Unfortunatley the tragedy has made even Guv's usual outlandish posts accurate this time;
Thursday September 13, 7:09 pm Eastern Time
US lawmakers consider airline liability protection
(UPDATE: Refiles to remove HOLD from slug line)
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON, Sept 13 (Reuters) - At the urging of American Airlines and United Airlines, congressional leaders said on Thursday they were drafting legislation to provide the air carriers some protection from possible lawsuits stemming from this week's tragic attacks.
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Four commercial airliners, two operated by UAL Corp.'s (NYSE:UAL - news) United and two by AMR Corp.'s (NYSE:AMR - news) American were hijacked on Tuesday. Two crashed into the landmark twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center, demolishing them. A third slammed into the Pentagon outside Washington, D.C. and the fourth crashed in a field near Pittsburgh.
Following the crashes, the airlines proposed legislation that would provide them sweeping protection from liability, lawmakers and aides said.
But Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said the proposal floated by the airlines was "way too broad'' and that lawmakers would look to structure legislation that would provide limited protection from liability.
"What they were talking about is a great over-reach,'' McCain told Reuters, adding that they were seeking almost blanket protection from lawsuits.
"We think they may need some protections but certainly not the language we saw,'' he said.
House Republicans said they too were eager to move legislation to provide protection for the airlines. Both House and Senate aides said a measure could move as early as this week.
A Senate committee aide said lawmakers will propose a bill that would provide some protection from liability, specifically limit lawsuits by those not on board a flight, such as people in buildings or bystanders like those in the World Trade Center.
Lawmakers would push forward the proposal out of fear that a rush of lawsuits could potentially bankrupt the nation's two largest airlines, the Senate aide said.
Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas said he spoke with airline executives and that his staff was reviewing possible legislation that would provide them with liability protection.
"We'll see what we can do for them,'' Armey said. "I do not think that airlines should be held accountable.'' Armey said he specifically spoke to American executives about the proposal.
"It seems to me that when they lost control of their aircraft, they lost control of their liability.''
When the four airliners crashed, 266 passengers and crew perished. The official death toll from the crashes into the buildings stood at 94 but more than 4,500 from were reported missing by family members and companies with offices at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
Another 126 are missing from the crash at the Pentagon across the river from Washington, D.C.
UAL did not answer calls seeking comment and AMR was not immediately available for comment.