US officials seek better training, more transparency in pilot hiring

Continuing its effort to improve airline safety, US FAA said this week that it wants to improve training and make it easier for prospective employers to access complete FAA files for pilot applicants.

The renewed focus on safety was sparked by February's fatal crash of a Colgan Air Q400 outside Buffalo. The pilot, Marvin Renslow, did not reveal to Colgan that he had failed check rides prior to his employment at the regional carrier.

"Training--good, effective training--has to be at the top of our list," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said Monday prior to a closed door "safety summit" with airline officials and union representatives (ATWOnline, June 10). "We need to take steps to make sure that we're meeting and exceeding the standards. There's a difference between quality and quantity of training."

Babbitt said FAA also plans to address the issue of pilot fatigue, starting with a rewrite of rules that govern flight and duty time to reflect the most recent scientific studies on fatigue factors. And he called for an expansion of the Pilot Records Improvement Act that would allow employers to review all records in a pilot's file. Currently, prospective employers are allowed to see only the past five years of a pilot's records.

"We've learned lessons over the past few weeks. We know, for example, that we need to know more about pilot performance during check rides over a pilot's career," he admitted. "We know that employers need to have as much information as they can about the pilots they're hiring. And that information should be accurate, complete and easily accessible."

Over the next several months, representative from airlines, pilot unions and FAA will continue to review training programs and determine how they can be strengthened. "We must inspire confidence in every traveler, every time he or she steps onto an airplane," Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said. "We are acting now and acting together because safety is our highest priority."

Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio) announced plans yesterday to introduce legislation to create a secure national database that would enable airlines to conduct comprehensive background checks for pilot applicants. Schmidt, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said she would work with FAA and the Air Line Pilots Assn. to craft the legislation. "Airlines currently have no way of knowing if the pilot they are hiring has had bad performance results in the past," she said. "As members of the flying public, we entrust our safety and lives to the airline and flight crews flying the plane."