News 8
FAA database reveals 6,100 problem pilots 
03:12 PM CST on Friday, November 13, 2009
DALLAS — At a time when pilots face increased scrutiny, News 8 has discovered more that 6,100 pilots, including 3,000 who have airline transport certificates, have faced warnings, had their licenses suspended, or even revoked over the last decade.
News 8 reviewed an FAA database of pilots who have been sanctioned since 1999. The date revealed 6,176 names of commercial and airline transport pilots. Of them, 3,176 were commercial pilots which require much less training than airline pilots. But the remaining 3,000 names in the database were of pilots who hold the advanced airline transport license including many who fly for major carriers.
"We've got pilots out there who are not paying attention, and that could be your pilot," said Don Swaim, a Dallas aviation attorney who has worked on major airline disasters.
He said recent news has disturbed him, including the incident last month when two Delta Airlines pilots landed their 767 on an active taxiway rather than on the runway in Atlanta.
Days later, two Northwest Airlines pilots simply forgot to land at their destination in Minneapolis. They said they were distracted while on their laptop computers.
Monday, a United Airlines pilot was arrested in London minutes before boarding after he failed a sobriety test.
But, the database revealed these problems aren't isolated events.
The federal database revealed that of the 3,000 airline pilots to face sanctions, almost half, 1,484, happened in the last two years.
"It's essentially taking away the ability of that pilot to go to work," said Scott Shankland, Allied Pilots Association. "It's like a lawyer being disbarred and not being able to practice law."
According to the database, most airline pilot problems, more than 1,500 of them, were reported to the FAA by air traffic controllers.
Almost 170 airline pilots faced sanctions for DUIs, and 106 failed drug tests.
At least one captain was reprimanded for not landing his crippled passenger jet at the closest airport after one of his two engines failed.
"Most of that is behind closed doors that you and I aren't going to hear about unless there's an accident," Swaim said.
Records showed Delta Airlines had the most pilots, 71, to face trouble. US Airways had 69 and Southwest Airlines 23.
Of the eight major airlines News 8 reviewed, American Airlines was second to the bottom with 18. Northwest Airlines had 15.
American's pilots said they're the most experienced in the industry and less apt to cut corners.
"We're not surprised by the data because of what we instill in our pilots or professionalism and experience," Shankland said. "And when they board that aircraft, their sole purpose is to get their passengers safely to the destination."
The Allied Pilots Association represents American's pilots.
"The pilots know what they should be doing," Swaim said. "The problem is it's hard to enforce that. That's why for years and years the NTSB has been arguing for video in the cockpit."
But, pilots have pushed back saying they are already regulated enough with rigorous health and safety checks. Pilots said cameras might make them second guess themselves in an emergency.
Airlines often successfully weed out problem pilots, but federal records and recent events clearly indicate some remain in the sky.
E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com
