Fatalities in the Friendly Skies, and Delays from the FAA
I found an interesting and sobering article in Business Week that talks about fatal airline flights, and other hazards of regional airlines. We focus a lot of energy on the safety of our larger airlines, but don’t give a lot of thought to smaller, regional ones.
Issues of pilot training, what planes are allowed to fly, where the parts come from, how the pilots are treated, and what they are paid all factor in to risks which most of us, if aware, would find untenable.
Pilots for regionals are often less experienced than those who fly for the majors and are forced to work more-grueling schedules, says U.S. Senator Mark Begich, a Democrat from Alaska who sits on the Aviation Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee.
Regional companies handled more than 158 million passengers in 2008, according to the Washington-based Regional Airline Association. Regional flights usually bear the names of their major airline partners.
That leaves many passengers unaware that the planes they fly on — and the pilots who command them — may not match the safety standards of the airline whose name they see on their tickets, Begich says.
The last five fatal crashes of commercial passenger carriers in the U.S. involved planes operated by regional airlines, according to the NTSB.
Major airlines contract out to regionals to lower their expenses by getting around union agreements, says Captain Paul Rice, first vice president of the Air Line Pilots Association, the world’s largest pilot union, with about 53,000 members.
Ah yes, those pesky union agreements…
“The way the industry is structured is that management will go out and find a new airline and start siphoning off the business to whoever will fly for cheaper,” says Rice, 52, a pilot at United for 23 years.
“The American public is only just starting to wake up to that,” Rice says. “What they are buying is the lowest-cost operation that’s available.”
Just like I don’t want a discount brain surgeon, or someone who’s wiring my house for cheap cheap cheap, I think I’d prefer an airline pilot who is paid more, sleeps more, is trained better, and is happy with his job.
I’d also like one who can afford to live near the airport he works from, and can sleep in his own bed before he flies me and my family around the globe.
Before operating a plane, they often sleep in crew lounges or at so-called crash pads, temporary apartments where as many as six pilots share a bedroom. Former Colgan pilot Preusser lived full time in a crash pad in Albany, New York, in 2007.
He says he slept on an air mattress and shared a room with three or four people. One pilot slept in a walk-in closet, he says. Many regional pilots can’t afford meals and keep track of which hotels offer free continental breakfasts, Preusser says.
Preusser says he remembers falling asleep in the cockpit while piloting a 50-seat Embraer RJ145. He had been on standby and was assigned at the last minute to fly a 7 p.m. flight from Dallas to Cincinnati.
I’m glad that one of my own Senators has this one on his radar, as it were.
The FAA and federal government have failed to ensure that regional airlines are as safe as their major partners, says Begich, whose father died in a 1972 charter plane crash.
The Senate has held six hearings on aviation safety in recent months, and two more on the reauthorization of the FAA who promised to introduce new, more stringent regulations about pilot flight hours. This promise came after a fatal crash in New York State early in the year where a pilot may have pulled the nose up after a stall warning, instead of putting it down to increase speed. 49 passengers were killed.
The new regulations were supposed to kick in today. Now, the FAA says the rules will change in the coming year. Until that happens passengers will continue to be subjected to risks they may not even be thinking about. Time to rethink whether “cheap” should be the first factor in buying airline tickets.
Until the FAA steps up, passengers traveling on commuter flights will be left wondering whether buying a cheaper ticket will continue to mean bargaining away their safety.
The entire article is worth a read.
As someone who has communted on both coasts, mainly by these smaller airlines, has had a major airline pilot as a neighbor and now is married to a past commercial pilot, THIS IS THE TIP OF THE issue!!!
The public needs to spend some time watching and commenting when they can on these issues. Also being willing to spend a tad more for airline tickets.
It is scary and I am more and more prone to looking at charter flights where I can pick my airline and pilot and maybe fly less often.
Ok I am on my way to Pasadena on a regional carrier and whistling in the dark
GO DUCKS
I am afraid of flying…I couldn’t read it.
Stumbled onto the Senate hearings on C-Span one recent day, noticed it was Sen Begich speaking, so stopped to listen. He was superb, concisely and pithily (is that a word?) weaving AK’s special and specific issues into his comments and the testimony. This Illinois gal is looking forward to supporting his next re-election campaign.
Excellent points, AKM.
I’m familiar with the regionals.
I call them “toy” airplanes.
I don’t fly on them.
You can usually find out if the route you’re taking involves a toy plane and find a work around. In my case I’ll either use a different carrier and fly direct with no layover, or I’ll drive the two hours to L.A. to avoid a regional toy plane.
Big planes go down too. AK Airlines from LAX about 10 years ago, TWA Flight 880 off Long Island NY in 1996 and the one going to the Dominican Republic from JFK before Thanksgiving in 2001 all come to mind.
I flew about 500 flights from 9/11/01 to about 1/1/04 and am glad not to be doing anything near the airports.
May all of us have safe flights.
