A Vote On Amendment #7 Is Expected Early Next Week

A proposed amendment on pilot fatigue offered by Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) to the FAA Reauthorization Bill would exempt supplemental carriers, operating under 121 subpart S, from proposed changes to flight, duty and rest regulations. The FAA's recent NPRM recognizes that pilots are subject to the same biological principals regardless of the type of operations they fly. This amendment would require the FAA to develop a separate set rules for nonscheduled and cargo carriers.
 
CAPA says that Senator Inhofe's proposed legislation would have a negative impact on aviation safety by creating a second tier of flight and duty regulations running counter to the FAA's core principle of "One Level of Safety."  The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA), representing over 28,000 commercial passenger and all-cargo pilots has long advocated "One Level of Safety" for all commercial flight operations and does not support any form of carve-out to proposed fatigue regulations.
 
The organizations position is that the amendment is being pushed by the operators of non-scheduled air carriers and puts economic considerations before safety. This is a particularly critical point for our troops who utilize these carriers for their flights to and from duty stations overseas. Currently supplemental carriers fly 95% of military passengers. Our military personnel deserve the same level of safety as civilian passengers.

Senator Inhofe

According to CAPA, pilot fatigue is an ever-present threat to the safety of traveling public, and has been identified on the NTSB's "Most Wanted" list of regulatory changes for two decades. The FAA was charged by Congress to develop a set of comprehensive new rules utilizing the best available science, which would reduce the risks associated with fatigue, along with the hazards it presents to the safe conduct of commercial airline flight operations. We applaud the FAA for doing that.
 
CAPA says that Senators should ensure that regulators put safety before the economic interests of the airline industry. There must be a standard in place that provides one level of safety for the flying public and our military personnel alike.

FMI: www.capapilots.org