The FAA, in announcing that the rule will be published soon, said the new requirements were adopted in reaction to the crash of a Colgan Air airplane near Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009, in which both the captain and first officer were relatively inexperienced.
Which would have done zero, nil, zilch for Colgan Air Flt 3407.
Captain Marvin Renslow, age 47, had 3,263 hours, 110 hours in type.
FO Rebecca Lynne Shaw, age 24, had 2,200 hours with 772 hours in type.
This is a tale, told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, and signifying nothing.
You could call this a gift to the fractional-jet folks, since they will no longer have to compete with the regionals for pilots, and can pay them peanuts.
How about not letting guys captain that fail numerous checkrides?
The families of the dead in the Colgan Air crash did what is now expected of survivors: they became crusaders to pass laws that would prevent a similar crash from ever occurring again. We have been hearing about them and listening to interviews of them on Buffalo media for years now.
The two pilots apparently didn't know the characteristics of the particular plane during icing conditions. Based on what I've read, Colgan Air was a rather slapdash outfit; now the entire airline industry will pay.