Earns Thumbs-Up From NBAA

Randy Babbitt's Senate hearings for confirmation as Administrator of the FAA started yesterday in Washington DC. It quickly became apparent that the February 12th crash of Continental Connections Flight 3407 will be a major issue in the process.
 
The Buffalo News reports Babbitt faced several questions about ther tragedy, in a room where some family members of victims were on hand. He commented on the growth of regional airlines, and declining experience levels among regional pilots. Quote - "All of this adds together to make an environment that exposes them to a lot higher risk levels...and I think we are probably going to have to go back and look at some of this."
 
Babbitt has some credibility on the issue. In the early '90s, as president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Babbitt sought a single set of standards for both major airlines and the regionals, under a program called "One Level of Safety."

In the meantime, Babbitt has gotten a thumbs-up from the NBAA -- following the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's unanimous approval of Babbitt as the next administrator for the FAA.. "The National Business Aviation Association commends the Commerce Committee on its approval of Randy Babbitt's nomination to be FAA Administrator. As a pilot, he has operational knowledge of our air transportation system. He also brings recognized expertise to our highly complex policy issues. As the nation's air transportation system faces many immediate challenges, all of us in the business aviation industry know that Randy will be able to hit the ground running at this critical point in the evolution of our system. We look forward to working with him to achieve our shared goal of leading the world in aviation."

Babbitt's nomination must still be considered by the full Senate to complete the confirmation process.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ntsb.gov