Airline Safety and FAA Act

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.

Safety Standards

Safety standards are different in every country, even in the aviation world each country has a different approach. Today there is a bare minimum standard that many countries use, however some argue as to if these standards are too low. The United States (of course) has led the world in aviation safety, therefore we take the standards and became extreme over achievers. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) have set these standards, now there's talk about raising them causing these other countries to meet them. Today ICAO has rules on what language is used, mandated rest requirements, accident investigations, and ways to help with runway safety which are just a few of the many rules they have put into place. ICAO has published an 80 page document that goes into wonderful detail of all they do.
The question is if the safety standard bar should be higher for those who meet the bare minimum. In the document it shows the accident rate compared to by regions. It shows the traffic amount in the region compared to the accident rate. Africa had the highest accident rate compared to their traffic rate, which begs the question as to if these standards are high enough. With africa having the worst score they had just over 1 million planes for traffic with 17 accidents. I think everybody would like to see this number being zero but if there were only 17 accidents (3 being fatal) with over a million flights the numbers aren't that bad. In order to make these numbers closer to zero there could be more rules on rest periods and maybe more standards on maintenance requirements. But honestly I think they should be left alone, if the country wants their numbers to be better, like the United States, then they would increase safety on their own.
It would be nice if other countries tried to better the safety of the aviation world especially in their own home, it could create more jobs by having more mechanics or hiring people to create a new procedures and implement them. But once again I think that it's the duty of the country to do that on their own.

Why Flying?

When I was younger, and still today, I was interested in space and flying but always figured you had to be the next Einstein in order to become a pilot. I went through several job ideas from want to be a nurse, to an architect, to even a truck driver. Then I started to search more into aviation and the different career paths and thought because of my gift in math that aerospace engineer would be a good choice. It wasn't until my junior year of high school that I was given the opportunity to take a class where we had to interview someone in the field that we wanted to go in. There weren't many options near by for aerospace engineer so my dad suggested that we go talk to a pilot and interview him for the class. Eventually the teacher gave me permission to do so and lucky for me it was one of the best experiences of my life.

We all selected a date to meet up and so I met him at some airport where he did some side flight instructing at. After asking all the question I needed he offered to take me up in the cessna they had in the hanger. My dad the guy I interviewed and myself all climbed in and departed for a discovery flight. After we got to an altitude he asked if I wanted to take over and fly a bit. Once he said "okay your controls" I looked out the window with full control of the aircraft and everything became brighter. It is actually quite silly, the sky had a mystic yellow glow to it and everything around me disappeared. Just me and the aircraft! We then went and flew over my house and the church that we all go to as well as did a touch and go at Toledo Express, then he asked if I like roller coasters and we experienced a couple G's. It was an experience I'll never forget, it was the day that I realized that I  needed to fly and have aviation in my life in order for me to feel complete.

When I started at Eastern Michigan I already had my Private Pilots License which is really giving me the boost to finish my education in three years. I am fortunate enough to have my CFI and am now starting the path towards CFII. I will never say that it was easy getting to where I am, I am super lucky to have found my passion and to be skilled at it. I really want to help this world with my gift and it wasn't until recently that I had my "2x4 to the head" moment. I am feeling called to help those who need to travel for reasons beyond them such as medical purposes. For the longest time I wanted to  fly corporate, but now I am willing to take what ever I can find. I have a few years ahead of me to figure this all out and see where life is taking me, but I am excited and open to what is in store for me!

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