fifth, the faa should endorse conative napping conducted in accordance with faa approved procedures tolitate alertness during critical phases of flight. previous nasa research has shown overwhelming the controlled mapping significantly mitigates which egressed. on the procedural sign we have a three issues. particularly concerned about the ultimate scope of any proposed regulation, extraneous considerations should not burn and our efforts to improve aviation safety but ruling in proceeding is not the form in which two resolve collective bargaining issues. second we're also concerned about the active proposed rest regulations on managers who are also qualified as line pilots. and time spent on administrative duties such as checking e-mail or making a phone call count as duty, we risk losing qualified pilot managers. it used by the managers who played an essential role in safe airline operation and in consequence of this rule -- management positions must be carefully considered. and finally as with any major regulatory change covered parties will lead time to implement policies requi

in 5th, the faa should endorse controlled-cockpit napping, conducting in door dance with faa proceduresthe critical phases of flight. research has shown overwhelmly that controlled napping significantly mitigates fatigue risk. on the procedural side, we had three issues. we are concerned about the ultimate scone, consideration should not burden our efforts to improve aviation safety. a rule making proceeding is not the forum in which to resolve collective bargaining issues. second, we are also concerned about the effective proposed duty and rest regulation on managers who are also qualified as line pilots. if time sent on checking e-mail or making a phone call count as duty, we risk losing line-qualified pilot managers. these pilot managers have played an essential role in safe operations in the consequence and those managements positions must be carefully considered. finally, as within any major regulatory change, cover partied will need time to complement, requiring programming and training. that is particularly so here where crew schedules would be impacted. we therefore ask that faa

babbitt and the faa are working on that. i was disappointed at the last hearing to understand the time has slipped and we will talk about that a bit with administrator babbitt as well as we are determined to try to drive this to a conclusion. it is the case that with commercial aviation in this country delivers about 800 million people per year to their destinations. 30,000 flights operate every day in this country safely. we have had some tragic accidents but few, and we also know how to prevent accidents in the future by addressing things that we understand are potential problems and cost potential risk. there are fatigue related accidents that have occurred in the last 20 years. one in my judgment quite recently when that caused a good many fatalities and it ought to require all of us to be urgence in our quest to the faa to make progress on dealing with these issues. a recent faa equipment outage has caused some concern and we will ask about those today as well because it caused major delays and chaos across the country

i am fairy pleased you became the faa administrator. -- i am very pleased you became the faa administratoru have the capability to rally back but things into motion. we want to give you the tools to do it. we want you to meet deadlines. i thank you you very much. that is a significant priority of ours. >> i would be happy to do that. i have suggested to some of the staff that perhaps we could give you a quick tour and a timeline of some of the things we are doing. i think you will see a tremendous acceleration. the components are coming together. i appreciate some of the push that you give us. you should rest assured that some of that push is going on internally. i would invite you and be delighted to escort a group to show you live and in color what we are doing with next generation and what the potential is. i welcome back. thank you. >> mr. babbitt, thank you very much. senator, would you proceed? >> how shall -- how long shall i proceed? [applause] until you run out of breath. >> for 5 minutes. thank you for your attention to matters of air travel. i am informed that we have some of th

thank you for inviting me here to testify on behalf of the faa to discuss the faa's ongoing safety initiatives. safety is, of course, the most important issue to the agency and the f a professional -- professionals take this role very seriously. i would like to of knowledge a group of family murders that are attending this hearing this morning, representing the family members of passengers who died earlier this year in an accident. any aviation and fidelity is taken very seriously by the faa and of course, by me personally. what can only imagine the grief and the painful process that they're going through to come to terms with their loss, we are very motivated to improve aviation safety so that other families can be steered their tragic experience. . . before the issue was raised by a members of congress, i asked them to start an advance notice for proposed rulemaking to consider whether endorsement would be a stop was to the above require more the what is currently required for commercial certificate public focused more on the actual elements required rather than the 1500 hours required. it w

tyler fatigue has consistently been an issue with the ntsb and the faa. the current flight rules i believe have been in existence with respect to a duly time and

