senator dorgan, senator demint, members of the committee, i'm president of the regional airline association. i want to express our deepest sympathies for the lives of the passengers and crew of flight 3407 that were lost and for the families affected by the crash. we deeply share in their grief. i also want to express today not only for our member airlines but for our 60,000 highly trained professionals our total, unwavering commitment to safety. as we work towards ensuring this -- let's make sure this post-accident process does not have to be repeated. we will take whatever steps are necessary so that our flight crews and our aircraft are as safe as humanly possible. the safety of our nation's skies is a shared responsibility. at monday's faa summit, five of

our regional airline ceos and other leaders -- five of our ceos joined with federal agencies, major airlines and union representatives to explore all the issues making headlines over these past few months. regional airlines have one objective and that's to prevent any future accidents. and as we do that, as this committee has noted, it's important to keep our representative and to reassure the american public that flying is extremely safe. in fact, until this recent tragedy, commercial airlines had gone the longest period in aviation history without a fatal accident. working collectively, rolling up our sleeves, with all parties, government, labor, manufacturers, airlines have steadily improved our safety record over the course of many decades, safety initiatives, investigations and reviews of accidents and incidents large

and small. nevertheless, we can and must do better. our industry's number one goal has been and always will be zero accidents and zero fatalities. mr. chairman, at your request, our member airlines provided the committee very detailed information about their operations, their training, their hiring, their employees. today we will try to better define the regional airline industry to clear up some of the misconceptions. more importantly we will talk about the steps that regional airlines have already taken and the actions we plan to take to further focus our total commitment to safety and accident prevention. preponderance our airplanes typically carry up to 100 passengers. more than 50% of all of the scheduled airline passenger flights in the united states are on regional airlines. and most notably, 3 out of every

4 commercial airports in this country are served exclusively by regional airlines. our airlines, as you've indicated, largely operate in seamless partnership with the major airlines. regional airlines provide the crew in the aircraft while they set the schedules, the fares and the customer service policies. regional airlines and our major airline partners operate as a single integrated system. one ticket, one trip, one safety standard. all passenger airlines are subject to the exact same faa safety standards and requirements. it's been this way for more than a decade. our goal is to prevent accidents and that's why we are earnestly and eagerly supporting the faa's call to action and why the regional airline association has

embarked on our own strategic safety initiative to underscore our safety culture and to help prevent accidents. this strategic safety initiative has four elements. first, we'll be bringing together our safety professionals to review all of the procedures and address any issue that can even be perceived as a contributing factor to an accident. second, we will conduct a thorough review of fatigue, looking at all the human factors in the scientific field to minimize the risks associated with fatigue. third, we will implement a fatigue awareness management program so that our airlines keep this issue top of the mind for both our flight crews and just as importantly, airline management. fourth, we will reach out in partnership with you in congress, across the government and into our fellow stakeholders in labor and throughout the aviation industry to explore the

full range of issues which could help us improve safety and prevent future accidents. and among those are, number one, establish a single integrated faa database of pilot records. second, explore random fatigue testing. third, examine the practice of commuting. fourth, extend the period for background checks from 5 to 10 years. and fifth, seek to analyze the information from cockpit voice recorders in settings other than accident investigations. and mine all this tremendous data to check for trends to help prevent future accidents. mr. chairman, the regional airline association thanks you for the opportunity to testify today and for opening the dialog on these critical issues. we look forward to keeping you informed and i welcome any questions you might have.

>> mr. cohen, thank you very much for your testimony. next we will hear from captain john prater, the president of the pilots association. >> we commend this committee for calling this hearing to take a closer look at some of the critical issue looking at pilots and our charges. training and mentoring were at the top of the agenda at the faa's call to action summit in which we participated on monday. while this meeting was a critical first step towards developing solutions to these problems, we encouraged the faa to take a more structured approach in working with the airlines and labor to establish an agreed-to implementation plan for all parties to adopt. in recent years, we have to look more at the system. the major airlines have come to rely heavily on code-share arrangements with the so-called regional airlines to connect

large, midsize, and small cities in the u.s., in canada, in mexico to their international hubs. this has resulted in the large growth in the regional sector of the industry. still, the major carriers exert a great deal, almost total pressure on the regional airlines to provide their service at the lowest possible price. they control ticket pricing and schedules and they regularly move flying between their regional partners. this exacerbates breaking the chain of pilot experience couple that with 160 more bankruptcies in the airline industry, and airline pilots leaving the industry because there's been no way to protect and retain that experience in the cockpit. we start over again and again. some of the major airlines even today are outsourcing their flying to the regionals and laying off their own pilots losing those decades of experience to the professional.

