USAPA Champions Introduction of House Bill on Aviation Safety

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(Business Wire)--
The House Subcommittee on Aviation, chaired by Congressman Jerry F. Costello,
introduced a bill yesterday afternoon, the Airline Safety and Pilot Training
Improvement Act of 2009, to improve safety and training practices for the
airline industry. The legislation was drafted following recommendations made at
several meetings, including a roundtable discussion with the leadership of the
nation`s nearly 90,000 frontline union pilots that took place on July 15.

At that meeting, US Airways Flight 1549 Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger and
First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, along with the president and government affairs
chairman of the US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA) and representatives from
the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA); the Allied Pilots
Association (APA), representing the American Airlines pilots; the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters; and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), discussed
with the Aviation Subcommittee very serious issues in pilot safety highlighted
by recent aviation accidents, including the US Airways Flight 1549 ditching in
the Hudson River and the Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Buffalo, N.Y.

"USAPA has received a copy of the proposed bill, and our appropriate Safety and
Training committees will review it in its entirety," said Captain Mike Cleary,
president of the US Airline Pilots Association. "We are pleased that the House
Aviation Subcommittee is taking an active role in demanding that America`s
airliners have qualified pilots at the controls, pilots who are properly
licensed to do the job and possess, at a minimum, an Airline Transport Pilot
(ATP) license. Although I cannot speak for all, I imagine that the 90,000 pilots
who were represented at the subcommittee roundtable are acutely aware of the
demands the industry places on them and the need for experience in our
cockpits."

Currently, pilots can be hired on a flight deck with an FAA Commercial license,
which requires 190 flight hours in an approved school or 250 hours from an
unapproved school. Conversely, an ATP license will require significantly more
aeronautical knowledge and 1,500 hours of flight experience. With regional
airlines flying sophisticated aircraft in our nation`s busiest airports, pilot
leadership was unanimous in its belief that an ATP license should be a minimum
requirement for both pilots.

"The frontline pilots in our nation`s airliners deeply appreciate Chairman
Costello`s sincere commitment to passenger safety and a safe air transportation
system; this is a big first step in achieving an airline safety bill that will
make a difference," said Captain Arnie Gentile, chairman of USAPA`s Government
Affairs Committee, who was party to the subcommittee roundtable discussions.
"Those who would oppose such legislation for self-serving and/or desperate needs
to achieve a `race to the bottom` cost structure do so while putting the
American flying public at risk."

"Professional pilots who actually fly with the passengers are ultimately
responsible for the safety of the flight, and it is glaringly obvious that it is
in the pilot`s very best interest to keep our air transportation system safe,"
Captain Gentile continued.

Some of the other key issues addressed by the aviation experts and incorporated
into the bill include:

* Requiring the Secretary of Transportation to provide an annual report to
Congress on what the agency is doing to address each open NTSB recommendation
pertaining to part 121 air carriers.
* Establishing comprehensive pre-employment screening of prospective pilots,
including an assessment of a pilot`s skills, aptitudes, airmanship and
suitability for functioning in the airline`s operational environment.
* Creating a pilot records database within 90 days to provide airlines with
fast, electronic access to a pilot`s comprehensive record.
* Directing the FAA to update and implement a new pilot flight and duty time
rule and fatigue risk management plans within one year to more adequately track
scientific research in the field of fatigue. Current FAA rules permit 16 hour
workdays for pilots.
* Directing the FAA to develop and implement a plan to establish an Aviation
Safety Action Program (ASAP), a self-reporting safety system, and a Flight
Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program for all commercial airlines and
their unions.

The US Airline Pilots Association represents more than 5,000 US Airways pilots
in seven domiciles across the United States.

US Airline Pilots Association (USAPA)
Captain James Ray, 980-875-7642
or
Captain Arnie Gentile, 980-875-7630

Copyright Business Wire 2009