AIR SAFETY . . . FEDS PUT COMMUTER PLANES ON ICE

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The Federal Aviation Administration today ordered regional airlines not to fly ATR commuter planes -- used by American Eagle and many other air carriers around the world -- in icy weather. The move came on the same day the FAA received new information from the plane's French manufacturer indicating ice hazards under certain conditions. Just a week ago, the agency called a news conference to reassure the public that the planes were safe -- overruling a call by the National Transportation Safety Board to ground them on icy days. (Icing was a prime suspect in the Oct. 31 crash of an American Eagle ATR-72 n northwest Indiana that killed 68 people.) Today's ban affects 42 ATR-72 and 111 ATR-42 aircraft in the U.S.