House introduces bill on aviation safety

Lisa Treon

7/30/2009
The House Subcommittee on Aviation, chaired by Congressman Jerry F. Costello, introduced a bill yesterday afternoon—the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009—to improve safety and training practices for the airline industry. The legislation was drafted following recommendations made at several meetings, including a roundtable discussion with the leadership of the nation’s nearly 90,000 frontline union pilots that took place on July 15.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., a co-sponsor of the bill, said the bill contains provisions opposed by both labor unions and airlines, “who will probably raise some Cain over this.”
At the roundtable discussion, the Aviation Subcommittee brought up some very serious issues in pilot safety highlighted by recent aviation accidents, including the US Airways Flight 1549 ditching in the Hudson River and the fatal Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y. Attendees included US Airways Flight 1549 Captain Chesley Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, along with representatives from:

• the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA), representing the US Airways pilots;
• the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA);
• the Allied Pilots Association (APA), representing the American Airlines pilots;
• the International Brotherhood of Teamsters; and
• the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA).

Currently, pilots can be hired on a flight deck with an FAA commercial license, which requires 190 flight hours in an approved school or 250 hours from an unapproved school. Conversely, an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license will require significantly more aeronautical knowledge and 1,500 hours of flight experience. With regional airlines flying sophisticated aircraft in our nation’s busiest airports, pilot leadership was unanimous in its belief that an ATP license should be a minimum requirement for both pilots.
Some of the other key issues addressed by the aviation experts and incorporated into the bill include:

• Requiring the Secretary of Transportation to provide an annual report to Congress on what the agency is doing to address each open NTSB recommendation pertaining to Part 121 air carriers.
• Establishing comprehensive pre-employment screening of prospective pilots, including an assessment of a pilot’s skills, aptitudes, airmanship and suitability for functioning in the airline’s operational environment.
• Creating a pilot records database within 90 days to provide airlines with fast, electronic access to a pilot’s comprehensive record.
• Directing the FAA to update and implement a new pilot flight and duty time rule and fatigue risk management plans within one year to more adequately track scientific research in the field of fatigue. Current FAA rules permit 16-hour workdays for pilots.
• Directing the FAA to develop and implement a plan to establish an Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), a self-reporting safety system, and a Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program for all commercial airlines and their unions.

The bill is H.R. 3371.


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That's from fltops.com website -- the congressional committee was expecting pushback on the legislation from labor unions and airlines. ALPA has endorsed it:

ALPA News Release

The Senate version of the bill doesn't include the ATP provision:

Senate panel approves air safety measures : City & Region : The Buffalo News

Then the House-Senate conference committee will have to find some common ground on the bill to bring it to a vote on the floors of both the House & Senate.

So we'll see if that provision remains or not after the August recess most likely in September.

My opinion is more experience always enhances safety -- an ATP certificate is the next step in experience level. The question is are we willing to pay for it? I think it's strange that the FAA thinks this will not enhance safety..but ALPA applauds it. We'll see who wins.

I also think a college degree is a good thing for pilots, not necessarily because a particular degree applies to this profession, but because it builds good study habits. Colgan Air leaders acknowledged that the pilots failed to follow procedures for an impending stall in the last few moments of the flight. Maybe if they knew their flight manual better it wouldn't have happened. Maybe if they had more experience it could have been avoided through a better cross-check of instruments.

Right now it's premature to assume the House version of the bill will be the final version.