Almost all US regional airlines have met the US Federal Aviation Administration's 20 March deadline for tougher safety rules, with only six out of the 39 affected carriers failing to do so.
The new regulations require regional operators to meet the same standards as those operating large jet-powered airliners, and affect scheduled airlines using aircraft with between ten and 30 seats.
The six "failed" small carriers, operating a total of only 13 aircraft, are either continuing to work with the FAA to reach compliance or have reduced the number of passenger seats to fewer than ten.
Mesa Airlines, commenting on what it has been like making the transition, says that the extra work has caused flight delays, but is not affecting safety. Mesa says: "The strain of handling the carrier's 1,800 daily flights has temporarily overloaded the system." Long-distance telephone lines to the company have been choked by the new procedures for forwarding the dispatch flight-releases to the pilots.
The so-called Commuter Rule is expected to cost affected US regional airlines $75 million over 15 years. Specific safety enhancements include compliance with dispatch systems and dispatcher certification regulations; better training programmes; duty limits for aircraft maintenance workers; and compulsory crew-resource-management training for pilots.
Source: Flight International
