Cite Safety Concerns For New Hires Of Airline Pilots

The chair of the House Aviation Subcommittee and a Democrat on the House Transportation Committee have written a letter to the DOT Inspector General urging close oversight of the development of a pilot record database called for in the Airline Safety Act.

The letter was written by Congressman Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ) (pictured), chair of the aviation subcommittee, and transportation committee member Rick Larsen (D-WA). In the letter, the two cite an IG report focused on the implementation of the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 (the “Airline Safety Act” - P.L. 111-216). In that report, the IG fond that "while important progress is being made, FAA has experienced delays in issuing rules required by the Airline Safety Act to provide more realistic pilot training and develop better processes for managing safety risks.  Most notably, you cautioned that FAA lacked a clear, long-term strategy for transitioning to a new electronic pilot records database, which would provide a single, comprehensive history of a pilot’s training, qualifications and proficiency."

LoBiondo and Larsen say that since that report was issued, the FAA has made progress in implementing provisions of the Airline Safety Act. "In July 2013, FAA issued a rule that substantially raised airline pilot qualifications—this is a significant achievement for the FAA and should provide pilots with a stronger foundation of knowledge and experience before they fly for commercial airlines," the Congressmen state. "Despite these advances, we are concerned about FAA’s lack of progress on the development of a pilot records database that will enhance the screening of newly hired pilots.  Therefore, we request that your office continue to monitor and examine FAA and industry’s progress in implementing the new database of pilot records mandated by the Airline Safety Act."

FMI: http://lobiondo.house.gov, http://larsen.house.gov