New pilot rest rules could add to storm delays

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...-storm-hits/KIF8eXADYj1jf4Dm1FtFzK/story.html

New federal rules that effectively limit the hours that pilots can fly could add to delays and flight cancellations the next time a big storm hits as airlines adjust to the complex regulations aimed at combating pilot fatigue.

Those rules, which went into effect earlier this month, were blamed by some airlines for increasing the number of cancellations following the recent nor’easter that left some passengers at Logan International Airport stranded for a week. JetBlue Airways, for example, said it took the unusual step of canceling all Logan flights between the evening of Jan. 6 and afternoon of Jan. 7 in part to rest crews and comply with the new regulations.

Passengers could face similar problems in the near future as airlines try to figure out how best to staff, schedule, and supplement flight crews during bad weather, said Bill Swelbar, an analyst at MIT’s global airline industry program.

“I think that the new rules are going to be tested time and again, any time there are irregular conditions,” he said. “It’s going to take time for everyone to get used to the new rules. There’s a learning curve.”


The new rules for pilot hours were drafted and adopted following the 2009 crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y., that killed all 49 on board. An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found that the captain of the flight suffered from “chronic sleep loss” and that fatigue may have contributed to the pilot error blamed for the crash.


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When you prep for the job, the clock starts ticking, it is a good rule, no one start to rest till they go home.

 

So they're just now trying to figure it out? They knew this was coming for a very long time but it's much easier to blame the common sense rule than their desire to do things on the cheap.