Group Says Rule May Actually Shorten Rest Time
The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations is concerned that
portions of the FAA's NPRM on Flight and Duty Time published on
Tuesday may have a negative impact on flight safety, according to a
press release issued late Thursday.
While CAPA applauds the FAA for its efforts in looking at a
broad range of causal factors with regard to fatigue mitigation,
CAPA’s safety professionals feel the proposed solutions
"often address industry economic issues to the exclusion of safety
concerns."
Although the proposal places limits on how long pilots can be on
duty based on time of day, CAPA says it falls short of the mark to
protect pilots against fatigue in many areas.
In its recent statement, CAPA says the new rule proposes a 25
percent increase in the amount of flying a pilot can be expected to
accomplish in a day.
For augmented, or three person, crews there is no specified
limit on hours flown in a duty day. So, using only "total
duty" as a limit, CAPA suggests three pilots could fly as much as
15 hours, a 25 percent increase over the current limit of 12
hours.
CAPA also says the rule calls for a nine-hour rest period which
they feel still does not provide adequate time for a pilot to get
eight hours of sleep. The minimum rest would apply following
extended international flights as well, a major reduction compared
to today.
And finally, CAPA says even "this nine-hour rest period can
be shortened once a week to eight hours, further inducing
fatigue.'
Pilot fatigue is an ever present threat to the safety of
traveling public and has been identified on the National
Transportation Safety Board’s “Most Wanted” list
of regulatory changes for two decades.
CAPA insists logical regulatory reforms "must take precedence
with government regulators over the economic interests of the
airline industry."
CAPA President Paul Onorato was quoted in the press release,
“You cannot make a pilot less fatigued by requiring them to
fly more hours”.
The FAA's new proposed rule has stirred the interest of industry
safety experts across the country. In a recent letter to FAA
Administrator Randy Babbitt, Captain Chesley “Sully”
Sullenberger states, “The stated purpose of the rulemaking
process was to enhance the safety of the traveling public by
reducing pilot fatigue. This NPRM does neither."