FAA wants improved pilot training, safety

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top aviation regulators demanded Monday that regional airlines take immediate steps to improve pilot training and safety in the wake of the accident in February that killed 50 people.

Spurred by revelations of pilot fatigue, low pay and catastrophic mistakes, the government called airline, union and aviation industry leaders to a one-day summit. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt said they expected action by the end of the day.

"Every one of us here has the responsibility to prevent accidents like this from happening again," LaHood told the group as the session opened.

A hearing last month into the Colgan Air crash near Buffalo on Feb. 12 exposed pilots who had been chatting about work conditions during a critical phase of flight — a violation of federal rules — and who had not gotten a full night's rest before reporting to work.

The National Transportation Safety Board has not released final findings on the crash, but data released during the hearing indicate that the captain on the flight pulled the plane into a steep climb that prompted it to go out of control — the opposite action suggested by cockpit warning devices going off at the time.

Babbitt said the accident and others revealed "cracks in the system" that are "not acceptable in this day and age."

The FAA will update its guidance to airlines strongly urging them to get complete records of the results of every flight-skills test that pilots have taken before hiring them, Babbitt said. Currently, airlines must check a pilot applicant's records for five years and only those tests taken at another carrier.

USA TODAY reported last week at least one pilot involved in eight of nine regional airline accidents during the past decade had failed multiple tests of flying skill before the crashes. Pilots must pass a series of "check rides" before applying for airline jobs and then typically take several each year they are employed.

Babbitt said one of the lessons recent accidents have taught regulators is that "we need to know more about pilot performance during check rides over a pilot's entire career."

Babbitt, in one of his first actions since taking office June 1, said regional airlines need to adopt the industry's best methods for pilot training and operation.

"Good ideas can't stay on the shelf. They need to get from concept to cockpit as quickly as we can get them there," he said.

Airlines have so far embraced the government's call for action. The Regional Airline Association issued a statement Monday saying that it supports several steps to improve safety.

The group endorsed several steps to make it easier to check a pilot's records before being hired by an airline, said a press release. It also wants to study ways to minimize the effects of fatigue and the lengthy commutes that pilots frequently make before reporting to work.

"We are confident that progress can and will be made," the statement read.