Editorial: Pilot fatigue taken seriously by FAA

Thursday, July 12, 2001 | 8:42 a.m.

The last thing that a passenger on a jet airplane wants to see is a bleary-eyed pilot who hasn't received enough rest. Fortunately the Federal Aviation Administration agrees that pilots shouldn't have to work long hours, because fatigue can jeopardize the safety of the passengers and the flight crew. The agency on Tuesday rejected efforts by two airline associations to postpone enforcement of a regulation that limit pilots to 16 hours of work a day, eight of them actually flying.

The Air Transport Association and the Regional Airline Association both argued that strict enforcement of the regulation, which is set to go into effect in mid-November, could result in flight delays or even cancellations. The groups assert that if a flight was running behind schedule, and if it was estimated that by the time the flight landed at its next stop it would go beyond a pilot's 16-hour day, then the pilot couldn't leave for the next destination. The airlines argue that it would be next to impossible in many circumstances to find a pilot on short notice to continue the flight, stranding passengers in the process.

The airlines can accommodate the safety rule, despite their complaints. Airlines should put enough cushion into pilots' schedules so that unpredictable circumstances, such as bad weather, are taken into consideration. The airlines are missing the point of the rule: Safety should come first. The FAA is correct to note that it doesn't relax its enforcement of aircraft maintenance rules, and the rule to reduce pilot fatigue shouldn't be taken lightly, either. To do otherwise is to court disaster.