On the recordDecember 1, 2011
In February 2009, tragedy struck western New York when Continental Connection Flight 3407 crashed outside of Buffalo. The National Transportation Safety Board found that one of the principal causes of the crash was pilot fatigue, so Congress passed landmark aviation legislation to reform the system. One of the key provisions required that the Federal Aviation Administration update flight and duty time rules and set minimum rest requirements for airline pilots by August 1, 2011. Congressional intent was clear. That should have been enough time. After all, the National Transportation Safety Board had urged that pilot fatigue rules be updated for the past 20 years. Getting it right is also about getting it done. Yet here we are today, 16 months after Congress asked the Federal Aviation Administration to issue these reforms and 4 months past the deadline we gave them, and still no pilot fatigue rule. {time} 1050 That is unacceptable to me, that is unacceptable to my colleagues from western New York, and it is unacceptable to the flying public. I urge the Federal Aviation Administration to complete the pilot fatigue rule immediately. ____________________
