CNN.com - FAA, airlines face off over pilot hours

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and airlines faced off in federal court Friday over an FAA letter strictly interpreting a 1985 rule limiting the number of hours pilots can work in a day.

The case is being followed closely by pilots and airlines. Pilots' unions support the FAA stance, saying the strict interpretation of the work-hour rule will reduce instances of pilot fatigue, a factor in several accidents in the past decade.

But the airlines say the FAA's November 2000 interpretation is "inconsistent" with the 1985 rule and with previous FAA interpretations.

Further, airline attorney Michael S. Sundermeyer argued before the court, the recent interpretation amounted to an entirely new regulation, and was done without notifying airlines or allowing them to comment as required by law.

If the FAA wants to change work-hour rules, it should base suggested changes on scientific evidence and go through the regulatory process, airline officials contend.

The 1985 rule limits pilots to 16-hour days. Problems are most frequently encountered with the rule when planes are delayed on the ground.

Since 1985, the airline industry practice has been to put a relief crew onto a plane if airline-induced scheduling changes would prevent the original crew from completing a flight within the 16-hour work day. But airlines generally do not replace crews if the delays are caused by factors beyond the control of the airlines, such as weather.

The 1985 rule gives them the flexibility to make that decision, airlines say.

Safety vs. rules

Pilots' unions have framed the issue as a fight over safety rather than a rule-making debate. Outside the Washington courthouse, three pilots posed for cameras, one of them carrying a picture of the wreckage of American Airlines flight 1420, which crashed in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1999. Federal crash investigators say pilot fatigue contributed to the crash.

"Which would you rather have -- an infrequent, slight delay to ensure that the pilots at the controls of your aircraft are rested and alert, or pressing on with a crew that's been on duty more than 16 hours and is very apt to be fatigued and impaired?" said Capt. Rich Rubin, an American Airlines pilot.

The three-judge panel of the United States District Court of Appeals is expected to take several months before ruling in the case.

At least two of the judges expressed frustration with the FAA's past efforts to interpret the rule. "To suggest that clarity leaps out is ... absurd," Judge Harry T. Edwards told U.S. Attorney Edward Himmelfarb, who was representing the FAA.