Originally Posted by
skywatch
So (assuming it is true as reported) it's the FAA's fault that the FO went skiing the day before the accident, then took a red eye to work to begin her trip...? Didn't they both have the day off before the accident...?
"Both pilots were returning to work after a day off. Capt. Renslow was coming off weeks of late-evening and early-morning flying schedules, often sandwiched around only a few hours of rest. Ms. Shaw had spent the day before the accident skiing. She then took a red-eye flight from Seattle to report for work in Newark."
You have it wrong. The FAA allows airlines to abuse their pilots with rest and duty schedules. A study was done that says a person who has been up for 16 hours has the useful aptitude of someone with a .08 BAC. How many of us have flown a plane in on that 16th hours of work when you include time getting up and and comuting in for your show. So why do airlines have such a strong stance on flying drunk but not on 16 hour duty days? Both can spell disaster.
I am not relating this back to the Colgan crash but the general attitude of the FAA and airlines as a whole.