USA: Flyge- og arbeidstidsbegrensninger 3 år etter Colgan

Experts: Airline safety standards still inconsistent

 

3 years after fatal crash, FAA has failed to meet new congressionally mandated requirements

One consistent level of safety across the entire airline industry - from regional jets to large mainline carriers to air cargo operations - has not been achieved three years after the warning sign delivered when tired and poorly skilled pilots crashed their commuter plane in New York, experts told a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday.

The Federal Aviation Administration has made progress toward meeting congressionally mandated requirements to extend rest time for pilots before duty and establish new procedures to minimize safety risks, Calvin Scovel III, inspector general at theU.S. Department of Transportation, testified before the Senate Aviation Subcommittee in Washington.

But the FAA has not met deadlines for raising pilot training standards, increasing minimum pilot qualifications, implementing pilot mentoring programs to raise the proficiency of less-experienced pilots and improving the leadership skills of airline captains, Scovel said.

Congress required the FAA to issue a final rule to increase airline pilot qualifications by August, but FAA officials say they cannot meet the mandate until August 2013. The new rule would require first officers, who are also called co-pilots, to hold an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, which requires 1,500 hours of pilot flight time. Somewhat lower requirements may be allowed for ex-military pilots and graduates of aviation degree programs, the FAA said.

Currently, airline captains must have the ATP certificate, but first officers only need a commercial pilot's license and as little as 250 hours to be hired by some commuter airlines.