By: Paul Lowe
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee voted unanimously yesterday to recommend that the full Senate confirm former Air Line Pilots Association president Randy Babbitt as the next FAA Administrator for a five-year term. A final vote is expected before Congress departs for the Memorial Day holiday tomorrow.
During his nomination hearing on Tuesday, several senators referenced the February 12 crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 near Buffalo, N.Y., and asked him about fatigue and crew training for regional airline pilots. Babbitt told the panel that if confirmed, he would review training standards at regional airlines.
Babbitt said that while he was head of ALPA in 1993, he led the Clinton Administration’s “One Level of Safety” project, which resulted in a major reworking of federal regulations that required regional carriers to operate under the same rules and at the same level of safety as their major-airline counterparts.
Source: AVIATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Date: 2009-05-21