faa had a proposal, i'm told, that language -- that languished for years. after some reason crushes they have revisited the issue, which is why the letter, i guess, urged them to move forward. but as you can imagine, the airlines are not very receptive to the idea that lowering flight times for the crew, because obviously will have to hire more pilots and that cost more and scheduling and everything else. but i'm wondering if this issue commutes to before someone gets on a plane and flying a plane, and the way you calculate the limits on the number of hours they can fly. we have talked a lot about this, but i want to hear your thoughts and perspective about how that can be addressed. and it is very much at issue in this incident, where you have pilots that came in, were sick, and have long commutes, you know, sleeping in the where the crew is. it clearly adds to the amount of time they have been flying. i'm sure it has to affect their ability to be alert when it comes time to actually fly the plane. >> that is an issue. we have talked about it several times

in 2007, the faa official dismissed the noise problem as a societal issue. we cannot say in good conscience that the quality of life and issues affecting 100 sub -- hundred of thousands of new jersey residents should be redesigned. there is also a concern about living in the path of an airport. can we count on you to do that? also, your willingness to hold a town hall meeting in new jersey to discuss any at they plan to address the safety and noise concerns regarding aerospace design projects? >> yes, sir, i have indicated in the best that one of the areas we have not done well is when we talk about airspace redesign, people immediately focus on new data lines that did not used to go over the area in which they live. we have a couple of things, if i could expand, we have a new contract with the air corps traffic controllers association. we are making a lot of efforts to have a much better dialogue and ability to communicate with them and the ability to collaborate with them on issues. i want their participation in this airspace redesign. i welcome their part

thank you for inviting me here to testify on behalf of the faa to discuss the faa's ongoing safety initiatives. safety is, of course, the most important issue to the agency and the f a professional -- professionals take this role very seriously. i would like to of knowledge a group of family murders that are attending this hearing this morning, representing the family members of passengers who died earlier this year in an accident. any aviation and fidelity is taken very seriously by the faa and of course, by me personally. what can only imagine the grief and the painful process that they're going through to come to terms with their loss, we are very motivated to improve aviation safety so that other families can be steered their tragic experience. . . before the issue was raised by a members of congress, i asked them to start an advance notice for proposed rulemaking to consider whether endorsement would be a stop was to the above require more the what is currently required for commercial certificate public focused more on the actual elements required rather than the 1500 hours required. it w

i am really pete -- pleased that you became the faa administrator. you bring a wealth of experience to this job, more so than many others in past years. you have the capability to do really good things. we want to give you the tools to do it and we want you to meet deadlines. i thank you very much for coming here. i will send a list of additional questions, especially on the subject of nextgen which is a significant priority of us sours. >> i have suggested to some of the staff that perhaps we could give you a quick tour and a timeline of some of things we are doing. i think you will see a tremendous acceleration here. components are coming together. i appreciate some of the push you give us parent you should rest assured that some of that push is going on internally. from me. and i would be delighted to escort a group to show you live and in color what we are doing with nextgen and what the potential is. >> thank you very much senator. lot newberg -- senatorlautenberg, would you proceed? >> how long should i proceed? >> [laughter] until you run out

guest: get the faa reauthorization done.e federal aviation regulations on pilot fatigue. it is the number-one issue before airline pilots today. host: talk to us about pilot fatigue. what would you like to see changed hands -- as far as regulations are things back and help pilots. guest: a set of regulations that recognize the difficulties of different types of flying. let us start with regional or commuter flying, where the pilot can do eight, nine, 10 legs a day. that needs to be put in restricted duty day so that you can do the landings but not have the 16-hour day. that means the pilot could be making his are heard last landing after being up 18, 19, 20 hours and then only get eight hours in a hotel. let us talk about the long-range flying to europe and asia, crossing eight, 10, even 12 time zones. that requires a different system. we have advocated for a matrix that looks at that and provides pilots with enough rest before, during, and after the trips so they don't have to ever go to work and be in a fatigued state. hos

. >> how to use the the faa addressing this question now if at all? do you see it is essential to addressing this issue? >> if anything, i believe that it is a personal responsibility thrust upon you by the circumstances. you could live in your base and the next day it is closed and you are expected to fly out of new york instead of cincinnati. you have three kids in school. you just cannot do it overnight. se changes in one year. you cannot move. it is not a whole lot different than many jobs in our society, except on the other end of it, we have to be in command of the cockpit. it does start with personal responsibility. the carrier must insure that the pilot is able to get to work with the least amount of hassle. it is no different from flying from st. louis to washington, d.c., to begin your work week here. it should not take you eight or 10 hours to fly. there are things that can be done, but i believe it will be done more in the collective of bargaining irina where we come up with a solution from our employers. >> the think operator and pilot --

