Final Blog

For the final blog, I decided to go back to the previous blog, "Aviation Organizations". This blog was to discuss organizations in aviation that would help benefit you as you continue your career in aviation. What the organizations are doing in the industry and what employment opportunities they can offer.
One of the aviation organizations That I personally belong to to Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA). When I went to Air Adventure last year, I found out about some of the benefits to being a EAA member, other then getting cheaper tickets to the airshow. As a student, they offer scholarship opportunities that are given to students in aviation programs. They tell you what you are able to apply for and deadlines for each of the scholarships. They also offer seminars, webinars, and other forms for people to attend and gain and share knowledge of may different topics and experiences. They have different sections covering things like homebuilds, war birds and aerobatics, and thats just a few of them. Each year, they put on Air Adventure. There you can see thousands of planes, hear experiences from all over the world, and see workshops of all sorts. Workshops covering anything you can think of is covered throughout the week of the event. Another thing they offer is the young eagles program. They offer introductory flights to kids interested in flying. They get to fly around in the cockpit and even get to work some of the controls in flight. There, you

EAA is an important in the industry because it's pretty much a huge family who shares experiences and helps others in anyway possible. They currently have members from over a 100 countries, and have over a thousand local chapters (Knapinski, R. J.). The EAA isn't just for pilots, it offers experience and opportunities for both flight and management. From donations for helping others, to offering job opportunities through job fairs and other events. Their mission is to continue the growth of the spirt of aviation, through increasing the interest of everyone, from beginners to enthusiasts. Throughout the US and the world, the EAA has many different chapters that individuals can belong to, which connects them to other aviation enthusiasts in their area. They meet up to fly, talk about experiences, and offer help to anyone who needs it. the Aviation industry is a close family, knowing and talking to the right people can help boost your career, and its a lot easier then expected when you get out and get involved.

EAA had a major impact in the industry with their position on the possible ATC privatization. Seeing that the EAA is made up of mostly GA pilots, the EAA was against the switch. At EAA's Air adventure last year, people where walking around with iPads asking people to take a second and vote to not allow the switch. (Experimental Aircraft Association)

Another organization that would be beneficial to belong to as your further your career would be the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals. The OBAP's goal is to promote the advancements minorities in all areas in aviation. They do this by providing mentoring programs, scholarships, training and youth focused education programs through project aerospace. Their Mission, "We exist to inspire excellence: we support, transform, educate, and mentor black aerospace"(Admin, M). Looking at the application, anyone can join this organization. on their site, that have different way's to apply for scholarships, training programs, as well as they post different job openings in all different parts of the industry. They also have ways for people to volunteer in many different ways like teaching classes to supporting conventions. They host youth events, career fairs and other seminars that offer information about all fields in the industry to promote a more diverse work force.

The importance of belonging to an organization throughout your a career is to stay connect to other people to both share and learn about things in the industry. Its about making connections and helping others to get to where you have been so that you can also continue to grow. It's about your passion and others and making the industry grow. It's pretty hard to do things yourself, and by belonging to an organization, you help make connections with people who can help you throughout your career.





Admin, M. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from http://www.obap.org/

Experimental Aircraft Association | Oshkosh, Wisconsin. (n.d.). Retrieved April 18, 2018, from https://www.eaa.org/en/eaa

Knapinski, R. J. (2012, June 26). Experimental Aircraft Association. Retrieved April 18, 2018, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/Experimental-Aircraft-Association

ATC Privatization

ATC has many jobs. Their main task is to handle aircrafts in flight and make sure they get to their destination safely. They deal with the flow of air traffic in certain sectors of airspace, which cover areas above and the space around airports. (What is ATC?)

ATC currently is a government ran operation, under the FAA. Money to fund the ATC comes from the fees that aircrafts pay for landing at airports. This money also pays for other operations at airports and such.

