Federal Flight Time Duty Limits for Cargo Carriers

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Running Head: FEDERAL FLIGHT TIME DUTY LIMITS FOR CARGO CARRIERS
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FEDERAL FLIGHT TIME DUTY LIMITS FOR CARGO CARRIERS

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Air cargo business in the U.S is part of the vast growing industry of Aviation .Since it deals with the operations involving the transportation of goods by air means of transport, it thus operates under its own regulation that do not rhyme with those of the passenger flights .The passenger flights are strictly regulated than those of the cargo flights because they involve dealing with lives of people and thus various factors have to be considered before allowing any Passenger Plane to take off. The current flights that are applicable to the air cargo is a combination of various regulations that includes flag regulations that show the country of origin of that particular plane, supplemental and domestic patchwork .All these regulations have been developed within the last five years and some have not been adjusted to fit the current changes that have taken plane in the aviation industry globally. The reason as to why some of this regulation needs to be adjusted is due to various reasons .For instance, the regulations which were used in many years ago were designed to fit the planes that were in use during that time and involved planes that made use of pistons, majority of which they were unpressurized in their cabin design. The planes of that time also had a flight engineer and two pilots who acted as the people in cabin crew ( McKinnon, & Alan, 2016)
Following the recommendations that were put across by the ALPA committee on what is ought to be done concerning the duty time and the flight time; various changes ought to be enacted in accordance to the recommendations ( McKinnon,& Alan, 2016) .An emphasis which I also find genuine for enactment has to put into consideration the proposed principles of air safety as well as the introduction of the safety program. This would in turn lead to the harmonization and modernization of the duty and time regulation for the air cargo flights. However, following the above detailed information on where the current air cargo regulation all started from, there a reason to incorporate the current updated federal flight time and duty regulations to the air cargo industry too.
This is despite the fact that the air cargo are usually made for the transportation of goods. For instance , one of the federal laws states that there is no permission for any program manager to allocate any member other crew who has already flown the maximum hours that are set for him or her(McGee & Michael, 2015) .The main reason as to why the same regulation should also be applied to the cargo industry is because pilots or any other crew member are human beings and thus they are subject to getting tired .The implication of this statement is that piloting requires concentration bearing in mind the number of risks that surround any plane .If this regulation is extended to the air cargo it means that pilots of the air cargo flights and their crew members will be in a position make a flight when they are fresh in mind and they can manage maximum concentration while in the plane.
According to the federal flight regulations, there is one health effects that is common to any individual who engages in an activity without taking a break and this complication is known as fatigue. Federal regulations see this as a major challenge that can affect the pilot and the members of the crew if at all they don’t take a break. The investigators estimate that people who don’t have sleep amounting to 8 hours a day are likely to get fatigue. The outcome of the fatigue are perceived as being catastrophic because it lowers the level of concentration among the crew member including the pilot himself an act that can cause tragedy .These regulation is very essential even in the air cargo flights in that they are still operated by human beings who also need rest .It is not logic to allocate a pilot or any other member of crew a flight while he or she has reached the allocated time plan for each day while handling a flight. However , according to FAA, the above regulation about sleep is not well addressed bearing in mind that there are various factors that contribute the amount of fatigue that one is likely to experience .For instance ,the debt of sleep that is brought about by the fact that an individual has not ha sleep for a certain duration(Rudari et al, 2016) .This led to the recommendation that the crew should only allowed to work for average sixteen hours a day and have sleep that amounts close to nine hours in order from that individual to be termed as having completed the requirements.
Federal regulations also specify the age of the planes that are used in the operations is highly regulated as the old planes are prone to frequent mechanical problems which can result catastrophic accidents especially in cases whereby they experience engine failure. This regulation is very essential in ensuring air safety .However the air cargo management does not consider this vital aspect of aviation at long runs. The planes that are used in the cargo transportation some do not match the standards and the requirements of FAA. This regulation is very essential if it is incorporated in the cargo transport in order to reduce the risks of accidents occurring (Rudari et al, 2016).surprisingly some of the cargo planes still operate under the version of engine and subsystems such as avionics .They are very risk to operate in that they require much attention ,maintenance and are also prone to malfunctioning as compared to the modern planes which majority of them are automatic.
In cargo sections the planes usually operate under 24 hour economy that is there is still some taking off and others landing thought the night without changing the cabin crew .This is unlike the federal operations that require shifts as it puts into consideration some implication of placing personnel which is tired to be in charge of the operations during the night .This is because there are some drawbacks that are associated with working at night. For instance ,majority of the people are normally less alert during the night .the implication we get from here is that many errors and lack of accuracy is likely to occur during the night .Also , other challenging characteristics the describe a night is that visibility is normally limited and more likely mistake the depth perception an d thus reducing the safety margin as compared to that of the day. This aspect of operation makes most of the cargo planes to be more prone to accidents than the passenger planes (McGee & Michael, 2015).
Federal regulations usually re quire the Passenger planes to operate under time table or schedules on when to take off and when to land implying that every operation at federal goes as per the indication of time table .This is not there in the air cargo flights as most of them are subjected to flights that are unscheduled as per the regulations .Although this acts improves the number f hours that flights carry out their trips , it very risk operation .This is the case because , it can lead to improper control of the number of planes flying at the same route and sometimes it may lead to crushing .It is also risk in that it can result to inconvenience on the side of the crew in that , those on board of the plane might not psychologically but could have opted to do so in order to obey the orders of the management an act that makes them become prone to accidents .Therefore this regulation about proper scheduling of planes should be incorporated to the cargo flights to avoid inconveniences that accrue from the unscheduled flights (Rudari et al, 2016) .
Another feral law that should also be applied on the cargo planes is the one that speculates the route as to which flights should be using .This regulations currently only applies to the passenger planes alone and this have an advantage in that it makes it possible for the crew to familiarize themselves with those routes they frequently make use of .This familiarization creates an adaptation that makes flights easily .However this not applicable to the to the cargo flights as their routes normally change in accordance with the market trends for the goods and services they transport.

References
Rudari, L., Johnson, M. E., Geske, R. C., & Sperlak, L. A. (2016). Pilot Perceptions on Impact of Crew Rest Regulations on Safety and Fatigue. International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace, 3(1), 4.
McGee, Michael. Air Transport Pilot Supply and Demand: Current State and Effects of Recent Legislation. RAND GRADUATE SCHOOL SANTA MONICA CA, 2015.
McKinnon, Alan C. “Freight Transport Deceleration: Its Possible Contribution to the Decarbonisation of Logistics.” Transport Reviews (2016): 1-19.