---

A bipartisan bill to bolster airline safety was approved by a House committee Thursday. Prompted by February’s regional airline crash in Buffalo, New York, which killed all 50 people on board, the new measure would strengthen pilot training, screening and professional development requirements. It would also require the FAA to track scientific research on pilot fatigue issues. FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt says these congressional efforts are “redundant and misguided.” But pilot union leaders and independent safety experts say the new legislation might compel the FAA and airlines to embrace necessary and long demanded safety changes. What really needs to be done to improve airline safety?

---