,,ii #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bccb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,july #ah1 #bjbc ,ms4 ,duckworth introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,commerce1 ,science1 and ,transportation ,a ,,bill ,to improve scheduled air service safety through enhanced aeronautical experience requirements for applicants seeking an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane category and class rating1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,experienced ,pilots ,save ,lives ,act of #bjbc4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the commercial aviation system is experiencing an unusual number of safety challenges as evidenced by multiple near-miss incidents in calendar year #bjbc involving aircraft operated by part #aba air carriers4 7#b7 ,these near-miss commercial aviation incidents include-- 7,a7 at the ,austin-,bergstrom ,international ,airport1 a ,boeing #gcg-gjj aircraft operated by ,southwest ,airlines nearly colliding with a ,boeing #gfg cargo aircraft operated by ,fed,ex1 with the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board finding that the two aircraft likely came within #ajj feet of each other in the near-miss incident2 7,b7 at ,washington ,reagan ,national ,airport1 a runway incursion by an ,embraer #age aircraft operated by ,republic ,airways where it crossed into a runway that air traffic control had already cleared an ,airbus ,a#cai aircraft operated by ,united ,airlines for takeoff1 forcing the takeoff to be aborted2 7,c7 at ,bob ,hope ,burbank ,airport1 a runway incursion incident where a ,,crj#ijj aircraft operated by ,mesa ,airlines was forced to abort a landing on approach because an ,embraer #age aircraft operated by ,sky,west ,airlines had yet to take off2 and 7,d7 at ,boston ,logan ,international ,airport1 an incident where an ,embraer #aij operated by ,jet,blue was forced to take evasive action after a ,learjet #fj operated by a private charter carrier initiated takeoff without clearance from a runway that intersected the runway that the ,embraer #aij had been cleared to use for landing4 7#c7 ,following this surge of near-miss incidents involving part #aba air carriers1 the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board initiated a comprehensive investigation of these incidents to identify commonalities that may have contributed to the incidents1 such as communication breakdowns1 situational awareness lapses1 and inadequate training4 ,this investigation is active and ongoing4 7#d7 ,the spike in troubling near-miss incidents also spurred the ,federal ,aviation ,administration to convene an ,aviation ,surface ,safety ,summit on ,march #ae1 #bjbc1 where the ,acting ,administrator of the ,federal ,aviation ,administration warned summit participants and the aviation industry1 ,as ,i mentioned in my call to action1 the biggest mistake we can make as an industry is to become complacent4 ,as a safety professional1 if you are comfortable it means you're probably missing something44 7#e7 ,the ,chair of the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board1 the ,honorable ,jennifer ,homendy1 also addressed summit participants and called on the aviation community to recognize that1 ,these recent incidents must serve as a wake-up call for every single one of us1 before something more catastrophic occurs4 ,before lives are lost44 7#f7 ,a former ,chair of the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board1 the ,honorable ,robert ,sumwalt1 described the surge of near-miss commercial aviation incidents in #bjbc as a red flag1 stating1 ,i look at them like a fever in a human body and that it is signaling that something is not right4 ,i think these are very much precursor events that could be signaling that there's something more serious in the system44 7#g7 ,although the ,national ,transportation ,safety ,board investigation of these #bjbc incidents is active and ongoing1 certain aviation professionals and experts have hypothesized that the combination of mass buyouts of experienced commercial aviation pilots and the post-pandemic surge in demand for commercial air travel have resulted in a perfect storm of higher flight volume necessitating widespread hiring that has lowered the overall experience level among pilots1 first officers1 air traffic controllers1 and mechanics4 7#h7 ,other organizations1 such as the ,regional ,airline ,association1 have expressed concern over the quality of flight hours that aspiring pilots accrue1 alleging that too many hours are gained through flying aircraft in optimal weather conditions at flight schools in ,arizona and ,florida1 depriving pilots of gaining real-world flight experience that reflects the typical part #aba operating environment1 which features cross-country flights1 flights with clouds1 flights in inclement weather1 and flights at night1 among other conditions4 7#i7 ,congress recognized the importance of quality in addition to quantity when establishing minimum flight hours requirements to obtain an airline transport pilot certificate1 specifically including in subsection 7c77#b7 of section #bag of the ,airline ,safety and ,federal ,aviation ,administration ,extension ,act of #bjaj 7,public ,law #aaa-baf7 the following requirement3 ,the total flight hours required by the ,administrator under subsection 7b77#a7 shall include sufficient flight hours1 as determined by the ,administrator1 in difficult operational conditions that may be encountered by an air carrier to enable a pilot to operate safely in such conditions44 7#aj7 ,the alarming rise of near-miss incidents involving part #aba carriers in #bjbc warrants the ,federal ,aviation ,administration to strengthen current regulations governing the specific minimum number of hours that pilots must earn in different types of flight while accruing flight hours towards the #a1ejj-;hour minimum1 which should include increasing the minimum hours requirement for cross-country flight time1 night flight time1 flight time in the class of airplane for which a rating is sought1 instrument flight time in actual instrument conditions1 and cross-country and night flight time in an airplane where the individual seeking an airline transport pilot certificate serves as the pilot in command1 or as second in command performing the duties of a pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command4 #c4 ,enhancing minimum flight hours requirements for difficult operational conditions ,not later than #cj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator of the ,federal ,aviation ,administration shall amend part #fa4aei of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 to-- 7#a7 preserve the minimum total flight hours requirement that requires a person applying for an airline transport pilot certificate with an airplane category and class rating to have at least #a1ejj hours of total time as a pilot2 and 7#b7 modify the minimum flight time requirements for specific types of flight hours in difficult operational conditions to require that the #a1ejj hours of total time as a pilot includes at least-- 7,a7 #ijj hours of cross-country flight time2 7,b7 #bjj hours of night flight time2 7,c7 #cge hours of flight time in the class of airplane for the rating sought2 7,d7 #ge hours of instrument flight time1 in actual instrument conditions2 7,e7 #bjj hours of cross-country flight time in an airplane as a pilot in command1 or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command1 or any combination thereof2 and 7,f7 #ej hours of night flight time in an airplane as a pilot in command1 or as second in command performing the duties of pilot in command while under the supervision of a pilot in command1 or any combination thereof4 #d4 ,minimum full flight simulator standards for airline transport pilot certification credit ,not later than #fj days after the date of enactment of this ,act1 the ,administrator of the ,federal ,aviation ,administration shall conduct a rulemaking proceeding to amend part #fa4aei of title #ad1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations1 to require that hours in a full flight simulator representing the class of airplane for a rating sought shall only be credited toward the flight time requirement if that full flight simulator features at least-- 7#a7 #f degrees of freedom motion2 and 7#b7 accurate aerodynamic modeling1 including-- 7,a7 extended envelope modeling featuring high angle of attack and sideslip data ranges2 and 7,b7 maximum simulator fidelity in reproducing stall characteristics of the specific airplane the simulator represents to enable users to conduct effective upset stall recovery training with pitch attitudes at or below the horizon in the special events training programs of air carriers4