Buffalo, New York- July 3, 2013 – The ‘Families of Continental Flight 3407’ praised a letter sent Wednesday from House Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA-2) to newly-installed Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, calling on Foxx to shepherd two critical aviation safety rules to completion.
“We appreciate Congressman Larsen’s reaching out to Secretary Foxx on this very timely safety issue,” stated John Kausner of Clarence Center, New York, who lost his twenty-four year-old daughter Elly in the crash. “As the letter points out, Ray LaHood was very aggressive in dealing with some of these regional airline safety issues, and the American flying public is counting on Secretary Foxx to carry on that legacy. The August 1st deadline is fast-approaching on the first officer qualifications rulemaking, which will be a litmus test to Secretary Foxx’s assertion that safety is his number one priority.”
Rep. Larsen’s letter refers to two already past-due aviation safety initiatives with upcoming deadlines. A new rule that will elevate the entry-level qualifications required of new-hire regional airline first officers must be completed by August 1, and another rule that will upgrade airlines’ crewmember training programs is targeted for October (Congress had mandated it to be completed in October 2011). In both cases, the Administration has faced significant pressure from the nation’s major and regional airlines to water down and/or stall the safety measures.