Washington — Over 230 senators and members of Congress are urging Department of Transportation leaders to “take a strong stand” against European Union efforts to require only one pilot in the cockpit during commercial flights.
In separate bipartisan letters recently sent to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the lawmakers express “significant concerns with extended minimum crew operations to enable single-pilot flights in commercial aviation.” The House letter is also addressed to Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford.
The letters state that the European Union Aviation Safety Agency is “pursuing a regulatory pathway to enable this new operation with the goal of full-time single pilot operation by the end of the decade.” Under extended minimum crew operations, one pilot would operate in the flight deck during cruise operations while a second pilot leaves the area to rest.
The letters quote federal regulations stating that no certified airline may operate aircraft with less than the minimum flight crew, which includes two pilots.
The lawmakers want the United States to “exercise leadership” within the International Civil Aviation Organization, an agency of the United Nations, in which other reduced-crew efforts are afoot. The letters also encourage the EU Aviation Safety Agency to reject the proposals.
“The presence of two pilots is vital not only for the overwhelming majority of occasions on which everything works fine on flights, but for the rare instances when challenges and potential tragedies develop,” the letters state.
Jason Ambrosi, president of Air Line Pilots Association, International, backs the lawmakers’ call.
“The United States should continue to lead the world in aviation safety, which is why we’re engaging with our European counterparts to ensure that this dangerous concept is not implemented,” Ambrosi said in a press release. “There is no safety rationale for removing pilots from the flight deck, and we fully support the … effort to halt these initiatives. Whether a flight is carrying cargo or passengers, there is no replacement for two pilots on the flight deck.”
