The Cargo Carrier Exemption

Should cargo carriers be exempt from flight/duty changes? As a result of the Colgan Air Accident, the FAA implemented new flight and duty regulations to mitigate the risk of fatigue for aircrews. The regulation incorporates restrictions on flight hours, and it also implements more stringent rest requirements. Among many other things, the new regulation mandates a 10-hour period of rest, with the intention of giving pilots at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep within that amount of time. The old regulation had more lax flight hour requirements based on the day and year, whereas the new rule limits flight hours in accordance with the week, month, and per years (Houston, 2017). The FAA has established an exemption for cargo carriers under the Part 117 rules. Limitations vary on the time the pilot begins their day, and incorporates certain limits on flight time when the plane is moving under its own power before, during, or after flight. Additionally, cargo carriers have improved their rest facilities for crewmembers (PNG, 2013).

            I believe that cargo carriers have been excluded from the new changes as a result of the cost that it would take to fulfill that standard. It can cost approximately $297 million to implement the new rule for passenger pilots, which we can all agree is an astronomical price. That being said, there is a greater opportunity of a cost benefit ranging close to $500 million; an opportunity the air cargo industry is not equally susceptible to (PNG, 2013).

            I do not believe cargo carriers should be included in the new rules. Safety should always be a factor and a concern, whether a pilot is transporting one person, one hundred, or just boxes. People will argue that it’s more important for an airline pilot to be concerned about safety because they’re transporting people, but even a pilot transporting household goods has the potential to destroy hundreds of people if that aircraft were to experience a crash. Safety should always be a factor and every pilot should take all necessary precautions, but I do believe the requirements are little too strict for cargo carriers. Air cargo pilots differ from passenger pilots in many ways, to include running shorter flights and operating at various times throughout the night, so the requirements should reflect their operation without compromising safety.

            If the cargo carriers were to be included in the new rules, companies and personnel would suffer significantly. The preexisting gap of qualified pilots would increase for cargo carriers, subsequently resulting in a lack of productivity for companies. From a management perspective, companies would suffer from a loss of personnel and it would drastically decrease their reputation and product output.

References

Houston, S. (2017, November 17). FAA’s Final Rule for Pilot Duty and Rests Requirements. Retrieved from                    https://www.thebalance.com/faa-final-rule-pilot-duty-and-rest-requirements-282927

PNG Logistics (2013, January 29). Rest Requirements For Air Cargo Pilots. Retrieved from

            http://pnglc.com/rest-requirements-for-air-cargo-pilots/