TravelFederal Aviation AdministrationYou probably have your own list of complaints about flying. We do, and we're looking at solutions in a series called "Fix My Flight." Send us a tweet using #FixMyFlight and we'll share some on TV.

(CNN) -- Ken Mellett's brow is furrowed as he gravely speaks of the need for more stringent air safety rules.

"I don't want to have another family go through what we're going through as we continue to grieve for our son two years later," he said.

Coleman Mellett, 34, was onboard Continental Connection Flight 3407, operated by Colgan Air, when it crashed outside Buffalo, New York, in February 2009. Mellett, a guitarist for jazz musician Chuck Mangione, and 49 others were killed.

His father is frustrated that while regulators are working to improve air safety rules, there are still no new regulations in place.

"The process and timeline is extremely painstaking," Mellett said.

Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt, a former airline captain, has made updating pilot fatigue rules one of his highest priorities.

In a process that has been under way since the Buffalo crash, the issue has been addressed in several ways:

-- A yearlong National Transportation Safety Board investigation pointed to pilot error.

-- The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 passed. It mandates FAA impose new regulations.

-- FAA convened airlines and pilots to negotiate new rules.

-- That led FAA to propose pilots have at least nine hours off between flights -- an increase of an hour -- more rest weekly, and monthly and annual flight time restrictions. Rest periods would also factor in time zones crossed, number of takeoffs and landings and the time of day the pilot flies.

-- As with all proposed regulations, there was a mandatory 60-day comment period.

-- Now FAA is writing a final rule to be issued no later than August 1, although airlines will then be permitted more time to implement the new regulations.

"To say you don't get frustrated trying to get things changed would be an understatement," said Capt. Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, which has a history of confrontation with the airline industry over pilot rest rules. "It's been a long time coming."

The FAA said it moved quickly to implement safety improvements that did not require new regulation.

"The FAA has taken action to strengthen pilot hiring, training and performance over the last two years," the agency said.

Administrator Babbitt's 2009 Call to Action on Airline Safety included inspections of airline training, requests for major carriers to better coordinate safety programs with regional airlines that fly their short-haul flights, and an appeal for airlines to have pilot applicants disclose their full FAA records. (Flight 3407 Capt. Marvin Renslow did not inform Colgan Air that he had repeatedly failed flight tests.)

Other steps to improve air safety also are under way. Their timeline is lengthier than the pilot fatigue issue.

FAA later this year will issue another rule requiring airlines to teach pilots to recover from a stall and provide re-training for aviators who have displayed poor performance.

Congress is demanding a requirement for more flight experience to earn the highest pilot license, known as an Airline Transport Pilot Certificate -- at least 1500 flight hours, six times the current minimum. The FAA has until August 2013 to issue that rule.

"The timeline it takes to get these things enacted and deal with bureaucracy is a real challenge to speed and urgency," Mellett said. "All of us from flight 3407 have urgency because the next accident could be tomorrow."

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Transocean executives donate safety bonuses to rig victims' families

Transocean CEO Steven L. Newman and four other executives executives will donate more than $250,000. STORY HIGHLIGHTSTransocean Ltd. senior executives will donate safety bonusesExecutives get pay raises in part for the safety record, earlier SEC filing saysCash awards based in part on company safety recordDespite Gulf explosion oil spill, company called 2010 "best year in safety" (CNN) -- Top executives of the company that owned the Deepwater Horizon oil rig announced Tuesday they will donate their safety bonuses to the families of the 11 workers killed in the April 2010 explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.

The announcement follows criticism of a Transocean Ltd. financial filing that claimed 2010 was its "best year" in safety.

"The executive team made this decision because we believe it is the right thing to do," Chief Executive Officer Steven Newman said in a statement Tuesday. "Nothing is more important to Transocean than our people, and it was never our intent to diminish the effect the Macondo tragedy has had on those who lost loved ones," he said. "We offer our most sincere apologies and we regret the impact this matter has had on the entire Transocean family."

The five executives will donate more than $250,000 to the Deepwater Horizon Memorial Fund, which Transocean established. The fund has distributed more than $1.6 million to the 11 families.

The executives were identified as Newman; Ricardo H. Rosa, senior vice president and chief financial officer; Arnaud A.Y. Bobillier, executive vice president, asset and performance; Eric Brown, executive vice president, legal & administration; and Ihab M. Toma, executive vice president, global business.

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