Findings

Congress finds the following: (1)The commercial aviation system is experiencing an unusual number of safety challenges as evidenced by multiple near-miss incidents in calendar year 2023 involving aircraft operated by part 121 air carriers. (2)These near-miss commercial aviation incidents include— (A)at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, a Boeing 737–700 aircraft operated by Southwest Airlines nearly colliding with a Boeing 767 cargo aircraft operated by FedEx, with the National Transportation Safety Board finding that the two aircraft likely came within 100 feet of each other in the near-miss incident; (B)at Washington Reagan National Airport, a runway incursion by an Embraer 175 aircraft operated by Republic Airways where it crossed into a runway that air traffic control had already cleared an Airbus A319 aircraft operated by United Airlines for takeoff, forcing the takeoff to be aborted; (C)at Bob Hope Burbank Airport, a runway incursion incident where a CRJ900 aircraft operated by Mesa Airlines was forced to abort a landing on approach because an Embraer 175 aircraft operated by SkyWest Airlines had yet to take off; and (D)at Boston Logan International Airport, an incident where an Embraer 190 operated by JetBlue was forced to take evasive action after a Learjet 60 operated by a private charter carrier initiated takeoff without clearance from a runway that intersected the runway that the Embraer 190 had been cleared to use for landing. (3)Following this surge of near-miss incidents involving part 121 air carriers, the National Transportation Safety Board initiated a comprehensive investigation of these incidents to identify commonalities that may have contributed to the incidents, such as communication breakdowns, situational awareness lapses, and inadequate training. This investigation is active and ongoing. (4)The spike in troubling near-miss incidents also spurred the Federal Aviation Administration to convene an Aviation Surface Safety Summit on March 15, 2023, where the Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration warned summit participants and the aviation industry, As I mentioned in my call to action, the biggest mistake we can make as an industry is to become complacent. As a safety professional, if you are comfortable it means you’re probably missing something.. (5)The Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honorable Jennifer Homendy, also addressed summit participants and called on the aviation community to recognize that, These recent incidents must serve as a wake-up call for every single one of us, before something more catastrophic occurs. Before lives are lost.. (6)A former Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honorable Robert Sumwalt, described the surge of near-miss commercial aviation incidents in 2023 as a red flag, stating, I look at them like a fever in a human body and that it is signaling that something is not right. I think these are very much precursor events that could be signaling that there's something more serious in the system.. (7)Although the National Transportation Safety Board investigation of these 2023 incidents is active and ongoing, certain aviation professionals and experts have hypothesized that the combination of mass buyouts of experienced commercial aviation pilots and the post-pandemic surge in demand for commercial air travel have resulted in a perfect storm of higher flight volume necessitating widespread hiring that has lowered the overall experience level among pilots, first officers, air traffic controllers, and mechanics. (8)Other organizations, such as the Regional Airline Association, have expressed concern over the quality of flight hours that aspiring pilots accrue, alleging that too many hours are gained through flying aircraft in optimal weather conditions at flight schools in Arizona and Florida, depriving pilots of gaining real-world flight experience that reflects the typical part 121 operating environment, which features cross-country flights, flights with clouds, flights in inclement weather, and flights at night, among other conditions. (9)Congress recognized the importance of quality in addition to quantity when establishing minimum flight hours requirements to obtain an airline transport pilot certificate, specifically including in subsection (c)(2) of section 217 of the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–216) the following requirement: The total flight hours required by the Administrator under subsection (b)(1) shall include sufficient flight hours, as determined by the Administrator, in difficult operational conditions that may be encountered by an air carrier to enable a pilot to operate safely in such conditions.. (10)The alarming rise of near-miss incidents involving part 121 carriers in 2023 warrants the Federal Aviation Administration to strengthen current regulations governing the specific minimum number of hours that pilots must earn in different types of flight while accruing flight hours towards the 1,500-hour minimum, which should include increasing the minimum hours requirement for cross-country flight time, night flight time, flight time in the class of airplane for which a rating is sought, instrument flight time in actual instrument conditions, and cross-country and night flight time in an airplane where the individual seeking an airline transport pilot certificate serves as the pilot in command, or as second in command performing the duties of a pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command.

Enhancing minimum flight hours requirements for difficult operational conditions

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall amend part 61.159 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations, to— (1)preserve the minimum total flight hours requirement that requires a person applying for an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane category and class rating to have at least 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot; and (2)modify the minimum flight time requirements for specific types of flight hours in difficult operational conditions to require that the 1,500 hours of total time as a pilot includes at least— (A)900 hours of cross-country flight time; (B)200 hours of night flight time; (C)375 hours of flight time in the class of airplane for the rating sought; (D)75 hours of instrument flight time, in actual instrument conditions; (E)200 hours of cross-country flight time in an airplane as a pilot in command, or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command, or any combination thereof; and (F)50 hours of night flight time in an airplane as a pilot in command, or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command, or any combination thereof.