Cockpit staffing at American criticized

By Michele Kayal
Advertiser Staff Writer

An American Airlines pilot has asked federal regulators to order relief fliers on the carrier's Dallas-Hawai'i flights, charging that the two-member cockpit crew used on the flights jeopardizes safety.

In a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration, Capt. Rich Rubin criticized the company's decision last month to staff the daily Boeing 767 flights from Dallas to Honolulu and Maui with two pilots instead of three, describing it an "experiment" that risks pilot fatigue. The 21-year veteran of American Airlines and safety expert also asked for protection under the FAA's whistleblower program.

American said it is operating within federal regulations.

The issues are expected to be part of contract negotiations that begin later this month.

American said it began flying the route with two pilots June 15 to take advantage of seasonal winds that would cut the flight time on both legs to less than eight hours, the point at which FAA regulations require a relief pilot.

"The flight times on this route are adjusted several times each year because the prevailing wind conditions affect the flight time," American said in a statement. "The scheduling practice is in keeping with federal aviation regulations and is consistent with the way most other airlines staff routes of this length."

Rubin, an expert on fatigue and human performance for the 11,000-member Allied Pilots Association, the union that represents the pilots, said in his letter Monday that American hoped to shave the flight time from eight hours and 18 minutes to seven hours and 55 minutes by having pilots fly faster and at lower altitudes than normal.

He said such requirements were unrealistic and said the feasibility of a shorter flight time is not backed up by historical data.

Since the changes took place June 15, he said, the flight has lasted more than eight hours 53 percent of the time.

Even though the Dallas-Hawai'i leg is the one more likely to require a relief pilot, according to regulations, because it is the longer stretch, Rubin said the Hawai'i-Dallas leg may actually be the more crucial.

"The time we need that pilot most is the all-nighter back," he said by telephone. "From a scientific standpoint, taking a Dallas crew and sending them five time zones away, and expecting them to sleep when it's not the right time, is a problem. The human biological clock is the problem on the way back."

American said pilots flying that return segment have a 26-hour layover in Honolulu, allowing "adequate time for rest" before flight duties begin.

The Allied Pilots Association is scheduled to present its opening proposal for an amended contract to American Airlines management on July 24.

Rubin said the pilots will ask that a new contract include provisions for a relief pilot on any flight over six hours that operates across the 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. window, when human performance is at its lowest.

"These issues are at the forefront of negotiations for us," he said.