FAA Announces New Reviews and Recommendations
According to a June 24th press release, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administration Randy Babbitt has announced a review of flight and rest rules. Further, he has issued a request to airlines and their unions to respond by July 31 with specific commitments to key topics concerning safety at regional and major airlines. The specific requests can be read in the PDF version of Babbitt’s letters here, here and below.
The press release, also available here and below, demonstrates the FAA’s commitment to dealing with the issue of pilot fatigue by giving itself a July 15 deadline for establishing an Aviation Rulemaking Committee. The committee will be tasked with creating recommendations for a new FAA flight time and rest rule by September 1.
New standards for the disclosure and communication of pilots’ records to their hiring airline are also part of the FAA’s commitment to review the relationships between regional and major airline carriers. In addition to working alongside Congress on updating the Pilot Records Improvement Act of 1996, the FAA expects carriers that contract with regional airlines to create programs for sharing both safety data and their most effective safety practices, according to its latest announcement.