Association Believes It Would Have Slowed Passage Of FAA
Reauthorization
The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) which
represents over 28,000 commercial passenger and all-cargo cargo
pilots, said Monday it is pleased that Congressman Bill Shuster
(R-PA) has withdrawn his Amendment on Pilot Fatigue to the FAA
Reauthorization Bill (HR 658).
Congressman Shuster
On Friday, Rep. Shuster withdrew his amendment which sought to
require the FAA to recognize that the United States' aviation
industry is composed of a variety of different segments with
different operating characteristics and require the FAA to tailor
the regulations to address the unique characteristics of each
industry segment. He announced that he would withdraw the language
to avoid further delay in conference negotiations and the
legislation's enactment.
"Congressman Shuster's amendment could have stalled progress on
significant aviation safety rules passed by Congress last summer,"
said Captain Carl Kuwitzky, President of CAPA. He further added,
"The amendment could have undermined the hard work of the 111th
Congress with regard to HR 5900 and Airline Safety, and essentially
"undo" the FAA's long fought battle for "One Level of Safety."
Capt. Carl Kuwitzky
Science has proven that effects of fatigue on the human body are
the same regardless of the type of operation. The crews hauling our
troops and the cargo that keep this country running should be
covered by the same rest rules as the crews that carry passengers
on an everyday basis. There must be industry standard rules for
providing safe transportation services to the flying public and
critical air transport of military personnel.
"We are very pleased that Congressman Shuster withdrew his
amendment," said Captain Kuwitzky. He further added, "Congress
should ensure that regulators put safety before the economic
interests of the airline industry, and we look forward to working
with the Rep. Shuster on comprehensive regulatory reforms in the
future. We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all
who have supported CAPA, and our 28,000 pilots, opposing this
amendment".
The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations is a trade
association which represents over 28,000 professional pilots at
carriers including American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, UPS
Airlines, US Airways, Southern Air, ABX Air, Atlas Air Cargo,
Kalitta Air, Polar Air Cargo, Arrow Air, Horizon Air, Gulfstream
Air, Cape Air, Miami Air, Omni Air and USA 3000. The organization
has long advocated "One Level of Safety" for all commercial flight
operations. CAPA does not support any form of "carve out" or
"waiver" of fatigue regulations for certain types of
operations.