Late yesterday, by a vote of 93-0, the Senate (finally) passed the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act.  The FAA has been authorized by short-term extensions since 2007, it took a lot to get to this point.

Just this year:

• FAA is now under its twelfth short-term authorization, valid until the start of July.
• Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) had put a hold on the bill, due to his interest in protecting FedEx from unionization.  On March 11, he lifted his hold, because language changing labor laws, was removed (via tradingmarkets.com).
• Family members of the victims of Flight 3407 lobbied tirelessly for increased regulation and oversignt for regional airlines (via WGRZ).  Pilot training, pilot records and pilot fatigue are all addressed.

WKBW News has a good summary of what the Senate passed.  The next step is to resolve differences with the House version.  Hopefully it won’t take three months, but yesterday, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) said, “we have our work cut out for us,” to reconcile (via @AvWeekScho).

• Funding of NextGen, the future air traffic control system, is a point of contention for some interest groups.  Airlines will be required to pay for their onboard equipment (Seattle Times).  But, it is otherwise a very expensive project.   FAA defended the costs late last week (from nextgov).
• Use or not of passenger and facility fees is of interest to groups like the Air Transport Association and the American Association of Airport Executives, who are to have their voices heard as reconciliation begins.
• The labor law language Sen. Corker opposed will still need to be worked out.  More on the disputed items from GovExec.
• The Senate version includes a “Passenger Bill of Rights,” which aims to limit the time spent on the tarmac, in the event of delays.  Some airlines have said complying would be a hardship and, at certain airports, have already requested extensions (New York Times).

For everyone (legislators, staff, interest groups, industry, concerned citizens) who worked toward this for the last four years, thank you!  Although there is satisfaction, I imagine (and have heard) there is also a bit of resentment.  Four years is a long time to be operating in a tentative framework.  For the goverment agencies, it is especially difficult to operate with no long-term directive.  So, may this be the beginning of something better.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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This week, I had the opportunity to attend a screening in the GE Aviation Lecture series at the National Air and Space Museum.  Miles O’Brien and Patty Wagstaff were presenting a film they made about ongoing pilot training at the Kenyan Wildlife Service.  It was fascinating on many levels – the pilots, the wildlife, the poaching, the flying and training in rugged circumstances.  It was a packed house, including GE vice president of Washington operations, Sean O’Keefe.  I would have liked to have met Miles O’Brien, but it wasn’t to be that night.  His next project is with Frontline, a special on Continental Connection Flight 3407, including coverage of the subsequent legislative action.

Tough Economic Times

The recession has obviously taken it toll on the American public’s ability to use air travel the way they have in the past.  Airlines are seeing fewer passengers, cutting flights and operational expense wherever they can and are attempting to offset losses by charging for “extras.”

Last week, The New York Times ran a story on the toll the cuts have taken on one pilot and his family.  There was a letter to the editor following.  Michael Moore has also taken up the topic in his new film and on his blog.  And so too, it became a topic of discussion among our members this week.  Let us all realize that this is a specialized skill set that is expensive and time-consuming to attain.  And, we entrust pilots with our lives.  Over at Jetwhine, there is a post this week asking “Who Will Fly for America Tomorrow?” Good question!

Landing Issues

Okay, that heading may be an understatement.  Monday, a Delta flight mistakenly landed on a taxiway instead of the designated runway at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.  And, yesterday, a Northwest flight passed right by its Minneapolis destination.

The FAA is investigating what could have been a very dangerous situation in Atlanta (via wbstv.com).  On the Northwest flight, the pilots claimed to have been discussing or arguing about airline policy (via NPR News and AP).  Although it has since been suggested that they may have been napping.  Since they did not have contact with controllers for over an hour, there was some initial concern that it could have been a hijack situation. Pending further investigation by the NTSB, the pilots have been suspended.

Briefly:

118 House members have signed a letter to President Obama encouraging the removal of user fees as a revenue source in the FAA Reauthorization Act.  The letter can be found here (via AOPA).  Business interests favor retaining the existing fuel tax structure, as it requires less administration.