I like regional airports…pilots actually pay attention
I have noticed this contract-out tendency, too, on one of the majors I used to use a lot for travel to see relatives in the 48. For many years, we could route through on jets the whole way. Last time I tried to do this, it was impossible to avoid the regional prop-jobs. Regionals I’d never heard of… might as well be WhoTheHeck Airlink. For just the reasons explained in the post, I don’t feel comfortable flying them. So the major lost my business. I’ve experimented with re-routing to big city airports with more airline choice instead and taking ground transport the rest of the way. Was happy with that, and will do it again.
Meanwhile, if the regionals are going to be so embedded in the system, the pilots should all benefit from the same safety provisions. Mechanics and crews, too. Kudos to Begich for bringing this issue out in the open.
Ironically, reports of Lyda Green’s husband crashing his Piper today. He survived.
Great to see that Mark Begich is on this. Scary stuff. He’ll do good by us.
I have been shocked that pilots are so poorly compensated since the Sully Sullenberg landing in the Hudson River. It is a disgrace. With the union busting and deregulation under Ronnie Raygun, it seems that a lot of safety was sacrificed for the ‘bottom line’ in the airline industries. We do the same shameless thing with teachers and nurses.
Thank you Sen. Begich for spotlighting this issue.
Michael Moore devoted a portion of “Capitalism: A Love Story” to this issue. Pilots are now so poorly paid that many qualify for food stamps. Thank you, Reagan and the Bushes for destroying the unions and American society.
Half of our mainland flights during the past two years have been nightmares. Planes losing an engine. Planes rerouted. Planes running out of fuel. Fire Engines and ambulances waiting for our landings. That’s life with business going to the least paid, most overworked companies. The rightees yell about socialism. I say bring it on. We must listen to the people who do the jobs, not those CEOs who suck the life out of companies and deliver the least amount of service via the poorest paid, most overworked employees. [/rant]
Until the flying public is wiling to PAY FOR WHAT YOU WANT instead of getting $98 coast to coast fares, this is what will happen. Call it the Walmartization of the air line industry. The flying goes to whoever will do it the cheapest, just like the manufacturing of the can openers and washing machines we use.
My husband has been a pilot for the USMC and Delta Air Lines for 12 and 20+ respective years. He has flown thousands of hours on huge jets with hundreds of thousands of passengers. He is extremely lucky to be able to come home after his grueling job instead of using the crash pad or pilot lounge chair as a bed. His salary has been cut in almost half, his benefits have been slashed, his hours have increased at the same time.
Almost ALL of this is because it is extremely easy to start up a cheap air line, fly a bit dragging the prices down in one area, then folding up in the middle of the night (just Google any defunct regional and you’ll see.)
I’m with IrishGirl, flying scares me too! The few times I have had to fly, I found myself holding my breath frequently and even tears welling up during takeoff and landing.
(I am normally considered a strong, fearless rock)
Add to Begich’s stated problems, the recent news reports regarding the numerous airline mechanics that simply BOUGHT thier mechanic certifications without actually TESTING to prove thier abilities (or lack of)….Our skies are not nearly as friendly as they would have us believe!
Reports like these justify our fears!!!
I love to fly. Soloed when I was 16.
You hit the nail on the head, Gindy51 (@14).
Thanks, AKM — and Senator Begich. The linked article doesn’t say (It’s Business Week, after all), how much of the problem has been the failure to enforce regulations already on the books, either because of indifferent FAA leadership, inadequate funding/staff, or a sluggish administrative enforcement mechanism. You have to wonder how much of the Bush administration’s attitude toward regulation trickled down, one way or another. If employees think nothing will be done, or the system won’t protect them, they won’t report violations. Unless the FAA has the staff to be inspecting maintenance records before there is an accident, it has to depend on whistleblowers.
This blew me away. According to the article, in May 2007 a Gulfstream Airlines plane made a gear-up landing in Tampa after the nose gear failed to descend.
“Pilots had been complaining for several days that the gear wasn’t working properly, and mechanics were signing off on the safety of the aircraft without fixing it. … There were six other reports filed in the previous month about the landing gear malfunctioning on that same plane.
“Gulfstream spokesman Hicks says the landing gear was a manufacturer’s shortcoming, not a maintenance issue. He says Gulfstream’s maintenance program has received the FAA’s diamond certificate of excellence for 13 consecutive years, including 2008.”
Huh? The aircraft came from the factory with defective landing gear, Gulfstream couldn’t fix it, so it wasn’t a “maintenance issue” and it was OK for Gulfstream to let the plane fly? For this BS they got the FAA’s “diamond certificate of excellence”? According to the article, Gulfstream hasn’t had a fatal accident. Has the FAA been waiting for one? Helluva job, folks.
I’ve developed a fear of flying over the years, never used to bother me but since I had kids it has blossomed. I also think it’s a control issue with me, I don’t trust other people with my safety and after reading this, I think I’ve been validated.
This issue is a hot one in my area, where Flight 3407 crashed almost a year ago due to pilot inexperience. The families of the victims have formed a group to lobby Congress to enforce tougher eligibility requirements and they’re meeting much resistance.
All in the name of money and the bottom line…..again.
