A variety of groups have come together recently to try to do something about the fact that many pilots and flight attendants are worked so hard that they hardly have enough time to sleep, resulting in poorer job performance. This problem came to a head on Wednesday night when a Northwest Airlines flight ended up overshooting the airport by 150 miles because of the possibility that the pilot nodded off.
Air traffic controllers at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport lost contact with the Airbus A320 for more than an hour, the time period in which it is suspected that the pilot …read more

Almost every major airline has found itself in trouble with the FAA, but these run-ins have historically come after the airlines have been breaking the rules for extended periods of time. Now, though, the FAA will begin to put in place a variety of stricter rules and regulations that will ensure that airlines comply with the required inspections and repairs.
 
According to the Federal Aviation Administration chief Randy Babbitt, the new rules are designed to raise the bar as far as safety is concerned, with the FAA taking further steps to unearth scandals before they happen by dedicating an office to …read more

Southwest Airlines already has the ignominious distinction of having paid the largest airline fine in history for intentionally flying jets without required inspections, and now Southwest may face punishment once again. The FAA has sounded the alarm that Southwest Airlines may have installed faulty parts on as many as 40 jets, delaying several of the airline’s flights last Saturday.
 
These parts were the shields that protect the jet flaps, the mechanisms that slow the jet down as it prepares for landing. According to an FAA spokesperson, the faulty parts do not actually present an immediate cause for concern, but that Southwest …read more

All regional airlines must abide by FAA regulations if they want to stay in the air, but the recent airplane crash in Buffalo, New York has caused a firestorm of criticism of the FAA regulations. Now, the FAA has decided to beef up the standard of its regulations and to enforce stricter inspections of airlines and their pilots.
Many of the criticisms of regional airlines stem from the fact that they often hire pilots with fewer hours flown under their belts and then train them inadequately to deal with difficult situations. Other complaints include questions about whether or not pilots are …read more