. >> captain prater, how do you see the faa addressing this question, if at all?>> if anything, i believe it is a personal responsibility thrust upon you by the circumstances. you can live in your face and the next day your base is closed -- you can live in your base, and the next day your base is closed. i know pilot to have had five base changes in one year. you cannot move. it is not a whole lot different than many jobs in our society, except on the other end of it, we have to be in command of the cockpit. it does start with personal responsibility. the carrier must insure that the pilot is able to get to work with the least amount of hassle. it is no different from flying from st. louis to washington, d.c., to begin your work week here. it should not take you eight or 10 hours to fly. there are things that can be done, but i believe it will be done more in the collective of bargaining irina where we come up with a solution from our employers. >> the think operator and pilot -- do you think the operator and the pilot can make the decision about whether they are

the faa has taken very quick action. charts have been changed and the airspace over the hudson is safer now because of those changes. that is exactly why we exist, to make transportation safer. host: the metro accident that killed nine people over the summer -- what was the cause of the accident, and what did you learn? guest: that accident occurred in june and it is still under investigation. the safety board will hold a hearing in february on that accident, and we will determine the causes of the accident and issue the final report. we've already issued two rounds of recommendations, not just to wmata, the local authorities, but to transit operators nationwide about looking at the system. we found something with the metro accident that led us to believe that there are concerns not just with this system, but systems around the country. these systems are aging and need to be monitored very well and make sure that the signal systems are working properly and that there are no anomalies that create an accident like this aga

the faa has taken very quick action. charts have been changed and the airspace over the hudson is safer now because of those changes. that is exactly why we exist, to make transportation safer. host: the metro accident that killed nine people over the summer -- what was the cause of the accident, and what did you learn? guest: that accident occurred in june and it is still under investigation. the safety board will hold a hearing in february on that accident, and we will determine the causes of the accident and issue the final report. we've already issued two rounds of recommendations, not just to wmata, the local authorities, but to transit operators nationwide about looking at the system. we found something with the metro accident that led us to believe that there are concerns not just with this system, but systems around the country. these systems are aging and need to be monitored very well and make sure that the signal systems are working properly and that there are no anomalies that create an accident like this aga

the faa and airport development and six cetera. we will not have the time or the ability to answer this question in its entirety but thank you very much to all of you. very interesting testimony. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. let me ask a question, ms. gilligan let's assume your recommendations are done all when the sees them come in the door and says we will work on this quickly and move it out. dot says the process is complete it will give us more providence to do work in this area with the cold and crash and the pilot flew from seattle to mend his then dead ahead on fedex then flew to laguardia and the pilot flew from florida up two laguardia. there is no evidence either of them having a hotel. there is evidence of both being in a crew rest launch and the left seat pilot was doing e-mails throughout the night. and it appears with respect to whatever caused the crash may be the pilot of our co-pilot understands what a stick pusher means have a call up instead of pushing it down because of vice it is possible be

the faa has taken very quick action.charts have been changed and the airspace over the hudson is safer now because of those changes. that is exactly why we exist, to make transportation safer. host: the metro accident that killed nine people over the summer -- what was the cause of the accident, and what did you learn? guest: that accident occurred in june and it is still under investigation. the safety board will hold a hearing in february on that accident, and we will determine the causes of the accident and issue the final report. we've already issued two rounds of recommendations, not just to wmata, the local authorities, but to transit operators nationwide about looking at the system. we found something with the metro accident that led us to believe that there are concerns not just with this system, but systems around the country. these systems are aging and need to be monitored very well and make sure that the signal systems are working properly and that there are no anomalies that create an accident like this agai

that program was mdated by the faa to all u.s. carrrs.on9/11 theaps program we developed at northwest identified ten of the 19 hijackers. this is on 9/11,. whafailed on 9/11 we the fa policy and procedures ith how to deal with thos selectee i have hed that since 9/11 the t has abaoned the caps progm. if that is the case, somebody should also investigate why. >> ifill: and you believe that is a hole in the safety net as well? >> oh, sure. >> ifl: juan-carlos zarae, where do u see the holes in e safety net if they exist? >> i tnk a mar issue that sti remains, it was an issue in the bush admintration, i think the bama administration will deal with this, the date databases we he with regard to suspects there a sti restrictions on us. law very imrtant res trictions on the blendingf some othat data. there are doubts out there that aren't initially connected in part becae of cil liberties and civil rights conrns. again ligei massbut i think we will could be frnt a time wn we will have to come to grips wth the inclusion of that information and me