these experienced pilots cannot afford to work for one of these so-called regional carriers as a newly hired first officer. as a result, many of the smaller regional carriers hire pilots near the faa minimum standards and do not employ adequate screening process that identify that ideal candidate that was brought out in the tragedy accident in buffalo, many pilots are not getting adequate training or enough rest. airlines are requiring pilots to work longer days and more of them each month. fleet and frequent-based changes are forcing pilots to decide between commuting or possibly taking another pay cut to train on new equipment. the consequences, the quality of airline pilot careers has been greatly diminished and the severe erosion of benefits and quality of life are motivating experienced aviators to move to other professions.

current training practices do not take into account the drastic change in pilot applicant experience. instead, they assume pilots are far more experienced than they may actually be. we believe there should be a new focus on standardization and even on fundamental flying skills. to meet this challenge airlines and other training providers must develop methodologys to train for that lack of experience and to train for judgment. current training practices may also be adjusted to account for the source and the experience level of that new pilot entering into that initial training with his or her training. we believe there should be more stringent training instruction for pilot ratings to start a career as an pilot. the faa should develop a structured ground school for

pilots who want to qualify to fly for 120 airlines. we also want there are training and leadership courses for new captains to instill in them the necessary skills and traits to be a real leader on the flight deck. airlines should also implement mentoring programs for both captains and first officers as they first enter operations in their new crew positions to help them apply the knowledge and skills to line operations from their more experienced peers. flight experience and pilot capabilities cannot be measured by mere flight hours. we must remember that each and every pilot out there today has met the faa standards, has met and trained and exceeded the standards of their airline who's responsible for certifying them. turning to another area of concern for two decades you have heard me and my predecessors speak about the problem of pilot fatigue. it's time we need to address

those rules and we need to change them. other means to enhance safety and improve airline operations we agree with mr. may, data collection and analysis programs. we need to share that information across the industry and then modify our practices to make sure that the best practices are being used by the entire family of airlines. in order to allow those programs to grow and make these reports more readily obtainable, additional legislative protections will be needed to limit the use of data in civil liability cases and to ensure that the information is used to increase safety. the best safety device on any airplane is a well trained, well-rested, highly motivated mite a strong safety culture must be instill and consistently enforced within the airline and among its code share regional partners. thank you for the opportunity to address you and i'll be ready to

take any questions. >> thank you very much, captain prater. we have a representative of the families of continental flight 3407. i know that your daughter, lauren, was a passenger on that flight. and i know it is likely difficult for you to speak publicly about these issues but on behalf of the families, i believe that you wanted an opportunity to do that and i'm pleased to give you that opportunity and our thoughts and sympathies are with you and the families. >> thank you and bare with me. on behalf of the families of flight 3407 we would like to thank you, chairman dorgan and ranking member senator demint and all the other subcommittee members of aviation for the opportunity to speak to you today. my name is scott maurer and you've heard my daughter, lauren maurer, was a passenger on continental flight 3407. tomorrow night at 10:17, it will

be 18 weeks since our lives were changed forever. the minutes, hours, days, and weeks that have passed since this tragedy have been an unbelievable nightmare for all of us. it's a pain that you will never know. and certainly one we hope no one else will face. we believe very strongly the crash did not have to happen and was preventible. as such, we are here today and will be here tomorrow and beyond to ask for your help and push for change so that other families can be spared this pain. when my 30-year-old daughter, lauren matuurer a future athlet director purchased her ticket from continental airlines she assumed the pilots who would fly that plane were competently trained. she thought they had significant experience and knowledge of the plane and all of the flight control features.

as she took her seat in 3a for an exciting valentine weekend to join her boyfriend in buffalo, i'm sure she believed that the pilots at the controls had been trained to handle cold weather flight conditions, stalls, and other emergency situations that all pilots are expected to be prepared to confront. there are many other examples i could share from the victims' perspective but time limits will not allow today. the critical message i do want to relay to you here today when an american public buys a ticket -- that their safety is in good hands. sadly, we find that that is not always the case and we're here today imploring you for assistance and action. so how can you help? number one, let's put the best pilots in the cockpit and set them up for success.

