Congress to Hold News Conference to Announce Air Safety Improvement 2:30EST

[Nevets]

http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=973

 

[Nevets]

Highlights

Pilot training: ATP required 1500 hours min for hiring
Stall and upset recovery including stick pusher training
Pro standards - Pilot mentoring programs will be required
Electronic pilot record database will be required for record keeping it will go beyond the 5 years look back they have now
All Websites will be required to show which carrier will be operating the flight of the ticket you purchase
Requires the FAA to implement new rules. Also commissions the National Academy of Sciences to study commuting as it applies to fatigue

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Interesting stuff.

Is that Oberstar that just brought up Express/Pinnacle at Hibbing?

 

[ImbracableCrunk]

Hilarious: A Senator said he just got an email from the ATA while he's giving this press conference.

I hope the ATA finally loses (loooses? lewzez?) some ground on this.

 

[Crash Pad]

1500 hours/ATP minimum. Give it about five years and we finally have the leverage to make some money.

 

[Damich]

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-07-29-rwairsafe_N.htm

 

[Dubya]

1500 hours/ATP minimum. Give it about five years and we finally have the leverage to make some money.

Yeah, right. Pencil meet whip.

 

[Data]

Highlights

Pilot training: ATP required 1500 hours min for hiring
Stall and upset recovery including stick pusher training
Pro standards - Pilot mentoring programs will be required
Electronic pilot record database will be required for record keeping it will go beyond the 5 years look back they have now
All Websites will be required to show which carrier will be operating the flight of the ticket you purchase
Requires the FAA to implement new rules. Also commissions the National Academy of Sciences to study commuting as it applies to fatigue

Well, the flight schools will be loving this. Dan Waters and Derrick Dennis just returned from DC where they were stuffing fists full of cash in Nancy's pants...wait, no, she doesn't wear pants, Hillary does, pant suits, that's it. It's gotta be your bull.

 

[Nevets]

H.R. 3371 Summary

H.R. 3371, THE “AIRLINE SAFETY AND PILOT TRAINING IMPROVEMENT ACT OF 2009”

Pilot Training, Qualifications, Screening and Professional Development

Air Carrier Safety and Pilot Training Task Force

Establishes a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Task Force that will identify aviation industry best practices regarding: pilot training, pilot professional standards, and inter-carrier information sharing, mentoring and other safety-related practices.

The Task Force shall report to Congress every 180 days on air carrier progress implementing best practices, and make recommendations for legislative and regulatory action.

Implementation of National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Recommendations

Requires FAA to ensure that pilots are trained on stall recovery, upset recovery, and that airlines provide remedial training.

Mandates the FAA to convene a multidisciplinary panel on pilot training for stick pusher operations, and then take action to implement the recommendations of the panel.

Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide an annual report to Congress on what the agency is doing to address each open NTSB recommendation pertaining to part 121 air carriers.

Pilot Qualifications, Screening, Mentoring & Professional Development:

Requires airline pilots to hold an FAA Airline Transport Pilot license (1,500 minimum flight hours required).

Establishes comprehensive pre-employment screening of prospective pilots including an assessment of a pilot’s skills, aptitudes, airmanship and suitability for functioning in the airline’s operational environment.

Requires airlines to: establish pilot mentoring programs whereby highly experienced pilots will mentor junior pilots; create Pilot Professional Development Committees; modify training programs to accommodate new-hire pilots with different levels and types of flight experience; and provide leadership and command training to pilots in command (including complying with the “sterile cockpit rule”).

Airline Training Hour Requirements

Studies the best methods and optimal time needed in airline training programs for pilots to master necessary aircraft systems, maneuvers, and procedures; the length of time between training events including recurrent training; and the best methods to reliably evaluate mastery of systems, maneuvers and procedures.

Pilot Records Database

Creates a Pilot Records Database, within 90 days, to provide airlines with fast, electronic access to a pilot’s comprehensive record.

Information included in the database will include pilot’s licenses, aircraft ratings, check rides, Notices of Disapproval and other flight proficiency tests.

FAA will maintain the database and airlines will be able to access the database for hiring purposes only.

Fatigue

Flight and Duty Time Rule: Directs the FAA to update and implement new pilot flight and duty time rules and fatigue risk management plans within one year to more adequately track scientific research in the field of fatigue.

Fatigue Risk Management Systems: Requires air carriers, within 90 days, to create fatigue risk management systems approved by FAA to proactively mitigate pilot fatigue.

Commuting Study: Studies the impact of pilot commuting on fatigue and provides preliminary results after four months to the FAA to be considered as part of the flight and duty time rulemaking.

Voluntary Safety Programs

ASAP and FOQA: Directs the FAA to develop and implement a plan to facilitate the establishment of an Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) and a Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program by all commercial airlines and their unions.

Report: Requires FAA to report on ASAP, FOQA, Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA), and Advanced Qualification Program (AQP), which will include: an analysis of which airlines are using the programs or if they are using something comparable that achieves similar safety goals; how FAA will expand the use of the programs; and how FAA is using data from the programs as safety analysis and oversight tools for aviation safety inspectors.
Flight Schools, Flight Education and Pilot Academic Training Study

Directs the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of: current pilot academic training requirements compared to flight education provided by accredited two- and four-year universities and foreign academic requirements; FAA’s oversight of flight schools, and student loan options available to student pilots.

