Agreement reached on training hours requirement for co-pilots

At the end of last week US Senators reached an agreement on the number of hours required of new commercial pilots before they can fly as a co-pilot.  The dramatic increase from 250 hours to 800 is in part a reaction to pressure from families of people killed in the Colgan Air disaster last year. 

One of the major causes of the crash of the Colgan Air Dash 8 Q400, operating under a codeshare agreement with Continental, was lack of experience and training of the flight deck crew.  The accident led to the loss of fifty lives and occured when the aircraft stalled during approach.

The new rules will see a requirement for all co-pilots to have logged at least 800 hours flying time and with much tighter control on what experience is required.  The families of the Colgan crash were pushing for a 1500 hour requirement, however a settlement was reached on the new 800 hour rule.  The families are reportedly happy with the progress made on the issue but will keep pushing for a higher limit.

The different environments pilots are required to have trainied in, under the new regulations, include multi-pilot operations and flight in adverse weather, specifically under icing conditions.  The new rules are due to be passed in an FAA reauthorisation bill later this month, meaning they should take affect in the coming weeks.  The FAA are under pressure to act quickly and implement these chenges succesfully.  If they fail to do so the requirement for co-pilots to have 1500 hours of experience would be forced into action next year.

The reason for the compromise agreement is pressure put on some Senators by the airlines.  The carriers are against the plans to increase First Officer flying hours requirements.  This argument was countered by Kevin Kuwik, a key member of the families group, who said that pilots shouldn't be "coming right out of flight school and right to the commercial airlines".  He added that "their entry-level job is not going to be as a commercial pilot."

This raises a number of issues for the industry as large numbers of newly FAA licensed pilots will be looking to build more hours. 

Source: The Buffalo News