Nearly three years after the crash of a Colgan Air regional airliner thrust the issue of pilot fatigue into the public consciousness, the FAA has released new regulations intended to combat the problem.
Under the revised rules, a variety of new factors will influence flight and duty limitations, such as duty start time and the number of time zones crossed during a duty period. Among the new provisions is one mandating that pilots are given 10 hours of rest between duty periods, instead of the 8 hours now required. Pilots will also be allotted 30 consecutive hours of duty-free time on a weekly basis, a 25 percent jump from prior policy.
