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Even as the National Transportation Safety Board continues its investigation into February's crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407 in Buffalo, the Federal Aviation Administration tightened safety regulations for regional airlines such as Colgan Air, which operated the fatal flight. New rules are in place for the hiring, training and mentoring of pilots. "That still leaves out a critical safety issue," declared ABC's Lisa Stark. "Fatigue."
CBS' Nancy Cordes reported that the NTSB had been warning about the problems facing regional pilots "long before this Colgan Air crash." ABC's Stark took A Closer Look and disagreed. She put it this way: "Even the government's top aviation officials admitted that the Colgan Air accident is a wake-up call." NBC's Tom Costello sort-of sided with Stark's interpretation: "What is unusual is that the FAA is not waiting for the NTSB's final report on the Buffalo crash."
All three reporters focused on fatigue. Airlines can schedule pilots to be on duty for up to 16 hours each day. CBS' Cordes reported that the pilots' union wants the maximum to be cut to 12. "Due in part to pressure from airlines the rules have gone unaltered since the 1940s."
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