Colgan Air Families Oppose Non-ATP Pilots in Commuter Cockpits

“Families of Flight 3407”, lobbying group centered around those lost in the Colgan Air crash in 2009, have weighed in on the application to provide commuter service by SkyWest Charters, LLC.

The group, represented by Takia Boujaoude, sent a letter to DoT Secretary Pete Buttigieg requesting that the administration deny SkyWest Charter’s request. The group objected to the proposed operation, taking issue with the possibility that the anticipated commuter service would use first officers without an Airline Transport Certificate under their belt. In a passively worded press release, the group credited the span of relative airline safety over the last 10+ years to their favored legislation passed in the wake of the crash.

“Citing the stellar commercial airline safety record since passage of the Airline Safety Act of 2010 which raised the minimum first officer qualifications and resulted in zero fatal commercial crashes since implementation, [Families of Flight 3407] stated strong opposition to any attempt to work around the existing law which has been so effective at saving lives," said Boujaoude. "The SkyWest Charter LLC application would permit the airline to offer scheduled charter flights to certain smaller communities while using first officer pilots with substantially lower qualifications than those currently required by the major and regional carriers under the regulations set forth in the 2010 Safety Act.”

The act famously increased the minimum time required to fly for scheduled air carriers by requiring an ATP certificate instead of a commercial one, effectively increasing the minimum experience required from a few hundred flight hours to a fairly firm requirement of 1,500 total time. (In an unusual twist of fate, the 24-year-old FO of Flight 3407 had 2,244 hours in her logbook). Initially, the industry was able to cope quite easily with the revamped requirements, still flush with airmen following a glut of military veterans and industry castoffs from the post-9/11 slump. But now, 13 years on, the looming retirement of the baby boomer generation has begun to put the spurs to industry flanks, with a shortfall of 12,000 pilots per year just to keep service at existing levels. Without enough ATP-legal airmen to go around, smaller operators will likely continue to try to provide smaller, more flexible service to outlying communities just as they had in days of yore: By filling the right seat with lower time commercial pilots eager for flight hours.

Without many ways to bridge the 1,250-hour experience gap for new entrants into the industry, the Flight 3407 group could very well be in for a Groundhog Day every few months, spurred to action whenever a regional or commuter airline begins to get a little too antsy about filling out their pilot corps. They have become no stranger to the congressional scene by now, making their opinions known whenever the prospect of non-ATP pilots touching an airliner yoke arises, even after a full decade of activity. But the group has proven tenacious in their focus, never wavering in their aim to ensure that every passenger aircraft is helmed by a high-time professional  -- which equates the quantity of their flight hours as an indicator of the quality of their skills... a determination known to be problematic throughout the pilot community.

"We know the consequences of a lower level of safety,” said one member. “We lost our loved ones - children, parents, spouses, siblings and others - because of the gap between the level of safety offered by the major carriers and the regional airlines in 2009. It is unbelievable that anyone would consider creating this scenario again. We hope that Secretary Buttigieg will keep what is working in place and deny this and any other attempt to bypass the minimum qualification standards."

FMI: www.3407memorial.com