As parent of a commuter captain, I will state that after my son graduated with a college degree and the flight component of the degree which was in addition to the tuition and more expensive that the tuition, he was able to get a job at a regional airline that paid $17,000 (in 2004). He could not afford an apartment and lived at home. He did have a crashpad at his home base…an apartment often shared by a dozen pilots. His second year, his pay increased to $35,000. By his third year, he moved from first officer to captain at the age of 23 and again his pay increased to $45,000.
He will vouch that some of the pilots being hired by regional airlines are not qualified or have serious issues. Because of pressure to hire minorities and females, some of the targeted groups have less experience than more seasoned applicants. The initial low pay, the schedule, the reserve pilot duties and commuting issues make for drags on a pilot’s attitude.
While I feel my son is an excellent pilot and takes care to exercise caution, the job of airline pilot is nothing more than a glorified bus driver of an aluminum tube.
I have seen the statistics on fatalities in air crashes on a per mile basis, but I don’t remember off hand where I saw them except to say it was a govenment publication based on statistics from the FAA. Anyways as I recall, the commuters have a fatality rate at least twice as high as commercial airlines. Private aircraft, which I fly, have fatality rate of equivalent to motorcycles. I have not told my wife about that. Commuters most certainly have their problems and I try to avoid them at all cost. The last time I flew on one, it was a turbo prop. I always try to sit behind the pilots so I see and observe what is going on in the cockpit. On this particular flight, I noticed serveral instruments were marked as not functual and I also noticed the the left engine has a tendancy to over heat. The pilot too noticed this and pulled out a chart that showed what the temperture the engine should be according to RPM, outside air temp, and maybe one other parameter. After he examined the chart he lowered the RPM of the engine and then layed the chart on the floor where I could read it. After we landed I told him that I noticed the left engine seemed to be running a little warm. He turned to me and ephatically denied that was the case. I didn’t tell him I was a pilot and read his chart, I now wished I had, but instead I just walked off the aircraft swearing I would never again fly on another commuter if I could ever avoid it. It was after that flight that I saw the statistics of fatalities on commuter aircraft vs. commercial.
As a side note, flying in Alaska with the mountainous terrain and weather makes flying in private aircraft even more challenging then flying in the rest of the country, especially when you throw in the avant-garde attitude many of the pilots display. Consequently, Alsaka has the highest accident rate in private aircraft in the country. So if the accident rate in private aircraft for the whole U.S. is equal to the fatality rate of motorcycles, what is the equivalent in Alaska, Russian roulette? I love flying and will still fly even knowing what the statistics are. Just don’t tell my wife!
I don’t fly the regionals out of here. I drive for 3 to 4 hours or take a airporter to get to a major airport. Even then I do worry. I know several retired captains and they have talked about how badly our airline industry has gone to h*ll.
The union busting of the past decades has demolished so many industries. I also fault our business schools that have turned out “fools” to run these companies. I have worked with lot’s of MBA from top tier schools and most didn’t have an once of common sense about running a business for the long term, it was always the bottom line for the quarter. These are the same people who send “customer service” offshore to people who hardly speak English with an accent most of us can understand.
I used to fly alot in the 80′ies so I do remember that level of service. In the past 90′ies I’ve spent alot of time on SWA. They used to be pretty good. I wonder if they pay better and treat the employees better?
To answer my own question I did a little googling. At glassdoor.com I found some interesting comments. Here is what a AA flight attendant has to say. “Invest in your employees first. Treat us as an asset, not as a liability. Descend from your ivory tower and once again become the regular, ethical “common man” you once were when you wore our shoes. We are all very smart. Don’t condescend our knowledge and abilities.” United comments are similar with very frustrated employees. SWA is totally different. While not the “old days” they still value the employees and they pay much better.
The airline industry is a good case study in the war on the middle class.
As a pilot I am saddened to see the changes the airline industry has undergone over the years. That said, I can vouch that flying an aircraft is one of the most heavily regulated things you can do.
The race to the bottom with aircrew wages, union busting and rampant mis-management has far reaching consequences. Some airlines have even outsourced their maintence to other countries!
Trust me when I say as a pilot I do not want to crash. If the cockpit arrives safely so will the passengers. Training is a main ingredient for safe flying.
Companies need to have regular and recurrent training but too often the upper management would rather have a fat bonus that to spend the money elsewhere.
Regional airlines are doing a great job with the resources they have. I have many friends currently flying the Regionals. Getting the pay scales
back in line, fixing scheduling to have pilots home to sleep in their own beds and getting back to customer oriented service will resolve most of
the problems.
mlaiuppa@6 if you think an aircraft with less than 50 seats is a “toy”
you would not like our private plane. It only has 2 seats! (It’s like flying a
Mazda Miata with wings)
North_of_the_Range If you are flying on an aircraft with more than 10 seats an it has a prop, it’s most likely a turboprop. A turboprop is a jet engine that has gearing to spin a propeller instead of directing the exhaust out the back of the engine for thrust. Turboprops are just as safe and reliable as jets.
DD