Federal Aviation Administration will shortly publish the names of those who have failed to respond to Administrator Randy Babbitt’s June 24 call for voluntary measures to improve safety and RAA members will not be on it, according to Regional Airline Association President Roger Cohen.

“Every RAA member has responded to the June 24 letter,” Cohen told Aviation Today’s Daily Brief. “What has been frustrating is the fact that all the work we have accomplished [since Buffalo] has gotten lost. There are perceptions of regional airlines out there that are not based in fact. As I said in my testimony last week, 98% of passengers flying on RAA members either fly or will be flying on airlines that have ASAP and FOQA.” Coverage Ignores Safety Advances since Flight 3407

The news the FAA would shortly publish a list of the 29 of the 98 airlines who have yet to respond to Babbitt’s safety call to action, came in The Washington Post article saying that efforts to enhance safety resulting from the February 12 Colgan Air accident in Buffalo, which has caused such harm to the regional airline industry, had stalled in the usual Washington political mire.

Especially contentious is the proposal to require all pilots flying for airlines to gain an air transport rating (ATP), with 1500 hours, before taking the right seat. Aviation schools, including Embry Riddle, as well as RAA, oppose the measure saying it would discourage those wanting to get into the industry. “The points the schools made are very valid,” said Cohen, yesterday.

That may be so but pilot experience is at the heart of what Congress and the public found so disturbing about the Colgan accident and at least the Air Line Pilots Association is opposing any changes to the proposal.

Also in question are new proposals for flight and duty time, which, given how tough this issue has been over the past few decades, is not surprising.

The Allied Pilot Association (APA) yesterday opposed flight and duty time changes saying it is having a hard time reconciling longer duty days depending on the type of flight which has been proposed.

“Any increase in the amount of time pilots are scheduled to be at the controls in a given duty day will only serve to exacerbate pilot fatigue,” said APA President Captain Lloyd Hill, who cited the importance of “planning for the worst” as airline industry regulators assess the Aviation Rulemaking Committee’s flight and duty time recommendations. High Profile Air Crashes Raise Concerns

He cautioned pilots who may view the prospect of fewer total workdays each month as an acceptable tradeoff for increased flight time per duty day. “No rational individual would argue that permitting airlines to schedule pilots for more time at the controls will increase the margin of safety,” Hill said. “This review of longstanding safety-related regulations should not be about accommodating lifestyle preferences or airline management’s endless quest for greater employee productivity. The goal of any regulatory change in our industry should be to enhance safety.”

In critiquing the ARC recommendations he said: “Sometimes what may sound like a reasonable plan within the confines of a conference room just isn’t suitable for the unforgiving world of commercial aviation, where split-second decisions can make the difference between life and death. There’s no substitute for well-rested, properly trained pilots at the controls when something goes wrong, as the ‘miracle on the Hudson’ illustrated so dramatically. Conversely, when a crew that for whatever reason is not capable of peak performance finds itself in a challenging situation, common sense tells you that the risk of an adverse outcome increases considerably.”

Hill noted that the specific demands of the airline pilot profession contribute to fatigue. These demands include circadian rhythm disruption and back-side-of-the-clock operations; dealing with high-traffic environments, mountainous terrain and inclement weather; communicating with foreign air traffic controllers with limited English-speaking skills; and pressurized, re-circulated cabin air. Other unique stresses that can exacerbate fatigue include pilots’ limited control over their schedules for meals, rest breaks, bathroom usage and other basic physiological functions.

Despite all this, the public – and Congress – expect a vastly changed safety environment to result from Colgan and, without a doubt, that will happen, but it is largely up to the airlines to address the pilot experience issue and it will be interesting to see what concrete programs they will develop if there are to avoid the ATP proposal.


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