New FAA rules will provide more rest time for pilots 9:26 AM CT
[SIZE=-1]09:26 AM CDT on Friday, September 10, 2010
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[SIZE=-1]By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected][/SIZE]
Airline pilots will get more time to rest while they’re on a trip, and more hours of rest when they’re between assignments, according to new rules on pilot rest and fatigue being released today.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood , on his blog, revealed some details of the new rules, to be formally announced in a joint press conference with Federal Aviation Administration head Randy Babbitt at noon Dallas time.
LaHood said pilots will get nine hours to rest every day, up from the eight hours required at present.
In addition, airlines must give a pilot 30 consecutive hours free from duty each week, up from 24 hours at present.
"The proposed rule also gives pilots the right to decline an assignment if they feel fatigued – without penalty," LaHood said.
FAA and DOT officials have been working with airlines, pilot unions and safety experts to come up with new rules after a late-night crash of a Colgan Air flight near Buffalo, N.Y., in February 2009.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the probable cause was pilot error, but testimony and evidence showed that the pilots may have been tired, with the first officer commuting cross country the night before her flight.
LaHood said DOT is proposing “one consistent rule for domestic, international, and unscheduled flights.”
He also said the rules will provide “different requirements based on time-of-day, number of scheduled segments, flight types, time zones, and likelihood that a pilot is able to sleep.”
[SIZE=-1]09:26 AM CDT on Friday, September 10, 2010
[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]By TERRY MAXON / The Dallas Morning News
[email protected][/SIZE]
Airline pilots will get more time to rest while they’re on a trip, and more hours of rest when they’re between assignments, according to new rules on pilot rest and fatigue being released today.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood , on his blog, revealed some details of the new rules, to be formally announced in a joint press conference with Federal Aviation Administration head Randy Babbitt at noon Dallas time.
LaHood said pilots will get nine hours to rest every day, up from the eight hours required at present.
In addition, airlines must give a pilot 30 consecutive hours free from duty each week, up from 24 hours at present.
"The proposed rule also gives pilots the right to decline an assignment if they feel fatigued – without penalty," LaHood said.
FAA and DOT officials have been working with airlines, pilot unions and safety experts to come up with new rules after a late-night crash of a Colgan Air flight near Buffalo, N.Y., in February 2009.
The National Transportation Safety Board ruled that the probable cause was pilot error, but testimony and evidence showed that the pilots may have been tired, with the first officer commuting cross country the night before her flight.
LaHood said DOT is proposing “one consistent rule for domestic, international, and unscheduled flights.”
He also said the rules will provide “different requirements based on time-of-day, number of scheduled segments, flight types, time zones, and likelihood that a pilot is able to sleep.”