New rules intended to keep tired pilots out of the cockpit of commercial airliners were announced today.
The highly debated changes were 25 years in the making, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
They come in the wake of the 2009 Colgan Air commuter airline crash in Buffalo, N.Y., that was blamed partly on pilot fatigue.
While it will remain the responsibility of pilots to show up fit for work, the new rules unveiled by the Federal Aviation Administration require pilots to sign off that they are rested and alert as part of filing their flight plan. Airlines will be required to relieve pilots who say they are too tired.
The rules, which won’t take effect industrywide for two years and do not govern cargo-only flights, require that pilots receive 10-hour rest periods before a flight, including the opportunity for eight hours of uninterrupted sleep.
New weekly and monthly limits on duty-time hours are also being implemented to take account for time spent by pilots who are standing by waiting to fly or commuting to an airport to start work, officials said.
“This sends a message to passengers that when they get on a plane it is going to be safe to fly and the pilots are well rested,” LaHood said.
