Third-ranking Senate Republican John Thune of South Dakota added a proposal to the recently-introduced FAA reauthorization bill hoping to amend the 1,500-hour requirement for airline pilot hiring. The rule, enacted in July 2013, requires Part 121 airline new hires to qualify for an ATP certificate before starting work. Thune says he believes what he calls a “narrow revision” to the law “preserves the strong safety demands of the original law, but will offer ways to make it easier for regional airlines to hire copilots.”
Senate Amendment Could Alter 1,500-hour Pilot Rule
Key Takeaways:
- Senator John Thune proposed an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill to revise the 1,500-hour pilot qualification rule, aiming to ease hiring for regional airlines by focusing on training quality over quantity.
- The proposal could allow pilots to receive credit for academics from unaccredited institutions and training within airlines, which critics argue could lower safety standards.
- The amendment faces strong opposition from Democratic senators, the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), and families of 2009 Colgan Flight 3407 crash victims, who insist the current safety standards must remain intact.
- Supporters of the existing 1,500-hour rule highlight that no fatalities have occurred on Part 121 passenger airlines since the rule's implementation in 2013, though some experts acknowledge this might be coincidental.
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