Will Attend Mark Up Session for Pending FAA Reauthorization Bill
Buffalo New York, June 13, 2023. With the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s mark up session for the pending FAA Reauthorization Bill scheduled for Tuesday June 13, the Families of Flight 3407 have expressed concern that some key components of the bill will weaken the First Officer pilot qualifications which were established in the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 2010 and have been pivotal in reducing commercial airline fatalities in the US.
” The safety provisions of the Airline Safety Act of 2010 are working” stated Scott Maurer of Palmetto Florida, who lost his 30 year old daughter Lorin in the crash of Flight 3407 in February 2009. “The track record that has resulted from the mandates included in the 2010 legislation is indisputable. Those safety mandates work in tandem. This is the safest period in US aviation history and the First Officer qualifications have played a critical role in this. There hasn’t been a single fatal commercial aviation crash in the US since the legislation was unanimously passed, but in the decade before, there were six. If it’s not broken, why fix it?”
Since passage of the 2010 Airline Safety Act, the family group has worked to resist efforts to make changes that would weaken any of the safety standards, including the First Officer qualifications which have been the focus of aggressive and well-financed lobbying campaigns over the years.
“Our objective since 2010 has been to hold the line on the current standards, ” said Karen Eckert of Williamsville NY who lost her sister and prominent 9/11 widow Beverly Eckert in the crash, “and the fact that there have been no commercial airline crashes since this landmark safety law was passed only underlines the importance of keeping all of them in place. Since the law was passed in 2010 we have successfully fought against any changes that would lower the standards. With the new bill moving forward, the First Officer qualifications and the other provisions are again being reviewed. The bipartisan support we have received from members of congress over the years has helped keep the 2010 standards in place. Today, we owe a great deal of gratitude to Congressman Brian Higgins and Congressman Nick Langworthy of the NY congressional delegation, who stood side by side with us over this last attempt. We can’t say enough about their unwavering determination to fight any effort to change or circumvent the First Officer qualifications, and we count on their continued determination in preventing any attempt to weaken or compromise them as this bill moves forward.”
Members of the family group will be in attendance at the June 13th mark up session, which will be held at 10:00AM in room 2167 of the Rayburn House Office Building.