by what it -- pilot fatigue has continually been an issue for the faa.rent flight rules have been in existence with respect to duty time had been in existence for 40 or 50 years. the ntsb investigations have found that pilot fatigue was either the probable or the contributory cause of 20 air carrier accidents in the u.s. and its cost to under 73 fatalities between 1989 and 2008. -- and it has caused 273 fatalities between 1989 and 2008. some safety regulations call on a revision of duty times to take in consideration research findings on fatigue and sleep issues. while the faa also limits the amount of flight and duty time at paulette may work in a day, and these limits have existed for decades, commuting time, an increasing phenomenon in recent decades, is not factored into this requirement at all. the stories that we have heard are fairly frightening, and i want to say from the outset, my goal today is not to alarm the flying public. far from it. we have the safest skies in the world, in my judgment, but the issue of pilot fatigue is serious and merits

we do not allow the airlines to decide how much the faa inspectors are paid. we cannot allow the freight railroads to decide how many inspectors there are and how much they get paid. somehow this current system has evolved into where certain systems have been allowed to either pay their safety oversight entity or not. by taking over the -- at the federal level, we hope to eliminate that conflict of interest and there would have to be some governing restructuring. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator jack reed. >> we appreciate and looking forward to continuing to work with you. as you depart, let me welcome our distinguished colleague from maryland who has been a vocal advocate for more federal oversight of the transit safety issue and recently introduced a senate bill, the national metro safety act which she will want to talk about today. senator mikulski, thank you for joining us. we look forward to hearing your testimony. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for those nice words of introduction. i want to thank you for your national leadership of transporta

the second thing, the faa just spent $5 million on some lavish party.ow much of that $5 million could of gone to more dogs, more security in the united states? it seems like we are wasting money in one place where we should be spending it on another place. i used to be a screener and metro airport. this was before the tsa, well before 9/11. we have maybe a two-day seminar on how to learn to screen and find bombs on people's luggage and stuff. we had people who were falling asleep, coming to work drunk, just like the past lady said. but hopefully that issue will be taken care of. the problem is, this happened over in amsterdam and nigeria. the problem is not the united states right now other than we are not getting all of the information from our cia and it is not being passed on. the problem started overseas. these people should not be allowed to come to the united states unless they are fairly vetted, before they even get on the airplanes. that is the problem. thank you, pedro, and i hope you do have a happy new year. host: two perspectives on imaging

we do not allow the airlines to decide how much the faa inspectors are paid. we cannot allow the freight railroads to decide how many inspectors there are and how much they get paid. somehow this current system has evolved into where certain systems have been allowed to either pay their safety oversight entity or not. by taking over the -- at the federal level, we hope to eliminate that conflict of interest and there would have to be some governing restructuring. >> thank you. >> thank you, senator jack reed. >> we appreciate and looking forward to continuing to work with you. as you depart, let me welcome our distinguished colleague from maryland who has been a vocal advocate for more federal oversight of the transit safety issue and recently introduced a senate bill, the national metro safety act which she will want to talk about today. senator mikulski, thank you for joining us. we look forward to hearing your testimony. >> thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for those nice words of introduction. i want to thank you for your national leadership of transporta

the second thing is, the faa just spent $5 million on some lavish party. how much of that $5 million would have went for more dogs, more security in the united states? it seems like we're wasting money in one place where we should be spending money in another place. i used to be a screener at metro airport. this was before the tsa. this was well before the 9/11 issue, and we had maybe a two-day seminar on how to learn to screen and find bombs on people's luggage and stuff. we had people that were falling asleep if they come and work drunk just like the past laissez. but hopefully, that issue will be taken care of. but the problem is, this happened over and amsterdam in nigeria. the problem is not in the united states right now, other than we're not getting all the information from our cia and its not being passed on. the problem started overseas. these people should not be allowed to come to the united states unless they are thoroughly vetted before they even get on the airplane. that's the problem. naked, pater, and i do hope you have a happy new year. >>