US watchdog confirms 5th Takata airbag death this year, 24 deaths in all

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) – The US traffic watchdog on Monday confirmed the fifth passenger death from a Takata airbag this year, which brought the total number of fatalities by the former Japanese auto parts company to 24.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that it has confirmed one person died in a recent crash in a 2010 Chrysler 300 vehicle where the driver's side airbag inflator ruptured, which is the third confirmed this year in a Fiat Chrysler sedan.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in November issued a "Do Not Drive" warning for model year 2005-2010 Chrysler 300s and approximately 276,000 model year 2005-2010 Dodge Magnums, Chargers, and Challengers.

The safety watchdog warned all vehicle owners to check for open Takata recalls and urged them to get repair done for free as soon as possible if their vehicle is under recall.

The administration stressed that even minor crashes can result in exploding Takata air bags that can kill or produce life-altering, gruesome injuries, and noted that older model year vehicles put their occupants at higher risk, since the age of the airbag is one of the contributing factors.

The watchdog’s acting administrator Ann Carlson said in a statement: "Air bag ruptures have also cost people their eyesight and left them with disfiguring facial injuries."

Takata's airbags had led to recall of more than 42 million cars in the US, the largest auto recall in the nation's history, while the company filed for bankruptcy in 2017 and was acquired by Key Safety Systems (KSS), an American company owned by Chinese investors and is now known as Joyson Safety Systems.