NextGen, which has been slowly taking over for many years now, would shift the current radar way of tracking and navigating, to a satellite based GPS system. This would allow for more accurate information to be sent to ATC so that they can have closer spacing and still remain as safe, if not safer then before. Many people believe that by switching the ATC to a private sector, it would speed up the process because private contractors could take over and complete the job (Pros and Cons)

General Aviation is strongly against privatization. "Air traffic control privatization is the biggest threat to the future of our industry that we've ever seen," said Ed Bolen, president of the national Business Aviation Association. (GA groups) In another article posted by AOPA, they said that they "have concluded that any structural and governance reforms that require protections for an important sector of users are fundamentally flawed." (AOPA)

For the most part, Delta is they only company against this industry issue. They did a study which showed that user fees increased anywhere from 20% to 29%. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association supports privatization, as long as it keeps the existing benefits that are currently offered (Pros and Cons)

Places such as Canada, Germany, and the UK have already implemented this plan. Canada has a non- for profit organization called Nav Canada running their ATC. the receive money from their aviation customers, and according to them, They "have kept customer rates stable while improving safety and flight efficiency" (About Us)

The house bill 2997, would transfer ATC from the FAA to a 13- member board controlled by the airlines. the bill has been thrown around and changed many times, and would still have to go to the senate, the upper chamber, before anything became official. (Snyder, T)

Cited: 
About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved April 07, 2018, from http://www.navcanada.ca/en/about-us/Pages/default.aspx

AOPA, GA groups oppose ATC privatization. (2017, June 21). Retrieved April 07, 2018, from https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/june/21/aopa-ga-groups-oppose-atc-privatization

GA groups launch campaign against ATC privatization. (2017, October 10). Retrieved April 07, 2018, from https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2017/october/10/ga-groups-launch-campaign-against-atc-privatization

Pros and Cons of Privatized Air Traffic Control – Florida Tech Online. (2017, June 09). Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.floridatechonline.com/blog/aviation-management/pros-and-cons-of-privatized-air-traffic-control/

Snyder, T., Gurciullo, B., Shafer, J., Rosenberg, M. L., Blair, G., & Greenfield, J. (2017, June 28). House FAA bill advances. Retrieved April 07, 2018, from https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-transportation/2017/06/28/house-faa-bill-advances-221091

What is ATC? (n.d.). Retrieved April 06, 2018, from https://www.atcpilot.com/air-traffic-control/what-is-atc/

Global Airlines

The US-UAE Open Skies Agreement is an agreement set up to enforce the right for airliners to offer international flights and cargo operations. This agreement continues the separation between governments and the aviation industry so that routes, flight capacity, and fares will be decide by the companies, and not by the hands of the government.. 

The agreement was put in place in 1992, and since then over 120 foreign partners have joined.

The agreement consists of rules and right the air carriers have to follow:

"1. Each Party grants to the other Party the following rights for the conduct of international air transportation by the airlines of the other Party:

a. the right to fly across its territory without landing;

b. the right to make stops in its territory for non-traffic purposes;

c. the right to perform international air transportation between points on the following routes:

(i) for airlines of the United States, from points behind the United States via the United States and intermediate points to any point or points in [country] and beyond; [and for all-cargo service, between [country] and any point or points;]

(ii) for airlines of [country], from points behind [country] via [country] and intermediate points to any point or points in the United States and beyond; [and for all-cargo service, between the United States and any point or points;] and

d. the rights otherwise specified in this Agreement.

