Thu, Aug 11, 2011
Union Says It Is 'Alarmed' At Ongoing Delays In
Publication
The US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA),
representing the pilots at US Airways, is calling on the FAA to
issue new Flight Time/Duty Time Regulations without further delay.
The latest deadline for publication -- August 1st -- has passed,
and the process for receiving input was concluded last year. In the
union's opinion, safety is being compromised while the aviation
industry waits for the agency to act.
On Feb 12, 2009, Continental Connection (Colgan) Flight 3407
went down in Buffalo, New York killing 49 passengers and the crew,
as well as one person on the ground. Fatigue was cited by the NTSB
as a contributory factor in this accident, and it is only the most
recent of a long list of fatal accidents attributed to fatigue. The
NTSB has been calling on the FAA to modify Flight and Duty Time
regulations for over 20 years, however, to-date, the FAA has failed
to revise the rules.
In the wake of the Continental Connection Flight 3407 crash,
Congress took action and passed H.R. 5900, The Airline Safety and
FAA Extension Act of 2010. Contained within this legislation is a
requirement that the FAA develop and issue new rules modifying
Flight and Duty Time regulations by August 1st, 2011. The FAA
completed the requirements of this rulemaking over a year ago but
has refused to issue the regulation.
It is USAPA's judgment that the FAA and the White House are
under tremendous pressure from the industry lobbyists including the
Airline Transport Association (ATA) to place economics before
safety. Further, cargo carriers are arguing that they should have
less stringent regulations, something with which USAPA vehemently
disagrees. In USAPA's opinion, there should exist one level of
safety, to include all pilots, including those involved in the
transport of goods. Captain Mike Cleary, President of USAPA, added,
"It's time for the FAA to do their job and protect the safety of
the traveling public. In the face of the airline industry's
deteriorating commitment to safety, the FAA needs to step in and
show leadership on many fronts. First and foremost, the FAA should
adhere to the mandates of law and issue the new Flight and Duty
time regulation. While we are aware of FAA Administrator Babbitt's
staunch commitment to FTDT reform during his prior tenure as
President of the Air Line Pilots Association, we are concerned that
industry lobbying groups may have weakened the Administrator's
resolve to act in a timely and meaningful way."
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