1) As a result of the Colgan Air accident, the FAA institute new flight and duty regulations. Summarize these new regulations and describe how they are different from the old flight and duty regulations.
The biggest change as a result of the Colgan Air accident is that there is a new provision in which you must feel "fit for duty", which means that if you do not feel physically fit to fly the aircraft then you are able to opt out of the trip without any penalty. The other provision that is current is that the flight crew must be given a 10 hour rest period of 10 hours instead of 8-9 hours depending on the necessity.
2) Cargo carriers are exempt from the Part 117 rules. What are the current flight and duty limitations for cargo carriers?
The difference between cargo carriers and other part 117 carriers is that each pilot must be able to work a 16 hour day and must be given an 8 hour rest period. Most of these 16 hour work days are night based as well.
3) Why do you feel that cargo carriers have been excluded from the new changes? Value of life? Public perception? Too much money for the carrier? Other reasons? All the above? You may find that reading the preamble of the final rule is helpful in answering this question.
I believe that cargo carriers are excluded from the new changes because it is not as much of a life and death situation as carriers under the part 117 regulations. Less people are technically at risk when it comes to cargo carriers. Also cargo is delivery of products and goods, if these cargo carriers are not delivering on time then they will lose business, in turn the flight crews suffer because of these hours.
4) Do you believe cargo carriers should be included in the new rules? Why or why not?
I obviously value life more than delivery of goods and products on time but it is not realistic because these carriers will not be able to continue as a business unless they operate this way. I also think that flight crews going in to this position know what they are getting themselves into so I don't believe it should be changed when it comes to looking at it from that perspective.
5) Finally, what would be the impact to your career if cargo carriers were to be included in these new rules - Pilots, address this from a pilot perspective, management address from a management perspective.
I have considered a career as a cargo pilot before I go to the airlines because it is a good way to build hours but I believe if cargo carriers operated under part 117 regulations that it would take me longer to get to the minimum hours needed so it would negatively impact me. Management would have safer flights going in and out but they would ultimately lose business and money because of companies and people not wanting to ships products and goods via flying because of it being a slower process.
Hello Scott. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog this week. We had very similar view to question 5. I also thing that if cargo carriers were subjected to the same rules as part 121 operators, it would negatively impact myself and the industry. I would take a lot longer to build hours. Good read!
ReplyDeleteHi Scott, I liked your response to the first question, because the main point that I touched on was the resting time for pilots. This is a huge deal in the cargo industry since many of the pilots fly long days, and also a lot during the night. Now commercial pilots are required to have more rest than cargo pilots, which doesn’t look good for the cargo industry. I think it just shines a light on them that they don’t want, considering that other pilots have it better and safer than the cargo pilots. I also agree with you when it comes to the third question. Yes, the cargo crew and pilots are human beings, but they are not putting hundreds of human lives in their own hands on a daily basis like airline pilots are. The Colgan accident killed many civilians, and that was why it was such a big deal and got blown up.
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