(June 8) -- During the past 10 years, regional airlines have been involved in nine serious accidents -- and in eight of them, at least one of the pilots had failed skills tests twice or more, USA Today reported.
The newspaper's story was based on analysis of National Transportation Safety Board records. It found that in the one accident where the pilots hadn't failed skills tests, the copilot was fired for falsifying his job application. (The accident didn't result in any fatalities.)
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In the eight other accidents, at least one of the pilots had failed two or more tests called "check rides" over the course of his or her career, USA Today said. The tests gauge a pilot's ability to fly and respond to emergencies. The newspaper also looked at the records of pilots for major airlines and cargo carriers and found that out of 10 serious accidents over the past decade, only one pilot had failed a check ride more than once.
USA Today examined pilots' records at regional carriers after a public hearing last month on the crash of Continental Connections Flight 3407, which plunged into a residential neighborhood near Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 12, killing 50 people. The plane's captain, Marvin Renslow, had failed five skills tests.
Failing a check ride several times over a career "really sends up the red flags," said a corporate jet pilot who has written about safety issues.
Read more about the analysis -- and the reaction of people in the aviation industry -- at usatoday.com.
In another story prompted by the Buffalo crash, National Public Radio previewed a hearing that Congress will hold this month on safety issues involving regional airlines. It interviewed an FAA inspector who said Colgan Air, the company that operated the doomed flight, cuts corners and is too cozy with regulators. (Colgan Air denied the accusations.) You can listen to audio of the NPR report here.
The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has scheduled two hearings -- one on Wednesday and the other June 17 -- focusing on pilot fatigue and safety, The Associated Press reported. The House also plans to hold hearings, but no date has been set.
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