Topic 2: Individual and Industry Ramifications of Flight/Duty Regulations

The Colgan Air accident that occurred in 2009 gained a lot of attention from Congress, and the public, questioning whether training and experience levels of 121 carrier pilots are sufficient enough or not. This accident also brought up questions as to whether or not second in command pilots (SICs) and pilots in command (PICs) should be required to have the same number of flight hours and flight training requirements.  Since this event received so much attention, President Obama signed a public law into effect on August 1, 2010 to try and prevent future incidents of the same nature from occurring, and in my opinion, to simply make people feel safer when flying on a 121 carrier. (Pilot Cerfication, 2012).

This public law 111-216, known as the "Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010", was signed into effect on August 1, 2010 and contains two titles which each include multiple sections. The first title, Title I-- Airport and Airway Extension, has seven different sections that it addresses which range from funding, to air navigation facilities and research and development. The second title, Title II-- Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement, is more extensive and covers seventeen different sections expanding on ways to improve safety and training (Airline Safety, 2010).

Title II of this law has gotten the most attention because it affects a large number of people that are currently in the industry, and many that are seeking to join the workforce in the near future. Section 212 Pilot Fatigue., is one section of the law that I feel has the potential to affect me in my future career. One outcome of section 212 is the notice of proposed ruled making (NPRM) that the FAA released on February 27, 2012. This NPRM, if created into a final rule, would require SICs to hold an airline transport pilot (ATP) certificate (which training is also being modified to include 50 hours of multi-engine flight experience and completion of a new FAA-approved training program) with a type rating in their aircraft and also require 1,500 hours of pilot flight time. PICs will also be required to have a minimum of 1,000 hours of flight time as a pilot in U.S. air carrier operations. Currently SICs are only required to hold a commercial pilot certificate which requires just 250 hours of flight time and PICs are not required to have 1,000 hours of flight time as a pilot in U.S. air carrier operations (International, 2012).

I believe that this has the potential to affect my career in the future due to the increasing difficulty it will take to find pilots that meet these demanding requirements. I am not sure what position I will end up doing after I graduate, but if there is a shortage of pilots that meet the requirements to fill the slots, I believe the entire industry will be affected. I do not believe that raising the minimums for SICs is an entirely bad idea. I think that it is a good idea for all 121 pilots to have an ATP and a type rating for the aircraft in which they are flying. While I think requiring 1,500 hours is a little extreme, I do think that more than 250 hours should be a requirement. I know that most, if not all, airlines require more than 250 hours to become one of their pilots but putting it into the regulations is not a bad idea. Making the requirements for PICs more stringent also seems a little extreme to me.

This NPRM also has the potential to affect EMU's future in flight training. It states that the FAA is going to allow different hour requirements for a restricted privilege ATP certificate with airplane category multiengine class rating or type rating. It will allow military pilots to get their ATP with 750 hours, which does not benefit EMU, but it will also allow an ATP certificate to be achieved after 1000 hours for a graduate of a four-year aviation program who has received their commercial certificate and instrument rating from an affiliated part 141 program (Pilot Certification, 2012). This is where EMU can reap benefits from the NPRM. Since Eastern's aviation flight program is now operating under a 141 certificate, its' students will be eligible for this lower hour requirement. If this NPRM is signed into a final rule, EMU may see an increase in students attending for aviation degrees. I believe that this is a good move by the FAA. Having gone through some flight training at the eagle flight center, and almost the entirety of EMU's aviation management program now, I can say that I have been exposed to and educated in a lot of important aspects of the aviation environment. This is not to say that pilots who get their certificates and ratings from an FBO are not as good at flying as pilots who come out of a four-year program, but they do not have the thorough education in the other elements that are so important to aviation safety. 

It will be interesting to see if this NPRM, that came about from Public Law 111-216, is accepted or not and how the industry responds to it.

Thank you for reading,
Kyle Wagenknecht


References

Federal Aviation Administration. (2012, February 29). Pilot certification and qualification requirements for air carrier operations. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-02-29/pdf/2012-4627.pdf

International Association of Flight Training Professionals. (2012, March 21). The global impact of the FAA NPRM regarding pilot certification and qualification requirements for air carrier operations (U.S.).  Retrieved January 25, 2013 from http://iaftp.org/2012/03/the-global-impact-of-the-faa-nprm-regarding-pilot-certification-and-qualification-requirements-for-air-carrier-operations-u-s/

U.S. Congress. (2010, August 1). Airline safety and federal aviation administration expansion act of 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-111publ216/pdf/PLAW-111publ216.pdf