Release #: Vol. 84, No. 5
June 01, 2015

Weighing In: Working to Safeguard Our Skies

By Capt. Joe DePete, ALPA First Vice President

As ALPA’s first vice president and national safety coordinator, I have the privilege of supporting and assisting our members every day in making our skies, our industry, and our profession safer and more secure. This wouldn’t be possible without the amazing work done by our dedicated pilot representatives who make up ALPA’s Air Safety Organization (ASO) and ALPA’s world-class staff. Here are a few of the issues we’ve been working on.

Known Crewmember (KCM)

KCM has been an unqualified success. To date, 60 airports participate in KCM, and we expect the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to add more airports later this year. Earlier in the year, the TSA dropped the requirement that pilots be in uniform when using KCM.

We’re working with the TSA and Transport Canada to include ALPA pilots from Jazz Aviation as the first non-U.S. pilot group in the program. We met with various parties in January to start the ball rolling and are optimistic about the outcome.

At some KCM access points, the number of pilots selected for random screening has increased, and we’re working on that issue. We’re also working to have the exemption for liquids, aerosols, and gels apply to nonuniformed pilots.

Cargo

We recently hosted a meeting of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee’s cargo subcommittee; risk-based security continues to be the focus of that group. One of our goals is to include cargo ramp operations within the security identification display area (SIDA) to create one level of security for passenger and all-cargo operations. Another goal is to require that all-cargo carriers provide common strategy antihijacking training to their pilots, which the TSA does not presently mandate.

We continue to work to remedy the exclusion of cargo pilots from FAR 117 in the U.S. and are pushing for science-based flight, duty, and rest regulations for cargo operations.

NextGen

We’re continuing our efforts to move NextGen forward. NextGen brings added safety benefits to our aviation system along with increases in efficiency and capacity that enable our airlines to reduce operating costs. In preparation for the next FAA reauthorization bill, ALPA implemented new policy that lists the critical components that must be contained in the governance and management of the ATS system, including giving ALPA a role in the leadership structure.

Unmanned aircraft systems/Remotely Piloted Aircraft (UAS/RPA)

In February, the FAA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) regarding small UAS, those weighing not more than 55 pounds. ALPA has submitted detailed comments on the NPRM.

The FAA has granted exemptions approving some specific small UAS commercial operations. Those operations are limited to line-of-sight flights below 400 feet AGL, and they must have failsafe features for lost link between the operator and the RPA. ALPA’s position is that robust safeguards must be in place to ensure that any RPA cannot interfere with our operations.

RTCA (a nonprofit industry group that develops avionics standards to recommend to the FAA) is developing standards for “detect and avoid” and “command and control” systems for RPAs. ALPA is working on those issues. The government/industry UAS Aviation Rulemaking Committee continues to meet.

Transport Canada has enacted regulations regarding small UAS. The FAA proposal for small UAS is similar to the existing Canadian regulations.

Lithium batteries

Another ALPA safety priority is to reduce the hazard of lithium battery shipments.

Effective Jan. 1, 2015, U.S. rules were harmonized with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) technical instructions for labeling and notifying crews of lithium battery shipments loaded on the aircraft. We’re working on packaging requirements and size limits for each package and shipment, and we’re pleased with ICAO’s recent announcement to convene a working group to establish standards for packaging lithium batteries.

In Canada, we achieved a ban on lithium metal batteries as cargo on passenger airliners, an ALPA goal for many years. That ban has been in effect in the U.S. for about 10 years.

Unfortunately, lithium batteries still can be—and are—shipped on all-cargo airlines. Regulators acknowledge the difference in risk but haven’t as yet afforded all-cargo pilots the same level of safety as passenger airline pilots with respect to prohibiting shipments as cargo.

Air Safety Forum

In July, ALPA will host its annual Air Safety Forum, the preeminent airline safety conference that brings together representatives from government, management, manufacturers, and labor. This year’s forum will focus on keeping American skies safe and fair. Look for coverage of this event in the August issue.

This article is from the June-July 2015 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

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