In the wake of this weekend’s plane crash in San Francisco, safety advocates and lawmakers started leaning on the Federal Aviation Administration to enact rules related to pilot training as quickly as possible. Now, that pressure has apparently borne fruit, as the FAA today announced that they would be adopting new rules for pilots, effective almost immediately. Starting next week, the minimum amount of time that a first officer will have to fly will be increased to 1,500 from the current 250 hours. And if one wants to become a pilot, they will have to fly as a co-pilot for 1,000 hours. The hope is that this rule, combined with training requirements the FAA plans to introduce in the next few months, will increase knowledge and pilots’ ability to respond properly to emergencies.
For more information about the new rules, follow this link.