Newsstand - Cold Calculation: "Pilot Pushing" & Airline Safety vs Revenue

Todays WSJ front page bears an interesting, if not compelling story on American Eagle and the trial of a sacked pilot. It offers insight as to how airlines view and balance safety with the bottom line! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

Agency to tighten up enforcement of existing pilot rest rules
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/05/15/national0521EDT0457.DTL

The Air Transport Association, which represents major U.S. airlines, is sponsoring "Alertness Management in Flight Operations," a symposium dedicated to addressing what it calls alertness-management issues. Also, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is discussing the risk to air safety caused by pilot fatigue, and is trying to find consensus on flight time issues.
http://news.airwise.com/stories/2001/05/990702227.html

CAPA Calls on Congress to Investigate the FAA's Delay in Issuing New Pilot Flight and Duty Time Regulations
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010531/dcth038.html


AND:

Capt. Rich Rubin also asked for protection under a federal whistle-blower act for reporting what he called a company "experiment" with safety by reducing the flight crew from three to two pilots as of June 15.


http://www.cnn.com/2001/TRAVEL/NEWS/07/03/airlines.american.reut/index.html


[This message has been edited by doc (edited 07-03-2001).]

FAA Denies Airlines' Attempt to Evade Pilot Fatigue Rule; ALPA President Applauds Decision
WASHINGTON, July 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the Federal Aviation Administration denied the Air Transport Association and Regional Airline Association requests to defer enforcement of the Agency's pilot fatigue rule that limits a pilot's working day to 16 hours. The Airlines have persistently sought to change the fatigue rule so that pilots could work unlimited hours, placing economics above safety.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010710/dctu063.html

American Airlines fined over rest for pilots

By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

Federal aviation officials have fined American Airlines $285,000 for putting pilots in the cockpit without ensuring that the pilots had received a mandated rest period.

The Federal Aviation Administration notified American of the proposed penalty earlier this month and is set to announce the sanction within days, sources familiar with the case told USA TODAY.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washdc/july01/2001-07-19-american.htm

82% of Americans Rank Pilot Fatigue as Most Important Air Travel Concern

Pilots Group Urges FAA to Heed Public Opinion by Updating Current Flight and Duty Time Regulations

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010724/dctu006.html

Congress Weighs in Regarding Outdated Safety Regulations with Letter to FAA Recent Survey Found Pilot Fatigue is American Public's Chief Safety Concern

Mounting concern over the Federal Aviation Administration's failure to update decades-old flight and duty time regulations for pilots has prompted 31 Members of Congress to intervene with the FAA -- requesting they address the issue and inform the public of the status of their review. This action comes after frustrated members of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) asked Congress to step in and investigate the FAA's delay in stipulating new regulations to address pilot fatigue, a serious threat to air safety. CAPA, a coalition of airline unions representing 26,000 pilots at major U.S. airlines, has made pilot fatigue its top safety priority in 2001. A recent survey found that 82 percent of Americans rank pilot fatigue as their most important air travel concern.

``CAPA has been very vocal in trying to get the FAA to realize that its 1985 regulations are dangerously outdated. Air travel has exploded over the last 15 years, and it's just common sense that regulations need to keep up with the conditions that pilots face today,'' said Capt. Bob Miller, Chairman of CAPA. ``We are pleased that Members of Congress are also seeking answers from the FAA, and hope this motion will spur the FAA into action.''

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010806/dcm011.html

The airline pilot unions have lost a round in their fight for stricter enforcement on the number of hours a pilot is permitted to fly without relief, and they are turning to Congress for help.

The union at American Airlines complained to the Federal Aviation Administration a month ago that pilots on a flight from Dallas to Honolulu were sent on an unsafe route to try to keep the flight under eight hours, avoiding a requirement for a third pilot, but the agency ruled last week that the airline technically was complying with the limits.

http://chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0108060138aug06.story?coll=chi%2Dnewsnationworld%2 Dhed

Court to Hear Airlines' Challenge to 16 Hour Pilot Duty Limit

Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations Says Airlines More Concerned About Profits Than Safety

The following is released today by the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, 333 Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C., is scheduled to hear oral arguments on January 18, 2002 at 9:30 AM Eastern Standard Time regarding a lawsuit brought by the Air Transport Association (ATA) against the FAA. The major airlines, as represented by the ATA, are objecting to an FAA clarification of current crew-rest regulations that limits a pilot's duty day to 16 hours. The FAA believes that the airlines have been misapplying the regulations by requiring pilots to remain on duty indefinitely in certain instances.

Last May, the FAA gave the air carriers until November 17, 2001 to adjust their scheduling practices to comply with the clarified crew-rest regulation. However, the ATA responded by filing a lawsuit with the appellate court that challenged the FAA directive. On September 5, 2001, the court granted an ATA motion to stay FAA enforcement until the case was heard. The court will decide if the FAA interpretation constitutes a valid clarification of an existing rule, or an improper rule change, as contended by the ATA.

Scientific research has found that the performance of a person who has been awake for more than 17 hours is equivalent to that of a person with a blood alcohol concentration of .05 %, which would be legally drunk under current FAA regulations. After 16 hours of duty, a pilot is likely to have been awake for at least 18 - 20 hours, considering the time required for personal hygiene, dressing, eating, and the drive to the airport.

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/020116/daw031_1.html

Pilots Say Airlines Put 'Profits Before Safety'

Major US airlines were today accused by pilots of putting profits before safety, ahead of a legal challenge by the Air Transport Association over new rules on rest periods for cockpit crews.

http://news.airwise.com/stories/2002/01/1011213880.html