Flyge- og arbeidstidsbegrensninger i USA

Systemet i USA med et sett med regler for passasjerflyger og et annet for lasteflygere er uholdbart. En ulykke kan få katastrofale følger for andre enn de ombordværende uansett. 2 Investigators: Cargo Pilots Say Disaster Imminent Without Stricter Controls On Fatigue (CBS) - Cargo pilots are calling for federal agencies to help prevent accidents that might be caused by pilot fatigue. They say they need the same protections limiting the hours they fly that currently apply to passenger pilots. 2 Investigator Pam Zekman reports. The cargo pilots have been waging the battle in court, in Congress and with the Federal Aviation Administration. It all started with a deadly plane crash in 2009. Fifty people were killed after a passenger plane crashed into a house near Buffalo, N.Y. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said the crash was caused partly by pilot fatigue. In the aftermath, Congress mandated that the FAA address, among other things, the fatigue issue. Last year, the FAA did approve new regulations that limited pilot shifts to eight to nine hours and required 10 hours of rest between them. But, the regulations applied only to passenger pilots. Cargo pilots were left out, meaning they could still work up to 16 hours. Capt. Robert Travis, president of the Independent Pilots Association, which represents more than 2,600 UPS employees, said that creates a dangerous double standard. "That is a recipe for disaster," he says.