To say, "well that's the way it is" is not acceptable to me. Then I guess once in a while we'll just drive some aircraft into the ground because guys are flying around tired. Hopefully your loved ones aren't on board or in the house they crash into.
The FAA could do a few things just off the top of my head to help reduce fatigue:
1) minimum experience requirements for pilots in 121 operations. Raise the experience required so that regionals are forced to hire guys that have other options (in normal economic conditions) than just working for Mesa. That would kill 2 birds with one stone. First, it would get rid of 300 hour guys who, in my opinion, have no business flying in the right seat of anything a 121 operator flies. Second, it might put upward pressure on entry level wages as regionals would have a smaller pool of pilots to choose from.
2) Get rid of some of the more onerous rest rules. 15 hour duty days for pilots? GMAFB. At 12 hours, the parking brake should be set, period. Min rest block to block? Nope. It should be 9 hours (at least), in the hotel room, as determined by the PIC who will notify the 121 operator when he has arrived in his room and when his crew rest commences. If they can trust him to fly a 30M jet, they can trust him to call when his rest starts.
I realize flying airplanes can sometimes be fatiguing (off body clock flying, international flying, etc.), but the airline industry and the FAA shouldn't be ADDING to the inherent fatigue levels that are inherent in airline operations by lackadaisical standards and practices.
The FAA could do a few things just off the top of my head to help reduce fatigue:
1) minimum experience requirements for pilots in 121 operations. Raise the experience required so that regionals are forced to hire guys that have other options (in normal economic conditions) than just working for Mesa. That would kill 2 birds with one stone. First, it would get rid of 300 hour guys who, in my opinion, have no business flying in the right seat of anything a 121 operator flies. Second, it might put upward pressure on entry level wages as regionals would have a smaller pool of pilots to choose from.
2) Get rid of some of the more onerous rest rules. 15 hour duty days for pilots? GMAFB. At 12 hours, the parking brake should be set, period. Min rest block to block? Nope. It should be 9 hours (at least), in the hotel room, as determined by the PIC who will notify the 121 operator when he has arrived in his room and when his crew rest commences. If they can trust him to fly a 30M jet, they can trust him to call when his rest starts.
I realize flying airplanes can sometimes be fatiguing (off body clock flying, international flying, etc.), but the airline industry and the FAA shouldn't be ADDING to the inherent fatigue levels that are inherent in airline operations by lackadaisical standards and practices.
