SAFETY BILL PASSES CONGRESS; IMPOSES SIGNIFICANT BURDEN ON ALL PILOT EMPLOYERS; MANDATES NEW FLIGHT, DUTY & REST RULES
August 4, 2010
What’s At Issue
The U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 5900, the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Extension Act of 2010.
Why It’s Important
H.R. 5900 extends FAA’s funding authority for an additional 60 days. The legislation also contains numerous safety provisions addressing pilot training and fatigue in response to a hearing held by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure regarding the crash of Flight 3407 in Buffalo, New York.
Some of these safety provisions will significantly impact air charter operators as well as flight schools and others who employ pilots.
Major Provisions
The legislation contains the following provisions:
- A Pilot Records Database is created to provide air carriers with electronic access to a pilot’s comprehensive record. This effectively replaces the Pilots Records Improvement Act (PRIA).
- The law seems to require anyone (except for the armed forces) who employs a pilot to submit certain records to the FAA “promptly” for inclusion in the database. This includes employers such as airlines, charter operators, flight schools and corporate flight departments. This is required even if the pilot doesn’t intend to work for a commercial airline in the future.
- Under PRIA, non-air carrier employers only needed to respond to a request for records if one is made by a potential air carrier employer. Under the new requirement, all employers must continually update the database with records for as long as a pilot is employed.
- The types of records that need to be reported include records related to training qualification, proficiency, competence, disciplinary action and release from employment.
- Air carriers must access the FAA database prior to allowing anyone to serve as a pilot.
- The FAA is required to issue regulations to implement this new program. At the time the new program becomes effective, the PRIA requirements will no longer exist.
- The FAA is required to issue flight and duty time regulations. A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) is required to be published no later than 180 days after enactment. A final rule is due no later than one year after enactment.
- Air carriers, ticket agents and others selling transportation are required under the law to disclose to passengers/customers the name of the air carrier providing the transportation. NATA is in communication with the Department of Transportation to determine to what extent this applies to the air charter operators and brokers.
- The FAA is required to establish several committees and task forces to examine numerous issues related to pilot training, voluntary safety programs, and other pilot safety matters.
- The FAA is required within 90 days to issue an NPRM to require Part 121 air carriers to implement safety management systems (SMS).
- Airline pilots are required to hold an FAA airline transport pilot (ATP) license (1,500 minimum flight hours required), including second-in-command flightcrew. The FAA is required to publish regulations to implement this provision within three years after enactment of the bill.
- The law permits the FAA to consider allowing certain academic training hours that may increase the level of safety above the minimum requirements to be counted towards the 1,500-hour ATP certificate requirement.
- The FAA is required to publish regulations to implement this provision within three years after enactment of the bill.
NATA Position
NATA is concerned with the arbitrary number of hours (1,500) established for a pilot to work for an air carrier. The number of hours a pilot flies does not directly correlate to a safer, more experienced pilot in commercial aircraft, rather it is the quality and relevance of the pilot’s experience that should be the primary factor.
NATA is very troubled by the establishment of the pilot records database, particularly the additional burdens to submit pilot data regularly imposed on every entity that employs a pilot.
The mandate to publish new pilot work hours regulations under such a compressed schedule is also concerning. Crewmember flight, duty and rest requirements are a significant issue, and NATA believes rules with such a substantial impact on the entire aviation industry should not be subjected to arbitrary deadlines.
Status
H.R. 5900 was signed into law by President Obama on August 1, 2010.
Click here to review H.R. 5900.
Click here for a pdf of this release.
Staff Contacts: Kristen Moore
Director, Legislative Affairs
kmoore@nata.aero
Jacqueline Rosser
Director, Regulatory Affairs
jrosser@nata.aero