FAA Says More Stringent Rules Will Make Pilots Safer; Not Everyone Agrees

When rules that require 1,500 hundred hours for a pilot to qualify as a first officer on an airliner took effect, the FAA said that they would produce safer pilots. The previous qualification was 250 hours.

The agency says that the more stringent qualifications mean pilots will have a better grasp of the fundamentals before they are placed in the cockpit of an airliner.

But some say that the quality of a pilot's training is far more important than the sheer number of hours logged as pilot-in-command. The Chicago Tribune reports in an enterprise story that at least one former American Airlines captain said that flight time can equate more to luck than proficiency or professionalism. "I flew with a guy with 10,000 hours in the military who scared the hell out of me," said retired AA Captain Bill Parrot. "It was a reality check."

The new rules have also created a shortage of qualified pilots, according to the paper, leading regional airlines to offer signing bonuses to pilots who meet the minimum qualifications.

One ERAU student told the paper that he expects that his education will wind up costing him at least $250,000 to meet the 1,500 hour requirement to become an airline pilot, compared to up to $80,000 to reach the previous 250-hour benchmark. He said a lot of students are incurring large student loans in an effort to make the grade.

The FAA is sticking to its guns. Speaking at a recent ALPA meeting in Washington, Deputy Administrator Michael Whitaker said the new levels of experience will "help mitigate the risk of a first officer transitioning to captain before he or she is ready." 

Congress passed the new requirements partly in response a Colgan Air regional airliner accident in 2009 that fatally injured 50 people.

FMI: www.faa.gov