The FAA on Wednesday issued a final rule requiring airlines to share the employment history of pilots in an electronic database. The rule also requires airlines to review the database when considering hiring a pilot.
The much-delayed regulation is being implemented by the FAA pursuant to requirements included in the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act passed by Congress in 2010. That legislation came in response to the February 2009 crash of a Continental Connection-marketed flight near Buffalo that killed 49 people.
The flight was operated by the now-defunct regional carrier Colgan Airlines. The same legislation brought about new pilot training requirements, including a 2013 rule requiring commercial airline pilots to have had 1,500 hours in the cockpit.
The electronic database will include a variety of information about pilots, including their certificate information; records related to accidents, incidents and enforcement actions; records from employers on pilot training, disciplinary actions and separation of employment; pilot drug and alcohol records; and even the pilots' driving record.
Airlines must begin reviewing records in the database within six months, and they must begin reporting records within a year. Airlines will have three years and 90 days to full comply with the new regulation.