Leave it to Congress to hold not one, but two public hearings and still not get to the heart of the matter: For at least six years, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has failed to heed warnings by airline pilots who reported serious safety concerns that put the public at risk. And the very same safety issues are still not being adequately addressed now.
Like the first hearing held a week earlier, last Wednesday’s inquiry by the Senate Aviation Subcommittee focused on the crash of Colgan Air Flight 3407 in Buffalo, which killed all 50 people aboard and one on the ground. The lack of adequate training and pilot fatigue were cited as the two major contributing factors by FAA administrator Randy Babbitt and National Transportation Safety Board acting chairman Mark Rosenker.
