Name That Tune

There’s one thing you can say for the FAA -- they’re consistent. Anybody that has ever butted heads with the FAA will probably recognize this tune.

David Pardo: Attorney, Pilot and FAA Whistleblower

”So the FAA has interpreted this to mean that whoever is employing these people can force them to work up to 24 days in a row, provided they get a block of four days off, in each calendar month. Pardo thinks this schedule is "insane," but his opinion regarding pilot, mechanic and dispatcher fatigue didn't cause him to blow the whistle. "My objections were legal and procedural," he says.””

"That's what started my whistle-blowing action—when I realized I was being asked to sign off on an unlawful legal interpretation. I objected because the DC Circuit says that, when an agency decides to reverse a long-standing interpretation, it needs to involve the public via Notice-and-Comment procedures.”

That’s just a teaser, of course. It’s a complicated issue. But the FAA’s response is the same as ever. You should read it.

I hope I’ve said this a hundred times before for the people that care about ensuring safety; The FAA has some good rules, written by some good people. It just has trouble following them. If there’s a situation in the FAA that needs attention, usually, the best way of addressing it is forcing the FAA to follow its own rules. You’ll find that the good managers can live within the rules. It’s the bad managers that have a problem with it.

Don Brown
November 10, 2010