now, this sounds very simple but in reality, it takes money to do this and the airline industry has not stepped up to the plate. pilot hiring procedures, training, fatigue management and compensation have all been discussed throughout these hearings. the media attention focused on on the airline bringing attention to discuss these very same issues. unfortunately, meetings of this magnitude have been done before resulting in little change. as the costs have always been too high for implementation. the breakdown -- to10 break dow the bureaucratic logjam the families of the victims are now forced to ask congress to intervene. and do the right thing for public safety. number two, better aviation

oversight by the federal government. americans believe the role of the faa is that of a gatekeeper an agency that is technically trained and expertly qualified to watch over the airline industry for the safety of the american public. we have certainly identified leaks in this dike. while we're optimistic that the newly appointed administrator hears our pleas for action, we fear that the obstacles thrown up by the airline industry and pilot unions will be very hard to overcome. again, we are asking for congressional intervention. as history of these organizations voluntary action has been woefully inaccurate. number three, ntsb regulations. why are we accepting 80% recommendations by the faa when 100% would save lives?

would i even be sitting here talking to you today had previous recommendations for training and cold-weather flight management been acted on? these recommendations must be taken seriously. enacted on jointly by the faa and the ntsb. we must learn from accidents so we can prevent future occurrence. my wife, teri, my son, christopher, and lauren's boyfriend kevin, miss lauren every minute of every day. i will not have the opportunity to walk my daughter down the aisle and give her away in marriage. she will not experience the joy of a growing child within and raising a loving family as we did. our traditional christmas eve visit to new york city for some last minute shopping and taking in mass at st. patrick's

cathedral will be -- will probably come to an end this year. it will just be too painful to make that trip without lauren. many of my fellow crash victim families sitting behind me also have similar stories and similar losses. so now it's up to you to make a difference. everyone in this room today and those who were here last wednesday express that they have come before you to make the necessary changes in safety. winter's coming. if we do not implement critical safety changes before then and another accident occurs, we can only blame ourselves for the losses of those families. i do not wish to shoulder that burden and hope and believe that you will agree with me. mr. chairman, ranking member senator demint and all of the other aviation committee members, thank you for your time and i'm open also to answering

questions. >> mr. maurer, thank you very much. i indicated in the last hearing that i have some discomfort about a good many things here. reading the transcript of the cockpit recording demonstrated to me a number of errors occurred. i also said that that young copilot and pilot perished in that accident as well and they're not here to speak. they're not here to speak for themselves, and they have families who miss them terribly and so i'm discomforted by that and yet we have no choice but to proceed aggressively to find out what are the standards here? are these accidents -- was this an accident that could have been prevented? how do we prevent future accidents and circumstances like

this. let me ask a few questions. my understanding i would say to mr. may and mr. cohen is that we're hiring in pilots to put in a comeback of commercial airlines with 30, 50, 80, 90 passengers behind the cockpit. we're hiring some of them for $10 an hour; is that correct? >> mr. chairman, the pay -- the average pay of a regional airline captain is $72,000 per year. the average pay of a first officer is $32,000. that's very comparable to other professions that have lives at stake, medical assistance -- >> but mr. cohen, i'm asking -- is it the case that we're hiring pilots to put in the cockpit of commercial airplanes and paying them 22, $23,000 a year.

that's $10 an hour roughly. isn't that the the case? and if that's the case, one wonders what is the capability of pilots that are coming out of school with a good many hours that meet the technical qualifications, get hired for $10 an hour and then live with their parents in seattle and fly to newark to a duty station all night long and at that salary they're going to hire a crash pad and rent a hotel to get some sleep, i don't think so. my very specific question, isn't there a significant issue here about experience and funding and salaries at the entry level on some of these airplanes where we're getting -- all of us are getting on. the name is the same. we think it's northwest, it's continental, it's delta. it's the same name but it's a different carrier with a completely different standard it seems to me of hiring new pilots that are entering that comeback

