Western New York Members of Congress, Reps. Louise Slaughter (NY-28), Brian Higgins (NY-27), Kathy Hochul (NY-26) and Tom Reed (NY-29) today wrote to FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt asking him to implement the recommendations found in a government study citing problems with the FAA’s oversight of pilot training. The Members also called on Administrator Babbitt to move forward with a pilot training rulemaking process in order to adequately prepare first officers for flying regional aircraft.

 In a report released today titled “Initial Pilot Training; Better Management Controls are Needed to Improve FAA Oversight,” the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the FAA may not have conducted mandatory inspections of pilot schools and pilot examiners as a result of poor management. Pilot school requirements have not been updated in almost 15 years and training standards are not currently in place to adequately train first officers to fly regional aircrafts like the Bombardier Dash-8 Q400 that tragically crashed in Clarence Center, NY killing 50.

 Today the lawmakers write,

“Of particular concern is the GAO’s finding that the FAA may not have completed required annual inspections at 118 of the nation’s 545 (21.6 percent) pilot schools. The GAO could not determine whether the FAA was missing data due to poor management of their information database or if the inspections never occurred in the first place. In addition, the GAO could not verify the FAA had performed mandatory annual inspections of pilot examiners, which are used to supplement the FAA’s workforce by testing pilot applicants. Some pilot examiners with the highest rates of activity that require two annual inspections had not received an inspection in the previous 12 months.”

A copy of the letter to Administrator Babbitt is included below.

A copy of the GAO report is available here.

“These are startling new revelations from the GAO,” said Slaughter, “and it’s as clear as it has ever been that the FAA needs to act as quickly as possible to implement safety regulations that address pilot safety to the level the flying public expects.’

“Much of this comes back to the question Flight 3407 families have asked and the public certainly deserves to have answered: Who is really flying your plane?” said Congressman Higgins. “Passengers have a right to know which airline in operating the plane, what kind of education and training the pilots have and how well rested and prepared those in the cockpit are to handle any situation that arises.  That’s why we called for this report and that’s why we will continue to fight until all families can be assured that those flying their plane are expertly trained, alert and qualified. ”

“These recommendations must be swiftly implemented in order to ensure the safety of our flying public,” said Congresswoman Hochul.  “While today’s recommendations will strengthen the oversight of pilot certification, we must still move forward with implementing the law that enhances pilot training.  This law was passed over a year ago and the people in my district, who experienced the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407, demand to know their calls for airline safety reforms do not go unheeded.”

The study was requested in September 2009 in response to the crash of Continental Connection flight 3407 which crashed in Clarence Center, NY. A copy of their letter requesting the study is also attached.

Letter to FAA Administrator Babbitt

November 15, 2011

J. Randolph Babbitt
Administrator
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
800 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20591

Dear Administrator Babbitt:

We write to respectfully request the timely and complete implementation of recommendations included in the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, “Initial Pilot Training: Better Management Controls Are Needed to Improve FAA Oversight” (GAO-12-117). In addition, we urge the FAA to move forward with a pilot training rulemaking process in order to adequately prepare first officers for flying regional aircraft.

As you know, we represent Western New York and since the February 12, 2009 crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 we have worked diligently with our partners throughout government to improve aviation safety. Much of this effort resulted in critical safety recommendations that ultimately served as the framework for The Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-216). On September 1, 2009, the Western New York congressional delegation sent the GAO a request to conduct a comprehensive study of flight schools, flight education, and the academic training requirements for certifying an individual as a pilot. That report has recently been released and offers a number of key findings and recommendations.

Of particular concern is the GAO’s finding that the FAA may not have completed required annual inspections at 118 of the nation’s 545 (21.6 percent) pilot schools. The GAO could not determine whether the FAA was missing data due to poor management of their information database or if the inspections never occurred in the first place. In addition, the GAO could not verify the FAA had performed mandatory annual inspections of pilot examiners, which are used to supplement the FAA’s workforce by testing pilot applicants. Some pilot examiners with the highest rates of activity that require two annual inspections had not received an inspection in the previous 12 months. Again, the failure to assure proper oversight of pilot inspectors was attributed to inadequate data and it remains unclear if many of the necessary inspections took place as required.      

A significant portion of the GAO’s report discussed how commercial pilot certificates do not adequately prepare first officers for flying regional aircraft. Specifically, the section “Pilot Training Requirements for a Commercial Pilot Certificate Have Not Kept Pace with the Complexities of Modern Aircraft and Current Airline Operating Environment” highlights pilot school requirements, which have not been updated since 1997. The first step in protecting the flying public is ensuring commercial pilots are adequately trained before they enter the cockpit.

We urge the FAA to review the GAO’s findings, move forward with a pilot training rulemaking process and aggressively address oversight gaps by developing a comprehensive system to measure inspection performance.  Thank you for your personal attention to this deeply important issue. We look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

Louise Slaughter
Brian Higgins
Kathy Hochul
Tom Reed