September 16, 1986

Dr. Edmund J. Cantilli
Executive Director
The Institute for Safety in
Transportation
P.O. Box 63
Franklin Square, New York 11010

Dear Dr. Cantilli:

Thank you for your letter of August 14, 1986, in which you expressed your belief that the Burnelli Lifting Body airplane would markedly improve the survival of passengers and crews during a crash. The National Transportation Safety Board appreciates and shares your concerns about the sometimes obvious disparities that exist in the crashworthiness of different airplane designs .

The Burnelli design appears quite imaginative and worthy of further exploration in terms' of its' crashworthiness 'end 'occupant survival. As you may know, the Safety Board has given considerable attention over the last 20 years to the issues of crashworthiness and occupant survival and it has issued numerous safety recommendations to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to alleviate these pressing safety issues. These recommendations have resulted in more crashworthy fuel systems, improved crew and passenger seats, reduced flammability and toxicity of cabin materials, and improved emergency evacuation systems. We believe that the corrective actions that have been taken and those that will be implemented in the near future by the FAA as a result of our accident investigations, are instrumental in reducing or even eliminating needless injuries and deaths.

I can assure you that the Safety Board and I, as its Chairman, remain dedicated to improving the safety of air transportation and the associated survivability of passengers and crewmembers.

While the Safety Board respects your views on crashworthiness, the Board's congressional mandate does not provide it with the legislative authority nor does the Board have the staff to conduct an evaluation of the Burnelli Lifting Body with respect to its crashworthiness features or to evaluate or endorse specific aircraft design concepts .

The Safety Board sincerely appreciates your continued interest in and dedication to this unique airplane design . Thank you for taking the time to keep us apprised of your views.

Respectfully yours,