UPS recent announced it would retrofit the cockpits of its air fleet with quick-donning, full-face oxygen masks with integrated smoke goggles. Installation of the enhanced pilot safety equipment comes at the recommendation of the Joint UPS-Independent Pilots Association (IPA) Safety Task Force. Installation on UPS's Boeing 747-400, MD-11, B-767 and B-757 fleets is expected to take place over the next 24 months, beginning with the MD-11 and 747 fleets. The UPS Airbus A-300 fleet already is equipped with integrated masks. The new, one-piece facemasks can be put on with one hand in just three seconds, five times faster than the separate oxygen mask and smoke goggle units currently on most aircraft. The new masks meet performance standards for protective breathing equipment established by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and offer a better fit for crewmembers who wear eyeglasses. The full-face equipment is manufactured by Zodiac Aerospace, a French conglomerate whose Eros oxygen equipment is used by many carriers, including UPS. "These facemasks will be an important inclusion in our cockpit safety environment," said IPA and Safety Task Force member Capt. Bob Brown. "Between the facemasks and the recent addition of the Emergency Vision Assurance System (EVAS), the union and the company are very much in sync on flight safety." Since last fall, the UPS-IPA Joint Safety Task Force has been researching strategies and technologies for improving flight safety. Focused primarily on in-flight fire mitigation, the group has worked extensively with the FAA, aircraft manufacturers, safety vendors and other industry experts.(mar) pic: special