Washington, DC (WBEN) Congressmen Brian Higgins and Nick Langworthy were joined by Flight 3407 victims' families and the Air Line Pilots Association in pushing for standards to remain as is for pilot training. Those standards have been in place since the 2009 crash.
“The mere suggestion that we should put Americans on an airplane with pilots that are undertrained is absurd and dangerous,” says Higgins. “In Western New York, we learned the risks that come with this thinking the hard way. The families of Flight 3407 have worked tirelessly to see that other families don’t face the same fate. Together we will continue to fight for the safety of the flying public.”
“I’m proud to join with my colleague Congressman Higgins, the families of Flight 3407, and the Air Line Pilots Association in this bipartisan fight to protect airline safety,” says Langworthy. “Since the 1,500 hour training requirement was implemented, there hasn’t been a single crash of a U.S. airline and making any changes this rule would undermine passenger safety. We can never get back the souls we lost on Flight 3407 but we can fight to ensure that no other travelers of U.S. airlines suffer the same tragic fate. No business decision should ever trump public safety.”
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The FAA’s funding and authorities are scheduled to expire on September 30, 2023. The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to discuss FAA Reauthorization. Regional airlines have objected to the pilot training standard often referred to as the 1,500-hour rule. The rule requires first officers (co-pilots) to complete 1,500 hours of flight time. Previously first officers could hold a commercial license which required only 250 hours of flight time training. "It's clear our concerns about the push for regional carriers to allow flight simulation training to count towards these hours is very apparent. There's just not the same real experience," notes Langworthy.
“When our loved ones walked on that plane, they unconditionally placed their full faith and trust in every pilot, flight attendant, mechanic, ground crewman, air traffic controller, airline official, government employee, and so many others who played a role in ensuring that this flight, and hundreds of others that take off and land each and every day, would safely land at Buffalo Niagara International Airport just 53 minutes later. That full faith and trust was betrayed by economic pressures that lead to shortcuts, training standards that only met minimum federal requirements, and rushing pilots onto the regional airline flight decks without enough experience. Unfortunately, there is a multi-million dollar lobbying effort happening to return to the insufficient safety standards that took our loved ones away from us. We will continue to come to Washington, DC to honor our loved ones so that no one will experience the same pain that we do,” says Scott Maurer, father of Lorin Maurer, member of the families of 3407.
A total of 50 people died in the crash in February 2009.