Regional Pilots Share Their Stories

May 15, 2009— -- Leonard Cobb of Salt Lake City, a former regional pilot, said the public has no idea how tired pilots are.

Michael Zaite of Cleveland resigned from his job as a commuter pilot last October when handed a schedule that would have meant a net loss of monthly income, just three to five days at home each month, and an exhausting schedule.

"There were times when I started to get really uncomfortable going to work," Zaite said.

A former regional pilot who asked to remain anonymous and is now employed by a major carrier said commuter airline crews aren't up to par -- but added that the employees aren't to blame, they just aren't getting the resources.

The men and women who have worked for regional airlines are speaking up about their experiences today, at the end of a week in which a hearing on February's plane crash in Buffalo shined a spotlight on the realities of their jobs. Since Thursday, ABC News has received nearly 100 e-mails from those with stories to share.

Watch "World News with Charles Gibson" TONIGHT at 6:30 p.m. ET for the full report.

This week's National Transportation Safety Board hearing on the Buffalo crash focused on how training, the pilot's failed flight tests, lack of sleep, low pay and cockpit chatter may have played a part in the crash that killed all 49 people on board, and one person on the ground. NTSB member Kitty Higgins called some of the conditions at Colgan Airlines "a recipe for an accident."

But many now suggest the picture painted at Colgan Air was not an anomaly. Several said the regional carriers -- often perceived as the farm teams where pilots and crew members gain experience before working on larger commercial jets -- aren't making the grade.

"In the interest of cost cutting, the commuter airlines seem to be overworking and underpaying their pilots," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told ABC News. "The training doesn't seem to be full and adequate."

The regional airline industry has doubled in size in the last 14 years. Now, nearly a quarter of all passengers flying on any given day in the United States are flying a regional carrier. Still, in the past seven years, more than 150 people have lost their lives in regional airline accidents in the United States compared to just one in a major carrier.

After several commuter plane crashes in the early 1990s, rules took effect in 1997 that created more stringent requirements for commuter planes. They now have to follow the same rules as the major carriers.

Pilots can be on duty 16 hours per day, which includes time not spent flying, such as preparing the plane and monitoring weather reports. They can fly only eight hours in a 24-hour period. The FAA also requires 250 hours of flying time for pilot hires, though it says industry practice is usually higher, with many logging at least 500 hours.

"This is all one industry," Roger Cohen, president of the Regional Airline Association said Thursday, "one level of safety. And that's something the industry is committed to 24-7."