AIRLINES: Safety bill pushed by WNY congressional delegation

Local News

January 22, 2010

Staff Reports The Lockport Union-Sun %26 Journal Fri Jan 22, 2010, 11:50 PM EST

Western New York’s representatives in Congress are pushing the Senate to pass an aviation bill that includes amendments — crafted after the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 last February — they say will improve the safety of air travel.

The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization bill includes the amendments addressing aviation safety improvements and also funds the FAA through 2012. Many of the safety provisions were included in the separate Airline Safety and Pilot Training

Improvement Act, a bipartisan effort that the trio of Western New York representatives helped introduce. It was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives in October 2009, but the Senate has not acted on it.

Representatives Chris Lee, R-Clarence, Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo, and Louise Slaughter, D-Fairport, drafted the Airline Safety and Pilot Training Improvement Act, which includes reforms they say will make air travel safer and restore passenger confidence in the wake of the deadly crash.

The three jointly sent a letter Friday to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who chairs the Senate Finance Committee and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking member on the committee, urging quick passage of the bill.

The trio indicated in the letter that the crash of Flight 3407 “shed light on the serious safety concerns we face every time we fly.” They added that despite public hearings held by the National Transportation Safety Board and reports on factors that contributed to the crash, Congress has not enacted legislation to address “clearly identified” deficiencies in pilot training, crew rest, pilot commuting and other issues.

“This bill included a number of long-sought-after reforms, including new rules on stall recovery training, pilot rest and minimum training and experience requirements for flight crews,” the trio wrote to Baucus and Grassley.

Lee said millions of airline passengers who fly every day trust that those piloting their aircraft are well-trained and well-rested.

“The House of Representatives has done its part in passing these bipartisan reforms to address aviation safety, and the time for the Senate to act is now,” Lee said in a news release. “I call on the Senate to immediately act on these meaningful reforms to immediately improve airline safety for all Americans.”

Slaughter said a database of pilots is essential, and more needs to be done to fight pilot fatigue and improve pilot training.

“Here in the House we’ve done the studies, held the hearings and passed the legislation,” Slaughter said in the release. “We know what needs to be done.”

Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence Center during its approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport on Feb. 12, 2009, killing all 49 people aboard and one person inside the home.

The victims’ survivors have been pushing for the legislation since the NTSB’s hearings on the crash last May. Kevin Kuwik, who lost his girlfriend, Lorin Maurer, in the accident, said he hopes the new law will help prevent other families from going through a similar experience.

“It has taken more than 40 years to overhaul FAA rules governing aviation safety,” the trio wrote in the letter. “It is time to act now without delay to ensure the very best pilots with the best training are in the cockpit of our nation’s commercial airliners.”

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