On February 12, 2009 Colgan Air flight 3407 crashed in Buffalo, New York killing 50 people. The main cause of this accident was fatigue and as a result, new and improved rules were implemented by the FAA. One of the old rules was that requirements for domestic, international and unscheduled flights were all different and now there is no difference between the types of operations, the new rules apply to all. Pilots must now sign a document confirming that they are "fit for duty" and are not allowed to fly if any sign of fatigue is reported. The flight duty period has more strict limits based around the number of flight segments along with the start of the duty day. One of the most important changes was the rest period which was at least 9 hours, minimum 8. The new rule states that the rest period is 10 hours, with the opportunity for at least 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep. (Houston, 2016) Also, the maximum flight time during the day is 9 hours and 8 for night flying.
Cargo operations are exempt from these new rules. They currently fly under old rules not requiring as much rest, permitting longer duty times and flying beyond 8 hours. I feel that the main reason for these rules not being implemented into cargo carriers is money. The FAA said it would cost the industry $550 million to implement them all around, outweighing safety benefits. However, Bill Trent, general counsel for the Independent Pilots Association, says that they overstated by at least $235 million. (Carroll, 2014) Another reason for this I feel is public perception. The public sees no need to alter the rules because there are not nearly as many people whose lives can be endangered should an accident occur.
I do think that cargo carriers should be under these new regulations. Fatigue is still an issue with those pilots as well as passenger pilots. There was an accident of a UPS Airbus A300-600 at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport in Alabama where both pilots were killed. At the NTSB hearing, the transcript of conversation showed that both pilots complained of being fatigued. One of them even said "It should be one level of safety for everybody," (Carroll, 2014) and I couldn't agree more. I realize that money is a huge factor in this but who are we to say that just because their aircraft is full of packages and not people there lives alone are less significant.
This could impact my career in a positive way by making it much safer for me to fly, having more rest and what-not. However, it could be harmful to my career. The more money that they are spending to implement the new rules means the less money they have for employees and they may need to downsize. It could even result in some companies having to shut down.
Carroll, J. R. (2014, March 13). UPS pilots urge more rest for cargo crews. Retrieved October 08, 2016, from http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/13/ups-pilots-urge more-rest-for-cargo-crews/6402615
Houston, S. (2016, March 1). FAA final rule on pilot duty and rest requirements. Retrieved October 08, 2016, from https://www.thebalance.com/faa-final-rule-pilot-duty-and-rest requirements-282927
While I agree with you that fatigue is an issue in aviation, I do not believe that the cargo industry should be placed under the new regulations. It would be better if the cargo industry had their own set of regulations dealing with duty time. A one size fits all approach does not work in an industry that is dynamic as aviation.
ReplyDeleteYou made a great point about stating that the new regulations could impact your career negatively. Yes, it would increase costs to the company but I did not think about that possibly taking money from our paychecks. The company would be more likely to downsize in my opinion than to cut the pilot's salaries. In the aviation industry anything is possible though.
ReplyDeleteI really like your perspectives on the issues at hand. I do feel that the regulations will cause a major issue for cargo pilots. I could see there being major wage cuts for cargo pilots since there will be a need for much more in the industry. I feel that every aspect of the industry has a right to their own rules that work for them. Airlines are much more prone to fatigue than the cargo industry.
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