Cargo Carriers
After the
Colgan Air accident, there was an uprising from family members to see change in
the regional airlines. They demanded for more training and new duty time hours.
The FAA responded with a rule of 1500 hours a pilot must perform in order
attain an ATP. This is a drastic increase from the 250 hours. Pilots now have
to sign off if they are fit for flying while in the past there was
"unclear language" (Sarina Houston, 2016). Rest time is now 10 hours
when in the past it was 8 hours.
The current
state of the duty time is the old 8 hours. Cargo pilots can fly up to 8 hours
then are required the rest time. If there are 3 or more crew members, cargo
pilots can fly up to 16 hours. They will obviously have rest time while other
crew members take control. The (Cargo Airline Association, 2016) say this never
happens. Realistically, cargo pilots will fly up to 12 hours if they have available
crew members.
I feel they
have been left out due to the fact that cargo shipment is a big deal for the
economy and having delays and shortages can cause big problems. The cargo 747s
are flying with a few crew members not 350 civilians. I feel this plays a big
role in deciding to keep the cargo industry out of the new rules. I also feel
the public doesn't realize and understand the cargo industry. All they want is
to receive things on time and arrive safely when travelling. The cost of implementing
the new rules to the cargo industry could be more negative than positive.
Personally
I do believe cargo pilots should be included in the new rules. I believe by
leaving them out you are labeling the cargo pilots in a different category.
This category puts Airline Pilots on top and cargo pilots on the bottom and
"less important". There is not as much risk in the cargo industry but
there is the responsibility to keep the airspace safe. In ordered to do this
you must keep the cargo industry safe as well.
If cargo
pilots were included in the new rules, me as a manager of a cargo airline would
have to hire new pilots to ensure there is no late shipments and no
cancellations. Appropriate schedules will have to be implemented to ensure efficiency.
This will cost my company more money. I will have to be ready for any pilot
that deems themselves "unfit to fly". This will mean pilots will have
to be on reserve more to compensate these issues.
References:
Houston, S. (2016, October 31). FAA Final
Rule on Pilot Duty and Rest Requirements. Retrieved February 03, 2017, from
https://www.thebalance.com/faa-final-rule-pilot-duty-and-rest-requirements-282927
Association, C. (2016, April 13). News.
Retrieved February 03, 2017, from
http://www.cargoair.org/2016/04/setting-the-record-straight-on-all-cargo-duty-and-rest-amendment/
Greetings,
ReplyDeleteI must say that after reading your response to the post, I feel as if you answered all the questions in a brief, yet accurate manner; furthermore, your utilization of succinct paragraph formatting made your response much easier to read and comprehend.
In your response to question number one, I liked how you mentioned there was an uprising from the various families who had loved ones involved in the Colgan Air 2009 accident. I strongly believe this is a fact that does not get the attention it truly deserves; the families unwavering sense of perseverance and determination is what caused them to be acknowledged and heard by Congress, subsequently causing change to occur within the aviation industry via FAA regulations. Before the Colgan Air accident, civilian attempts to alter FAA regulations were unheard of, but due to their heart-felt cause and strong voices, their sentiments resonated heavily with law-making and governing officials, ergo the new flight and duty regulations instituted in 2011. Additionally, creating and implementing a 'fatigue document', of which needs to be signed by the pilot prior to being released for duty was an exemplary step of proactivity on behalf of the FAA to combat and prevent fatigue within the industry.
I noticed we have different views in regards to why the cargo industry was excluded from
the new flight and duty regulations. In your response, you stated how cargo carriers are only carrying cargo and the required crew, rather than paying passengers. Albeit this true, it does not mean their safety (or lives) are any less important than those operating under Part 121. Furthermore, I believe the FAA's reason for the exclusion of the cargo industry has more to do with short- and long-term gain as opposed to its effect on the economy (in terms of delays and shortages). That said, I concur with your statement regarding how the public does not understand how the cargo industry operates, nor do they care; like you said, the extent of their knowledge of the cargo industry ends when their packages or parcels are delivered. Thus, I strongly believe the implementation of the new flight and duty regulations would indefinitely cause more harm than good, but in a monetary sense.
I also noticed we had different stances regarding question number four. In your response, you stated how you felt cargo pilots should be included in the new rules because excluding them subsequently labels them in a different category. However, I disagree with this statement because the cargo industry is in fact different than the commercial passenger carrying (i.e. Part 121). Therefore, the cargo industry should have its own unique set of regulations, of which are akin to (but with the appropriate revisions) those utilized in Part 121. However, I completely concur with you in regards to the fact that there is not as much risk in the cargo industry as there is in the commercial industry, but the lives and safety of the pilots and the airspace they utilize are equally important.
Overall, I enjoyed your post; keep up the good work!
I never really looked at this from a stand point of importance in the rank of pilot order. You made a good point of stating that it seems like the industry thinks less of Cargo pilots, and to a point this is true, but given the fact that they are excluded from this rule and still have an exemplary safety record, just leads me to believe that the cargo pilots are more apt at adjusting to certain situations. I believe another factor is that some of the Cargo carriers have held their pilots to a higher standard, and that is why there have not been that many accidents. I do agree with the stance of requiring more pilots and also more reserve time for pilots to take the shifts for "unfit" pilots, I would also have to imagine that the company would hire more schedulers in order to help with the new regulations. This would then lead to companies loosing more money.
ReplyDeleteHello, I enjoyed reading this blog. You took a little bit of a different standpoint than most. I really liked the comment you made about people not really understanding the cargo industry. People only care about their wants and needs and purchases, and could really care less if the pilots had to fly a whole day or not. As long as they get their items they are happy. On top of that, the point you made about airline pilots being better than cargo pilots is kind of on point. I never really thought of it that way before. Cargo pilots do still get good pay, especially if they work for a larger company, but they still aren’t in the same class as airline pilots. The main point you are making is that regardless of the route the pilots took, they are all pilots. Why do some get to be safer than others? Great point and good read.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comment that leaving out cargo pilots from the regulations puts them in a different (less important) category. I did not look at it from that perspective before, and I think that this is a very valid point. If this regulation encompasses cargo pilots, then it would increase the level of safety for cargo carriers, which is never a bad thing!
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