Capito Supports Stricter Airline and Pilot Safety Standards

Press Release

Yesterday, Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R. W.Va., voted in favor of the 15thshort-term extension of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs. The extension includes important bipartisan airline safety and pilot training provisions for which Capito has long-advocated.

"It's a privilege to be able to tell the friends and families of the victims of Continental Flight 3407 that Congress worked together in a bipartisan fashion to pass smart and lifesaving airline safety reforms. I hope that these important and necessary reforms are included in a long-term FAA reauthorization," stated Capito, member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee which oversaw the legislation.

On February 12, 2009, 50 people were killed when Continental Flight 3407 operated by Colgan Air crashed in Clarence Center, New York. Subsequent investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that one of the pilots did not appear to have been adequately trained and both pilots were suspected to have suffered from fatigue.

In response, the extension includes airline safety and pilot training provisions such as prescreening standards for pilots to ensure only the best applicants are hired and creating an aviation rulemaking committee to develop procedures for airline pilot professional mentoring programs.

"Americans put their lives in the hands of pilots when they step onto an aircraft. It is imperative that they are appropriately trained and well rested to prevent airlines disaster from occurring in the future," concluded Capito.

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