The NTSB Colgan report criticized the FAA for not doing enough to combat pilot distraction.
The Federal Aviation Administration today announced a final rule that changes commercial passenger airline pilot scheduling two years after the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407 killed 50 people where pilot fatigue and pilot distraction were likely causal factors. Whether the new rules will actually increase flight safety remains to be demonstrated.
The new regulations vary flight and duty time based on the time of day pilots begin their first flight, the number of scheduled flight segments and the number of time zones they cross. The previous rules included different rest requirements for domestic, international and unscheduled flights.
According to the FAA, those differences were not the same across different types of passenger flights, and did not take into account factors such as start time and time zone crossings. Critics of the FAA say that the agency often acts to promote the commercial interests of airlines ahead of its primary mission providing safety for paying passengers.
Under the new rules the so called flight duty period begins when a flightcrew member is required to report for duty, with the intention of flying and ends when the aircraft is parked after the last flight. It includes the period of time before a flight or between flights when a pilot is working without an intervening rest period.
Flight duty also now includes “deadhead” transportation when an airline employee travels free of charge often long distances to get to work, training in an aircraft or flight simulator, and airport standby or reserve duty if these tasks occur before a flight or between flights without a required rest period.
The FAA limits flight time – when the plane is moving under its own power before, during or after flight – to eight or nine hours depending on the start time of the pilot’s entire flight duty period. The rule sets a 10-hour minimum rest period prior to the flight duty period, a two-hour increase over the old rules. The new rule also mandates that a pilot must have an opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep within the 10-hour rest period.
The new rule attempts to address cumulative fatigue by placing weekly and 28-day limits on the amount of time a pilot may be assigned any type of flight duty. The rule also places 28-day and annual limits on actual flight time. It also requires that pilots have at least 30 consecutive hours free from duty on a weekly basis, a 25% increase compared to the old rules.
The estimated cost of this rule to the aviation industry is $297 million, but the benefits are allegedly between $247- $470 million. The FAA says that covering cargo operators under the new rule would be too costly compared to the benefits generated in this portion of the industry, ignoring the fact that airplane crashes also kill people on the ground, including the Colgan air tragedy.
