FAA plans new safety rules for regional airlines
WASHINGTON -- Federal aviation regulators and airlines Monday agreed to take emergency actions to improve safety at regional carriers in response to concerns over poor piloting and fatigue in recent accidents.
Using unusually tough language, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) chief Randy Babbitt said that safety among the smaller airlines is not always equal to their major counterparts, and he vowed to use his position to increase pressure for broad improvements.
"The last few months, quite frankly, are an indication that some things aren't right," said Babbitt, who took office just two weeks ago.
A hearing last month into a regional airline crash near Buffalo on Feb. 12 that killed 50 people revealed that the pilots had been chatting about work conditions during a critical phase of flight — a violation of federal rules. The pilots also had not gotten a full night's rest before reporting to work. The captain had previously failed five tests of his piloting skills.
After a day-long meeting with about 50 government, union and airline officials, the FAA said it plans to:
• Write new regulations on how many hours pilots can work. Several efforts in recent decades have failed, but Babbitt said, "We will get a new rule."
• Pressure all airlines to adopt safety programs that closely monitor data from every flight.
All the major carriers use such programs, but many regional carriers do not.
• Improve the ability of airlines to research the flying records of pilots before they are hired. Currently, airlines are only required to look at a prospective pilot's records at other carriers for the past five years. USA TODAY reported last week that at least one pilot in eight of the last nine regional airline accidents had previously failed multiple flight tests.
• Conduct a review by airlines and pilot unions into pilot training.
Babbitt acknowledged that the actions were all either voluntary or new rules that could take years to finalize. But he insisted that he would pressure carriers to ensure action. "Voluntary means now," he said.
