While in St. Louis on Friday to address the Regional Business Council and talk with editors at the Post-Dispatch, I greeted attendees at an aviation safety forum convened by Federal Aviation Administrator Randy Babbitt.
This was the tenth session conducted since Randy and I issued a call to action in June, the tenth time we have brought the FAA, the carriers, and the unions together to have candid, meaningful discussions about the safety challenges we're facing. I’m very pleased with the quality of these discussions so far. We’ve listened-–and we’ve learned. We’ve heard a lot of good ideas about improving professional standards and flight discipline.
And I’m confident that these meetings will produce constructive, results-oriented policies and practices that the industry can implement in a timely manner.
Here are three items on our agenda:
- Pilot fatigue: A committee of FAA, industry, and labor folks working on this issue have until the end of August to come up with a proposed rule describing new flight time and rest rules reflecting the best available science;
- Pilot training: We want to see a greater use of cockpit simulation technology and closer supervision, among other changes; and
- Pilot performance: We’re asking airlines to track pilots with performance problems and offer them additional training.
Companies that fail to comply with the voluntary measures we implement can count on greater FAA scrutiny.
In addition, Congress has proposed three key legislative provisions in the FAA reauthorization bill that will affect safety culture and operations:
- A requirement that air carriers more thoroughly examine FAA pilot records before hiring.
- Major carriers would be required to analyze the safety information contained in flight data recorders on individual aircraft.
- Pilots would be required to disclose safety problems as part of their Aviation Safety Action Program.
Now, these are all programs we've already asked companies to comply with voluntarily, so companies on board with FAA have had an opportunity to make the investments and changes necessary to meet these potential mandates.
I have said before that DOT has no greater obligation than to ensure safety.
But participants in these call-to-action sessions understand that this important obligation clearly extends to the entire aviation community. As Administrator Babbitt told the Senate in June, "This is a business where one mistake is one too many."
The flying public is counting on us to keep them safe. We must not let them down.