Other

FAA Safety Oversight by Inspectors: Requires the Department of Transportation Inspector General to study and report to Congress on if the number and experience level of safety inspectors assigned to regional airlines is commensurate with that of mainline airlines; and whether the various data sources that inspectors need to access to perform oversight of airlines can be streamlined into one data source.

Truth in Advertising: Mandates that at the first page of an Internet website that sells airline tickets to disclose to the purchaser of each ticket the air carrier that operates each segment of the flight.

Weather Event Training Panel: Requires the FAA to convene a multidisciplinary panel on pilot training for weather events including microburst, windshear and icing conditions.

 

[LowlyPropCapt]

The 1500 hour idea is a pretty good one... It is about time.

 

[Nevets]

H.R.3371

Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?c111:1:./temp/~c111Q9hrow:e1162:

 

[OPECJet]

HHHmmmm.... How do they plan to address the pilots currently flying that have less than 1500 hours? Can't really put that cat back in the bag.

 

[JustaNumber]

HHHmmmm.... How do they plan to address the pilots currently flying that have less than 1500 hours? Can't really put that cat back in the bag.

Good question. I'm sure they will be grandfathered in, but the real question is, will they be required to obtain the ATP in any given time frame?

 

[Nevets]

HHHmmmm.... How do they plan to address the pilots currently flying that have less than 1500 hours? Can't really put that cat back in the bag.

The bill says they will have 3 years from the date of enactment to get it.

 

[FORESTGUMP]

HHHmmmm.... How do they plan to address the pilots currently flying that have less than 1500 hours? Can't really put that cat back in the bag.

just about taken care of....can you say furloughed?

 

[Genital Leech]

Put them on a Leave of Absence until they meet the requirements. Screw grandfathering.

 

[Nevets]

Put them on a Leave of Absence until they meet the requirements. Screw grandfathering.

There is no grandfathering in the bill for anyone. Even pilots on currently employed will have to meet this requirement within 3 years of enactment.

 

[pdub20s]

There is no grandfathering in the bill for anyone. Even pilots on currently employed will have to meet this requirement within 3 years of enactment.

yea 1500hrs is 3 years wont be hard to to. Its only 42hr a month if you started from 0 hours

 

[JustaNumber]

There is no grandfathering in the bill for anyone. Even pilots on currently employed will have to meet this requirement within 3 years of enactment.

I guess it would have helped if I had read the bill. Not that the guys signing it will have read it...

 

[CFI2766]

This is promising...

I'd like to know exactly what shape the fatigue re-write will take. There will be huge pressure to make that part of the bill go away. Frankly, that part of the bill has the most promise to positively impact safety, IMHO.

 

[mitsdriver]

Just a thought. The bill talks about creating FAA database containing info about all checkride a pilot has taken, not just 121/135 checkrides. Will this deter people from getting "extracurricular" ratings such as seaplanes, gliders, balloons, etc. for the fear of exposing themselves to a possible checkride bust? If so, will it hurt the business of such schools? For those who happen to have a such bust in their record, will it hurt their airline career? If so, is that fair? (I don't think so)

 

[JustaNumber]

Just a thought. The bill talks about creating FAA database containing info about all checkride a pilot has taken, not just 121/135 checkrides. Will this deter people from getting "extracurricular" ratings such as seaplanes, gliders, balloons, etc. for the fear of exposing themselves to a possible checkride bust? If so, will it hurt the business of such schools? For those who happen to have a such bust in their record, will it hurt their airline career? If so, is that fair? (I don't think so)

Excellent points. However, hiring departments are not being told to accept or reject a certain number of busts, so as before, it will be a matter of judgement. The only change is, that judgement will now have to hold up to public scrutiny if a future accident occurs, as the airline won't be able to claim ignorance.

So I think common sense will prevail. If a pilot has had zero failures of the "basic" checkrides (pvt, inst., comm, atp), but busted his hot air balloon rating, he will probably be hired. If he failed his glider, seaplane, instrument, and atp checkrides, he probably should not be hired.

 

[mitsdriver]

Excellent points. However, hiring departments are not being told to accept or reject a certain number of busts, so as before, it will be a matter of judgement. The only change is, that judgement will now have to hold up to public scrutiny if a future accident occurs, as the airline won't be able to claim ignorance.

So I think common sense will prevail. If a pilot has had zero failures of the "basic" checkrides (pvt, inst., comm, atp), but busted his hot air balloon rating, he will probably be hired. If he failed his glider, seaplane, instrument, and atp checkrides, he probably should not be hired.

You're absolutely right. However, the public perception and the media won't have much of that common sense.

If, God forbid, there's another accident in which pilot error is an issue, and the media finds out that the said pilot had a failed checkride in a balloon once (out of otherwise exemplary record), they will have a field day with it. As unfair as that may be.

I can almost hear those cable TV newscasters now: "My God! They hired someone who couldn't even handle a hot air balloon and put him/her in charge of a multi-million dollar jet! How could someone let this happen?!?!"

 

[lionflyer]

You're absolutely right. However, the public perception and the media won't have much of that common sense.

If, God forbid, there's another accident in which pilot error is an issue, and the media finds out that the said pilot had a failed checkride in a balloon once (out of otherwise exemplary record), they will have a field day with it. As unfair as that may be.

I can almost hear those cable TV newscasters now: "My God! They hired someone who couldn't even handle a hot air balloon and put him/her in charge of a multi-million dollar jet! How could someone let this happen?!?!"

I know I would totally phuqup a hot air balloon.