Today Congressmembers Nick Rahall, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, and Jerry Costello, Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee sent a letter to the President urging swift action on the final rule related to pilot fatigue.

Representatives Brian Higgins (NY-27), Louise Slaughter (NY-28) and Kathy Hochul (NY-26) issued the following joint statement in response:

"We are grateful for the continued support and persistence of Representatives Rahall and Costello, leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Aviation Subcommittee.   We owe it to the victims, their families and the entire flying public to take the difficult lessons learned through the Flight 3407 tragedy and implement the changes necessary to make our skies safer.  With 7,000 landings and take-offs happening each and every hour the urgency cannot be understated.  Pilot fatigue rules are a critical component to protecting the 660 million passengers who travel by air each year and must be addressed without further delay.”

Background:
On August 19, 2011 Western New York Congressmembers Higgins, Slaughter, and Hochul sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget asking the agency to expedite their timeline for rulemaking associated with pilot fatigue.