Tougher Commuter-Airline Rules Proposed

WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration said yesterday it will propose tougher training and safety standards to bring commuter-airline pilots up to the level of pilots for the major carriers.

Testifying before a House aviation subcommittee, FAA Administrator David Hinson said the proposal would require commuter pilots to get more frequent and comprehensive equipment training in airplane simulators. The new rules would also teach commuter pilots how to interact better in the cockpit.

Hinson said a recent FAA study showed that human factors, not mechanical problems, are associated with more than 70 percent of commuter-plane accidents.

The announcement follows a commuter-plane crash in Hibbing, Minn., on Dec. 1 that killed all 18 people on board, including both pilots.

The National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the Hibbing crash, has found no evidence of mechanical problems. But according to NTSB records, the pilot, Capt. Marvin Falitz, had a history of failing flight-proficiency checks and being mentally and physically abusive to his co-pilots.

While Falitz has not been implicated in the crash, many in the airline industry say the behavior ascribed to him is the kind of conduct that should be addressed in new FAA standards.

Both Hinson and NTSB Chairman Carl Vogt, who also testified yesterday, cautioned against linking Falitz's background to the cause of the crash of the Jetstream 31, operated by Express II Airlines under the Northwest name. Both men said a number of pilots have failed flight-training tests only to retrain and pass them as Falitz did.

J. Randolph Babbitt, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, a union for pilots, agreed that pilots for all airlines, big or small, should be held to the same safety standards,

"The American public would be outraged if we prescribed two different sets of operating rules and safety equipment for automobiles, with the highest standards being reserved for big luxury sedans and a lesser standard imposed on compact cars, but that is exactly what we have in the airline industry," Babbitt said.

Other changes proposed by the FAA include the use of a ground-proximity warning system on commuter flights to help pilots determine when they are flying too low. The device has been required on major carriers since 1978.

The FAA promised to propose the new standards formally later this year. The agency could impose the new rules on its own.

Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation, said that too often passengers think they are going to be on a jet governed by the strictest FAA rules, only to find out that they are booked on a small airline with lower standards.

"The public has a right to know who's flying them and what the standards are," he said.