Originally Posted by
stabapch
Now that we’re a little more than 5 years in since the “1500 hour rule” was enacted, I’m curious what other pilots opinions are on this regulation. I think it was great
To Recap: This was enacted as a result of the Colgan Air 3407 crash. The one that revealed some of the truth of the regional airline industry to the public. The law was enacted as the result of the FAA and congress deciding that pilots should have the qualifications to obtain an ATP before flying in 121 airline service and that some other loopholes in the industry needed to be tightened. The accident was just the final thing that brought it to the forefront of their attention
Was lack of experience, defined as logged flight-time, really the cause for this tragedy? Nobody will ever know. But the FAA and congress decided that it likely could have been a contributing factor and that pilots should have a general experience level to obtain an ATP before entering 121 airline service.
Soon after this new regulation took effect back in my CFI days, I was sitting down having lunch with an FAA ASI. I had to ask his opinion of it, expecting a canned answer. He nearly spit out his food, telling me this was the most useless legislation that won’t solve anything and essentially put into law to appease the families of the lost ones on the Colgan flight. I wasn’t expecting that response. That you expected a canned response just showed your lack of experience at that point. FAA inspectors are just like other pilots, largely type A, opionated, and impassioned people that will jump at any chance to share their thoughts. I happen to disagree with that specific FAA ASI
So what do you think... Did this really fix the problems of the regional industry? It helped, hopefully market forces will fix some of the remaining problems
Are the skies really that much safer now? Yes, pretty hard to argue with the current safety record. Always room for more improvement in aviaition
Do regionals still continue to get away with poor pilot treatment, regardless of union representation? Yes, but market forces along with good representation are the best chance for that changing
If you haven't done so, look up and read the NPRM and final rule from the FAA regarding the rule changes. They actually do a very good job of explaining their reasoning for requiring an ATP before a pilot enters into airline service holding out to the general public. And they also answer all the comments from people who opposed the rule change. "1500 hr rule" is generally just the name put on it by people who didn't/don't like it.