After the Colgan crash in 2009 the families of those who lost a loved one lobbied the lawmakers in order to increase the safety standards of the airlines. Because of the crash of flight 3407 (colgan crash of 2009) it showed many gaps in the airline system that could have prevented the crash and in return save lives. Since there was a problem Obama signed the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010. This act changed many safety standards, some of the highlights being a change in pilot duty periods in order to reduce fatigue, all airline pilots must hold an ATP (Airline Transport Pilot certificate) which increases the hours needed to be a pilot for an airline, and requiring that pilots are trained to recover from stalls and other unusual attitudes. These are just a few changes from the act that are now in place.
Although my dream job is not to be an airline pilot, that doesn't mean that the door is completely closed. However many of my friends are longing for the day that they work for their airline of choice, and this rule postpones that date for them because of the new ATP requirements going from only 250 flight hours to 1,500 flight hours minimum. This also effects not only Eastern Michigan's Eagle Flight Centers training but any flight school as well. Students will work their way up to Certified Flight Instructor and start applying to schools to be a CFI, but there's no room for them because the CFI's that are currently working there are stuck until they reach the minimum hours to eventually find that airline job they have been dreaming about. After discussing this topic before with my fellow aviation friends it seems silly to hire someone that has about 1,500 hours of flying to the practice area and back. Yes, they may have gone on a few cross countries with students, and back when they were working on their commercial rating experienced a few cross countries on their own but the majority is to the same area and back over and over again. Although the intention is good, does this specific rule actually increase the safety of the airlines?
One could say that in the extra hours required the pilot has a chance to experience problems while flying when there are fewer people at risk. An example of this could be if a pilot experiences an engine failure, through the experience they realized that staying calm and utilizing their checklist saved not only their life but the airplanes as well. However this is taught to a pilot in flight training on multiple occasions, but to live the experience and make believe the experience is two different things. However when you're flying as an airline pilot just starting out you don't have 1,500 hours in that aircraft and will be flying in areas that you may have never experienced. If you have an engine failure then it's going to be different then an engine failure in a training aircraft at the practice area that you know better than the back of your hand.
Do I agree with changing the flight hours in order to obtain the ATP? Yes I do, but I think 1,500 hours is too much. Maybe in increase from 250 hours to 500-700 hours makes a bit more sense. Being a pilot with just over 300 hours I can tell you that I am not ready to take on the responsibility of flying for airlines, but in about another hundred hours or two I might be. I think a lot of the changes that were created in this act were because of the Colgan crash in 2009. The crash is absolutely horrible and my heart goes out to those who have lost a loved one. However, I think some of these rules are just strangling pilots more with the rules and restrictions that are being put in place. The intentions are good, but I think it's a bit much.
Assignment due Sunday, December 9th
11 years ago
This is a really interesting summary of the Extension Act and the PBS website. What they oddly haven't mentioned is that the 1,500 hour requirement for ATP under 61.159 never changed. The 250 hours mentioned by PBS seems to be out of 61.129, and the way they said it is ambiguous. Even the Act was unclear on that point. I do agree that a 700-hour minimum would be worth considering.
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the point that someone from a program like that of EMU's may qualify for a reduction to 1000 hours to obtain an ATP. One interesting point that nobody has yet to bring up is that fact the other countries have or have discussions of the MPL (multi-crew pilot's license). This is a pilot's license that allows a pilot to fly for an airline with minimal hours, however, the hours are specific to the type of environment that one would be flying in - for example, airline environment. It's a move in the opposite direction of this legislation. Granted, there are restrictions with the MPL, but the question should be addressed: why are we moving in seemingly the opposite direction as the rest of the world in terms of pilot qualifications? Not to say that that is necessarily incorrect...
ReplyDeleteI think there is a misperception about pilot experience in the public eye. When we say someone has "250 hours" flight time, it really sounds like someone went out flying for a couple weeks straight and then became an airline pilot. The requirements, the way they are worded, don't convey that it takes years to get a commercial license.
DeleteI think the reason we are moving in the direction that we are is because the general public caught wind of these extremely low time pilots flying around for airlines, I think this is just a cover up regulation to make the public flying on these flights happy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your concern: "does this specific rule actually increase the safety of the airlines." Personally, I don't think it does. Safety is hard to regulate, and more laws don't necessarily make us safer. Hours are the same way. More hours don't necessarily make a pilot more knowledgeable.
ReplyDeleteVery good point on the fact that when someone becomes a CFI there is very little “experience” gained in flying to the practice area and back. Yes there could be times where they encounter serious problems such as engine failures, but no one has control of that. A pilot that has 5000 hours and a pilot that has 1500 can go through all that flight time with both having only one serious situation that they have been through.
ReplyDelete