Travel Tip: New FAA Polices Increase Pilot Training [ 0:59 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you remember the accident of Colgan Air 3407, over Buffalo, New York, you know that it was a smaller regional jet that crashed on approach, killing 50 people. The official cause? Pilot error. And now the FAA is doing something about it.

After getting a lot of pressure from the families of those crash victims, the FAA established new rules when it comes to pilot training.

This is actually the most significant updates in terms of pilot training in the last 20 years. Pilots will now use flight simulators to learn how to prevent and recover from stalls, which is a direct result of the Colgan Air crash. They’ve also expanded training during crosswinds and wind gusts.

Airlines will also be able to view pilots’ training so they can better track performance patterns, and evaluate how effective that training is.

But there’s one thing that the new rules DOESN’T address, and that’s the issue of pilot fatigue. The pilots in the Colgan Air crash were dealing with conditions that set them up for exhaustion, and that is a major problem that still needs to be fixed.

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