SCHUMER TO FAA: REJECT STEALTH CAMPAIGN BY AIRLINE INDUSTRY TO WATER DOWN FLIGHT SAFETY RULES ENACTED IN RESPONSE TO FLIGHT 3407 TRAGEDY

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Today, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer released a letter to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt urging him to reject a formal advisory group's recommendation to scale back the 1,500 hour training requirement that Schumer successfully guided into law this summer in response to the Flight 3407 tragedy near Buffalo. According to reports, the FAAcommissioned panel, which is headed by a representative of the regional airline industry, is proposing a training requirement of merely 500 hours. Today, in a letter, Schumer urged Administrator Babbitt to reject the proposal and follow the clear intention of Congress.  

"It's outrageous that before the ink is even dry on this new law, the airline industry is already waging a campaign to undermine the very safety standards designed to prevent future tragedies like Flight 3407," Schumer said. "Congress was crystal clear when it said that 1,500 training hours was the minimum level   required for new pilots and I'll be fighting right alongside the 3407 families to make sure that's the case."

A recent report revealed that an airline industry and labor coalition is lobbying the Federal Aviation Administration to ignore the clear Congressional intent in The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, which mandates that flight crewmembers obtain an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license with a minimum 1,500 hours of inflight experience.   The language, which the President signed into law on August 1, 2010, makes very clear that FAA is to craft a regulation to modernize the requirements of the ATP license, including the 1,500 hour requirement, and extend those requirements to all copilots flying commercial passengers. Today, Schumer asked that the FAA disregard the efforts of industry insiders who are undoubtedly acting out of their own best interests, and not in the interests of the flying public.

The crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York was a tragic reminder that the aviation industry has room for improvements in safety.   The passage of The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 signaled a longawaited revision of the country's laws governing aviation safety, specifically for regional airlines.   Section 217 of the law, which requires the 1,500 hours of training, is especially important to ensuring that all passenger airlines, both large commercial and regional, are held to the highest possible levels of safety.   The 1,500 hour training requirement will provide a longawaited update to the pilot training, which is necessary to guarantee that all pilots and flight crewmembers receive inflight training that is both abundant and rigorous.  

The full text of Schumer's letter to Administrator Babbitt can be seen below:

 

October 13, 2010

 

Dear Administrator Babbitt:

I write to express deep concern with a recent report that an airline industry and labor coalition is lobbying the Federal Aviation Administration to ignore the clear directive in PL 111216, The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, which mandates the flight crewmembers obtain an Airline Transport Pilot (ATP) license with a minimum 1,500 hours of inflight experience.   The language, which the President signed into law on August 1, 2010, makes very clear that FAA is to undertake a rulemaking to modernize the requirements of the ATP license, including the 1,500 hour requirement, and extend those requirements to all copilots flying commercial passengers. I ask that FAA put the safety of the flying public ahead of the interests of the industry insiders, and protect the 1,500 hour requirement that Congress legislated.   

The crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, New York was a tragic reminder that our aviation industry has room for improvements in safety.   The passage of PL 111216 signaled a longawaited revision of our country's laws governing aviation safety, specifically for regional airlines.   Section 217 is especially important to ensuring that all passenger airlines, both large commercial and regional, are held to the highest possible levels of safety.   FAA's ATP rulemaking will provide a longawaited update to the ATP certification process, which is necessary to guarantee that all pilots and flight crewmembers receive inflight training that is both abundant and rigorous.  

I strongly believe that FAA must not waver in undertaking this rulemaking; it must be done expeditiously and with great rigor.   While some folks with a vested interest in cutting airline costs would argue that 1,500 hours is too harsh a requirement, I would point to the National Transportation Safety Board findings that the crash of Colgan Flight 3407 was attributable largely to pilot inexperience and error.  

Thank you for your attention to the important matter.   If you have any questions or need additional information please contact my Washington, DC office at 2022246542.

Sincerely,

 

Charles E. Schumer