NTSB nominee stands by criticism of Flight 3407 safety rule
"I believe in performance-based regulations as opposed to arbitrary, one-size-fits-all rules," said
At his confirmation hearing before the
"As someone who is part of a family who has lost a loved one due to incompetence, I have great empathy for the Colgan families and commend them for taking action," he said in reference to
The safety board found pilot error to be the root cause of the Flight 3407 crash, which claimed 50 lives. But Landsberg said inexperience wasn't the reason Capt.
"Four thousand hours wasn't enough for the pilot of that aircraft," Landsberg said of Renslow's hours flying.
A longtime safety expert at an organization that represents private and recreational pilots, Landsberg noted that in the
"They should be given some consideration for that," Landsberg said.
Landsberg's stance drew some harsh pushback from Sen.
She noted that pilots only had to have 250 hours of experience to serve as first officers on passenger airliners before the passage of the Flight 3407 safety law. In addition, she noted that while there were several fatal passenger airplane crashes in America in the years before that safety law passed, there have been no such fatal aviation accidents since then.
"It's been safer since the 1,500 hour rule was put into effect," Duckworth said.
The 1,500-hour rule was one of several safety provisions that the Flight 3407 pushed into law. Most notably, the safety law dramatically boosted pilot training requirements while also requiring that airline crews get much more rest before working on a passenger flight.
But the 1,500-hour rule has long been the most controversial provision in the aviation safety law. Regional airlines have long contended that the requirement is so strict that it's causing a pilot shortage, and a
But the Flight 3407 families,
"After the heart breaking tragedy of Flight 3407, the families of victims came together and advocated for aviation regulations that undoubtedly save lives and keep the traveling public safe," said Senate Minority Leader
Rep.
"It is worrisome any time transportation official is against such hard fought safety reforms that were put in place because of the tireless efforts of the families of Flight 3407," Collins said. "Despite concerns, I doubt this individual will have an opportunity to weigh in on these rules because it is out of the scope of his position."
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