Nicely done radials. I'd follow up with a phone call and maybe a letter to the press and the families of the victims of the colgan crash.

Bottom line, safety costs money. How safe do you want to be?

Truer words were never spoken, Grumble.
And to piggy back your statement,sir : If you think Safety is expensive, try an accident. Enjoy the day all. Take care and KEEP SMILING!!

Keep a couple of things in mind when you read this BS responce from NACA:

They claim that they should be given some kind of credit because the AMC flying is inefficient. There is no provision to guarantee this in the FAR's. In many cases, we fly right to FAR or contractual limits. No where is there a "quid pro quo" (e.g. if you fly long duty days, you must have more rest). Also, supplimential operators love to point out that their crews fly less. what they don't talk about is the commercialing around the world chasing planes and it's effect of fatigue.

Many non-scheds are non union. This means that it is more important that the regulations be tightened, not less. More non scheds fly right to the FAR limits while most majors and regionals have tighter limits set by their union contracts than those set under their FAR's.

Some companys have chosen to operate under flag or domestic operations because of other concerns like fuel savings. If there are major changes to those regulations and none to supplimential, do you think that they might go back to supplimential operations?

Inhofe is just doing what his constituents want. Omni Air International is based in Tulsa,OK and most certainly has lobbied Inhofe and Coburn (both Republicans) to amend the NPRM.

I don't believe this will pass; FAA and industry advocates have been proposing changes to duty/flight-time and rest for too long, and they're not going to exempt charter/supplemental carriers. They're the ones that need the reductions the most!

Flight-Time/Duty-Time Carve-out for Supplementals Withdrawn, ALPA Priorities Advance
February 16, 2011 - On the heels of ALPA’s news media briefing reiterating the union’s priorities and underscoring the importance of being the voice of airline pilots, ALPA learned that Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) withdrew his amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill that would have exempted some all-cargo and charter air carriers from the pending flight- and duty-time rules.
The amendment withdrawal is a victory for ALPA, which has been opposed to this new language since the amendment’s introduction on February 7.
Immediately after learning about the proposed amendment, the union began a grassroots Call to Action campaign within its membership. Within days of the campaign, more than 3,000 pilots had acted, writing letters to their senators in opposition to the proposed amendment.
“We are encouraged by the rational decision to withdraw the amendment from the FAA bill and commend Sen. Inhofe for doing so,” Capt. Moak said. “This action is one step closer to a solid, clean bill that funds the FAA and provides funding for NextGen and other programs that will help ensure the safety of our industry. And, we thank every pilot who responded to our Call to Action – it proves that ALPA has a powerful voice when we speak as one.”
The topic of FAA reauthorization and flight-time/duty-time rules was discussed at length during Capt. Moak’s news media briefing. He reiterated on several occasions the need for, “one level of safety [and] science-based flight-time/duty-time rules without exception regardless of the type of flying.”
At one point, a reporter asked regarding flight-time/duty-time regulations, “No exceptions?” Moak replied, “Absolutely no exceptions. We believe in one level of safety. It’s hard to argue with that.”
Moak said a key starting point to advancing safety in our already extraordinarily safe air transportation system is passing the FAA reauthorization act, currently in its 17th extension.
“It is the foundation needed to achieve a modern infrastructure that provides safe and efficient air transportation to drive this country’s economy and create jobs for its citizens, he said. “ALPA pilots recognize the FAA’s essential leadership role in setting regulatory standards and conducting oversight over the range of safety issues that affect airline operations. Congress must pass a solid reauthorization bill that well positions the FAA to do its job.”
Other topics discussed during the news media briefing were pilot training, consolidation, the projected pilot shortage, and negotiating pilot contracts.
“On the issues that matter most to our pilots, including flight- and duty-time and minimum rest requirements, bankruptcy reform, airspace modernization, and maintaining good careers for pilots working today and those who will join our ranks tomorrow, I will engage and challenge regulators, legislators on both sides of the aisle, airline management, and everyone whose actions affect our industry to join me in making the U.S. airline industry sustainable, safe, and secure,” Moak said.

FAA satisfied with senator’s remedial pilot training

The FAA has pronounced itself satisfied with remedial pilot training taken by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and will not pursue enforcement action against him in the case of landing on a closed runway last October in Port Isabel, Texas.

The FAA notified Inhofe, 76, by registered letter that he had provided evidence of “satisfactory completion” of remedial training. The training consisted of four hours of ground instruction and three hours of flight instruction in numerous preflight, planning, and piloting tasks, and aeronautical decision making.