-- let me just try to expand on a couple of things. first of all, most importantly, compensation and safety are not will not related. the ntsb has never in all of its accident investigations ever cited compensation or pay as a causal factor, even a contributing factor to an aircraft accident. the pay is fair and competitive in a very difficult industry. i'm a veteran of that industry, and i will tell you that it is -- as captain prater pointed out, it's a very difficult industry. the pay and training -- and the opportunity that person comes into, that they are proficient, that they are well-trained. that we would not put that person in charge of that

airplane, in charge of that crew -- the safety of that, we would not if that person weren't well-trained and prepared. >> well, let me ask -- do we have the chart? let me ask a question of captain prater. this chart shows commuting for colgate airlines. that shows newark and it shows the pilots -- where they're living in order to fly to newark to get to a duty station. does that make any sense to you, captain prater. i understand you might say it's always been that way. they got to get adequate rest and so on but this case had a copilot that flew all night long to get to her duty station and so does that make sense? >> it makes sense, and i would agree that is -- that represents the reality of our air transportation system and our pilots.

however, i think we have to take a very close look again at the system that has created this. you can't open and close,í domiciles on a regular basis and not give them some ability to either move to their new station or to get to work. even if i am based in houston and a company needs me out of newark, they will deadhead me to newark. they will get me to where i should start my flight. this is a huge responsibility that professional aviators take very near and dear. none of us get into a cockpit. every one of these face the weather, the same weather and the same situation, engines fail. we have emergencies and our pilots do it. >> but with very different level of skill and experience, do you agree? >> yes, without a doubt.

i'm going to stay here to ask all my questions and stay here and i don't want too abuse my colleagues. but the question of pilot records, captain prater, do you have a problem if we know anything about an airplane that we -- that a potential employer should know everything about a pilots' records? >> i believe that the record act can be improved. i do think that history and performance is necessary and good but don't look at that as the entire story. we are constantly going through training and must meet the standards every month, every week, every year. so just like when you create an airplane, you test it to deinstru deinstrud

de-destruction. >> you seem to imply in your testimony that there was two standards with respect to commercial -- excuse me, commercial aviation. one would be the trunk carriers or network carriers and the other is the regional. do you believe there are two standards in that cockpit. >> i'll say it succinctly. we have one level of regulation. we do not have one level of safety. >> so different levels of enforcement. >> mr. may, do you agree with that? >> mr. chairman, i do agree, 421 is the single standard the faa must promulgated to which we must all adhere. i don't think there's any question that main line carriers exceed that 421 base far more often than most. >> but that which exist in law or rule is relevant only to the extent you have a federal agency we're going to enforce the rule and enforce it aggressively. >> that is correct. >> do you believe that is the correct now?

>> i think we can have greater enforcement and if the committee and the faa choose, you can even change some of the parameters. we've suggested, as i said in my testimony today, you ought to have programs required as part of the base. i think you can use aqp programs on training. i think there are a number of issues on pilot records that you can resolve. all of those things can be done to further improve the environment. >> one final point, mr. cohen and mr. may, as i indicated when i started this hearing, i want to invite the folks that run the carriers themselves to come to that table and we had made some invitations and apparently have not had acceptance of those invitations. we'll remake them fully understanding they will be accepted and have another hearing with the airlines themselves. >> mr. chairman, you have our commitment. whoever you want, whenever up the, we will provide them. >> thank you very much.

senator demint? >> thank you, mr. chairman. i think we need to get a little more specific and, mr. may, i appreciate you mentioning the specifics what we can do with training, but what i'm not hearing here today are specific ideas about what do we need to change to prevent something like this from happening again. i mean, there have got to be things that come to mind that we need to change. i mean, obviously, we have some situations of violating current rules, no sterile cockpit in this particular crash and that the pilots themselves violated rules. we need to make sure that that doesn't happen again. but what do we need to do, what do the carriers need to do -- what do we need to do from a regulatory perspective and do we need legislation that the regulators can't carry out? so what we're looking for here

is what we can do and that so i would just like mr. may starting which because you mentioned training. what we need are specifics here of things that can be done to improve safety perhaps that this crash brings to light that we're currently not doing or not requiring or not auditing? we have so far gotten a lot of assurances that safety is our main concern but the reason we're here is that that broke down. so i'm just looking for some ideas. we need to know if we need to push the regulators to do something something or do we need to insist the carriers doing something that they are not doing. >> senator demint, i think i made seven very specific recommendations in my oral testimony. i'll recap them for you today. i think there needs to be a