FAA's New Rules to Help With Pilot Fatigue

The FAA has updated airline pilots work rules, some of which go back to the 1960's. The new rules came out after a crash at Buffalo nearly three years ago, and an investigation that found the two pilots were exhausted and shouldn't have been flying.

The new rules reflect the need for rest and how night shifts and traveling through time zones can increase errors. Carriers have two years to adapt to the new rules.

The new rules limit the maximum time a pilot can be scheduled to be on duty, including wait time before flights and administrative duties, to between nine and 14 hours. The total depends on the time of day pilots begin their first flight and the number of time zones crossed. The maximum amount of time pilots can be scheduled to fly is limited to eight or nine hours, and pilots would get a minimum of 10 hours to rest between duty periods, a two-hour increase over the old rules. The minimum amount of time off between work weeks will be increased 25 percent, and there will be new limits on how many hours per month pilots can fly. Pilots flying overnight would be allowed fewer hours than pilots flying during the day.

It is interesting that cargo pilots are not included in the new rulings. The FAA said forcing cargo carriers to reduce the number of hours their pilots can fly would be too costly when compared with the safety benefits. Those companies that contract for military charters are included in the new rules. The rule will require pilots to sign a statement before each flight stating that they are rested and fit for duty.

FAA Orders New Safety Steps on Older Aircraft

The Federal Aviation Administration has ordered new steps to protect thousands of commercial aircraft from serious structural fatigue as they age.

The FAA is requiring manufacturers and airlines to intensify and streamline inspections of the metallic skeleton and skin of aircraft, estimated to cost the industry some $3.6 million. The regulation has been in the works for years and pulls together related rules and directives issued by the agency on fatigue cracking, which is mainly caused by repeated changes in pressurization during flight.

Structural fatigue and questions about FAA oversight have arisen in a handful of incidents in recent years. At issue are tiny cracks, some of them visible, that often form on a plane as it ages. Individually, the cracks are of little concern. But they can weaken an aircraft's structure if permitted to spread and link with other cracks.

More than 4,100 planes registered to fly in the United States are affected by the new rule. There have been several instances in the past few years involving fatigue. The FAA said it is working with European safety officials to harmonize regulations. European Aviation Safety Agency is currently working on its own fatigue directive.

Manufacturers have between 18 and 60 months to comply with the new FAA rule, depending on the plane involved. Airlines then have another 30 to 72 months to incorporate the changes into their inspection routines.