Cargo Operations

To help mitigate the chances of another accident, the FAA created new flight and duty rest regulations. The regulations are in place to decrease the chances of fatigue affecting flight crews. Flight crew members must have a minimum of 10 hours of rest in-between shifts, 8 hours of interrupted sleep. Interrupted sleep in considered time in the hotel asleep, in the past the 8 hours could include traveling to and from the hotel, eating, and showering (Trejos, 2014). In addition to those rest requirements, pilots must also have 30 consecutive hours of rest per week. Not only were the rest requirements updated, but the duty requirements also were changed. Research found that we as humans are not able to ignore the time of day, meaning that our bodies do not operate to their full ability during the night hours. Even with the necessary sleep, our bodies still have an internal clock that we are not able to fully change. In response to this, pilots will be limited to flying for a maximum of 8 or 9 hours depending on what time they begin (FAA, 2009). 

Cargo carriers are exempt from the new rest and duty regulations. Their current flight and duty limitations are way less strict than the new regulations for airlines. Cargo pilots are currently allowed to be on duty for up to 16 hours and fly up to 8 hours before having to rest. If there are 3 or more crew members, than pilots are allowed to fly up to 12 hours before resting (CAA, 2016). Although these are the current regulations for cargo operations, they are likely to soon change. Legislation is currently discussing what the new regulations should include for cargo pilots.  

I believe that cargo carriers are exempt from the new rest regulations due to financial reasons. In order for the carriers to comply with the regulations, they would have to hire more pilots. The cargo companies would almost have to double their staff for pilots. With the number of pilots necessary for a cargo company to operate, they would most likely run out of business. They would have to pay several pilots just to be on call, which would be a huge waste of money. With the increase of pilots, the value of life for pilots would increase. Pilots would be able to have more time off rather than being on call most nights. 

The new flight and duty regulations were created to prevent accidents due to fatigue symptoms. Airlines follow the new regulations because the flight crew has anywhere up to a few hundred lives on board at any given time. Cargo operators don't carry the number of people that airlines do, but they still should have the same requirements. Those pilots still have to fly very similar planes for long legs and need to be aware of their surroundings. Any aviation crash can be devastating, but the accidents with the large aircraft that cargo and airline companies use can be catastrophic. Yes, lives on board matter but the regulations should apply to cargo operations because that would decrease the chance for lives on the ground to be hurt in an accident.

I don't think that my career goals would be impacted if cargo operations were to be included in the new regulations. I have never ruled out flying for a cargo company, but my goal is to initially be hired on with a corporate company in order to build hours for a Fortune 100 company or the airlines. Even with the new regulations, I don't think that the lifestyle of those pilots will drastically change. It will still be an on-demand operation, they will just need to hire more pilots in order to follow the rest and duty regulations. The pilots won't be able to have a set schedule like they are able to have with the airlines and certain corporate companies. Quality of life is an important factor to me, and unless the cargo companies drastically change, I don't think that I would want to be a part of that schedule. 

References:

Cargo Airline Association. (2016, April 13). Setting the Record Straight on Cargo Pilot Duty and 
       Rest Rules. Retrieved from http://www.cargoair.org/2016/04/setting-the-record-straight-on-all-
       cargo-duty-and-rest-amendment/
Federal Aviation Administration. (2009). Flightcrew Member Duty and Rest Requirements. Retrieved 
       from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/media/2120-
       AJ58-FinalRule.pdf
Trejos, N. (2014, January 3). New Pilot Fatigue Rules go Into Effect This Weekend. USA Today. 
       Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2014/01/03/pilot-fatigue-
       mandatory-rest-new-faa-rules/4304417/