A baby born on an AirAsia flight on Wednesday will get free flights for life (via Yahoo! News and AFP)!

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Given the short period of time I’ve been at this, I need to find a way to better balance this responsibility when the rest of my life gets busy!   I apologize for the time away, I’m trying to get back to it!  I’ll cover the last few weeks in another post soon.

But today, I’ll acknowledge yesterday’s passage of HR 3371, the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act of 2009.  Full text and action can be found via Thomas.gov.  Influenced by findings following the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407,  the bill addresses issues of pilot fatigue, training and licensing requirements (via Empire State News).

Executive Director, Gail Dunham, had these words for NADA/F members yesterday:

NADA/F founding members from AA3379, the commuter crash in Raleigh, Dec. 1994, first influenced this legislation [PRIA, the Pilots Records Improvement Act] in 1996.  Revisions have been made through the years, but this is a step up again.  We can be proud of our legislation and how it has grown.

More information on PRIA can be found in this 2002 GAO follow up report.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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This morning, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation is holding a hearing.  More information on the FAA’s “call to action” on airline safety and pilot training can be found on the committee website.  The website also has a link to video of the hearing as it is going on, click the View Web Cast button in the upper left corner.

The topics of discussion are largely based on the NTSB public hearing for Continental Connection Flight 3407, which crashed in Buffalo, New York, killing fifty people.  While the NTSB has not yet issued a final report, the hearing highlighted the need for clarification or enhancement of regulation regarding pilot training, fatigue and rest.  In addition, oversight of existing regulatory compliance likely needs strengthening.

RELATED UPDATES:

via twitter

@milesobrien was at the hearing today.  He is working on a documentary for Frontline, on Flight 3407, I assume.

@aviationweek will be hosting a fatigue management forum on October 13-14 in Miami, Florida.  Information on their website.

You can begin to follow our limited tweets too.  @planesafeorg

and via NPR’s All Things Considered

A great interview with Kevin Kuwik.  He is quite poised and articulate on the goals of the families during the hearing.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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Thank you to everyone who has given us positive feedback so far on this blogging effort!

As Congress is back in session today, now seems a good time to discuss some aviation-related issues that could come up this fall.  I use the word “could,” because as Robert Reich reiterated for me last Friday morning on the radio, their top priorities are health care, financial regulation and cap-and-trade.  As a result, aviation-related issues may well be on the back burner.

The most significant is the FAA reauthorization bill, which lapsed two years ago. The new long-term authorization is still working its way through the legislative process.  In the meantime, the FAA has been operating on legislation that provides short-term funding.  The latest of which, expires on September 30.  Kathryn A. Wolf of Congressional Quarterly reported last week that “the Senate is unlikely to complete its consideration” in September, “which probably will mean yet another short-term extension for the agency.”  ATWOnline has a good description of the current challenges in getting this bill ready for the president.

Barbara Hollingsworth of the Washington Examiner has a column out today describing  the Business Travel Coalition’s request for Congress and the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate Amerijet International.  She seems skeptical of increased oversight or action in the areas of maintenance and pilot fatigue, but not because of competing legislative issues, but because of recent history.

It is difficult to know what may come of Senator Charles Schumer’s outspoken criticism of new regulations regarding the Hudson River corridor, as not going “far enough” (via the New York Times).  Miles O’Brien wrote, very soon after the midair collision, that this was likely to happen.  That politicians would be eager to offer premature and perhaps reactionary suggestions that had little basis in expertise. I’m not sure that any legislative action would enhance what the NTSB and the FAA have already acted upon.

And, Jetwhine has a nice commentary from last week on the effectiveness (or not) of  a legislative fix to combat being stuck on a plane on the tarmac.

Briefly:

• FAA Introduces Time Techonolgy to NextGen Test Flights (via Military and Aerospace Electronics Online).
• Two People Killed in a Plane Crash in South Carolina (AP via the Charlotte Observer).
• The FAA is Investigating a Single Engine Plane Crash in Boca Raton, Florida (via WPTV.com).  The pilot, Matthew Blum, died on impact.

Our condolences, regarding the accidents.

Tags: Blog by Jillian Gustafson
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