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HR 3371 Aviation Safety Bill
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Press Release
T&I 'Big 4' Introduce Aviation Safety Bill
Bipartisan legislation H.R. 3371 focuses on pilot issues
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July 29, 2009
By Jim Berard 202-226-5064
The bipartisan leadership of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Subcommittee on Aviation today introduced legislation to enhance airline safety by setting new training and service standards for commercial pilots.
Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (Minn.) and Ranking Member John A. Mica (Fla.) were joined by Subcommittee Chairman Jerry F. Costello (Ill.) and Subcommittee Ranking Member Thomas E. Petri (Wis.) in introducing H.R. 3371, The Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009. The bill follows hearings held by the Subcommittee on pilot issues and their relationship to aviation incidents.
"This legislation will go a long way to improve aviation safety by increasing pilot training requirements, addressing pilot fatigue, making pilot records easier to obtain, and strengthening FAA's safety programs," Oberstar said. "We must maintain constant vigilance over airline safety to ensure there is one level of safety across the industry."
"Despite an excellent overall aviation safety record, we have a responsibility to make sure that every aspect of our aviation system is as safe as it can be," said Mica. "Unfortunately, most of our recent commercial aviation crashes have involved commuter aircraft. It is essential that Congress act to ensure the safety of the flying public, and the bipartisan measures adopted in this bill will address some of the safety issues that have been raised. DOT is now seven months late with their annual NTSB Most-Wanted Recommendations Report. This is an unacceptable failure, and the bill emphasizes the importance of these reports by requiring an annual DOT report on NTSB's commercial airline safety recommendations."
"Our bill is a comprehensive effort to consolidate what we know industry-wide about aviation safety to improve safety performance going forward," said Costello. "The more we looked at these issues, the more it became apparent that information about pilot training and safety programs is not readily available. There is a lot of information regarding industry best practices that is not being shared. This bill not only increases pilot training standards, but it seeks to identify what airlines are doing right in regard to safety and make this information a resource for others."
"The Buffalo crash and the subsequent Aviation Subcommittee hearing revealed some troubling questions in terms of training, development and the working environment of pilots - particularly at regional airlines," said Petri. "This bill attempts to close some of the identified gaps and ensure that all travelers can be confident that we have a uniform level of safety, no matter what plane or airline they are flying."
In brief, the bill:
. Requires FAA to ensure that pilots are trained on stall recovery, upset recovery, and that airlines provide remedial training.
. Requires airline pilots to hold an FAA Airline Transport Pilot license (1,500 minimum flight hours required).
. Establishes comprehensive pre-employment screening of prospective pilots including an assessment of a pilot's skills, aptitudes, airmanship and suitability for functioning in the airline's operational environment.
. Requires airlines to establish pilot mentoring program, create Pilot Professional Development Committees, modify training to accommodate new-hire pilots with different levels and types of flight experience, and provide leadership and command training to pilots in command.
. Creates a Pilot Records Database to provide airlines with fast, electronic, secure access to a pilot's comprehensive record. Information will include pilot's licenses, aircraft ratings, check rides, Notices of Disapproval and other flight proficiency tests.
. Directs FAA to update and implement a new pilot flight and duty time rule and fatigue risk management plans to more adequately track scientific research in the field of fatigue. It also requires air carriers to create fatigue risk management systems approved by FAA.
The bill also requires the Department of Transportation Inspector General to study and report to Congress on whether the number and experience level of safety inspectors assigned to regional airlines is commensurate with that of mainline airlines, mandates that the first page of an Internet website that sells airline tickets disclose the air carrier that operates each segment of the flight, directs a National Academy of Sciences study on pilot commuting and fatigue, and requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide an annual report to Congress on what the agency is doing to address each open National Transportation Safety Board recommendation pertaining to commercial air carriers.
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Posted on Friday, July 31, 2009
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