2. Each airline of a Party may, on any or all flights and at its option:

a. operate flights in either or both directions;

b. combine different flight numbers within one aircraft operation;

c. serve behind, intermediate, and beyond points and points in the territories of the Parties in any combination and in any order;

d. omit stops at any point or points;

e. transfer traffic from any of its aircraft to any of its other aircraft at any point;

f. serve points behind any point in its territory with or without change of aircraft or flight number and hold out and advertise such services to the public as through services;

g. make stopovers at any points whether within or outside the territory of either Party;

h. carry transit traffic through the other Party’s territory; and

i. combine traffic on the same aircraft regardless of where such traffic originates;Current Model Open (Skies Agreement Text)

Two long haul airline companies that are apart of this agreement and receive government subsidies are Emirates and Qutar Airways. They have both agreed with the open skies agreement which they said that they wouldn't allow their governments to artificially lower fares as a result of government subsidies. Companies such as Delta, American Airlines, and members of congress have brought this matter to the attention of the trump administration. (Correll, D. S., & Krupa)

American companies are also not with clean hands in this matter. "In 2014, some $865 million in subsidies went to China Eastern and China Southern, both of which partner with Delta. $162 million went to Air China, a United Airlines ally, and $82 million to Hainan Airlines that code-shares with Dallas-based American Airlines" (Flows, C)

Another pice of news to stir the pot more is the fact that The Export- Import Bank allows for other countries, who have limited or no access to funds, to purchase an aircraft such as boeing for a lower interest rate then the normal market receives. This does not apply to US companies and allows for international companies to make purchases and increase their fleet using "below market interest rates"

Now to discuss if the playing grounds are fair for everyone involved. To start, the first thing thats not fair is that companies, who agreed to the terms of the conditions of the open skies agreement, are not abiding by what they agreed upon. Is there a repercussion for doing this? The companies who are getting subsidies from their government are doing it so the companies can make it off the ground and make cheaper routes for their customers. Is it fair to get money from your government to make flights cheaper for the individuals and still allow the company to make a profit? 

In competitions, its best to make things as fair as possible for everyone involved, but we are talking about different nations, with different levels of available funds, and different ideology on how things should be done. If the nation agreed to the set rules listed out in the agreement, then they should be held accountable and have some repercussion for defying it. Also, the offer by the bank to sell aircrafts to companies, at lower interest rates then the market value, brings in more business to airbus and boeing. This creates a better market for the US, increasing sales in different companies, and keeps jobs in business. Anything that makes one person money but also hurts another companies is going to be seen as unfair, but to what level is the real question.

Yes this does hurt the operations such as delta because they have to pay more then companies that they are going head to head with. So in all honesty, I believe this is slightly unfair if they are under the open skies agreement. But for everything else, it's not unfair.

Correll, D. S., & Krupa, C. (2017, December 02). US airlines at odds over aviation agreements with Qatar and UAE. Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/us-airlines-at-odds-over-aviation-agreements-with-qatar-and-uae

Current Model Open Skies Agreement Text. (2012, January 12). Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://www.state.gov/e/eb/rls/othr/ata/114866.htm

Flows, C. (2016, November 17). Government Airline Subsidies... So What? Retrieved March 19, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2016/11/17/government-airline-subsidies-so-what/

Who should be the next FAA Administrator?

     To start this post off, lets talk about what the head of the FAA is in charge of. The person who takes this position oversees the national airspace and flight safety systems, which, "operates more than 50,000 flights per day" (Daniel K. Elwell). This individual is in charge of making sure the agency and all employees are acting in the best interest of safety and growth of the industry. They handle billion dollar budgets, and are currently in charge of overseeing the Switch over to NexGen.

The current acting head of the FAA is Daniel K. Elwell, who took over for Michael Huerta after he stepped down in January of 2018. before that, he was Deputy Administrator for the FAA, appointed by President Trump. Mr Elwell is currently overseeing a budget of 16.8 billon dollars. One of the major current focuses he is overseeing is the implementation of NextGen air traffic control, which will change from ground based radar to new satellite technology (Daniel K. Elwell).

Elwell earning 6,000 hours combined, civilian and military, flying for the air force. He then spent 16 years with american airlines and served as managing director for international and government affairs. Elwell worked at the FAA as the Assistant Administrator for policy, Planning, and Environment from 2006 to 2008. He then became vice president of the Aerospace Industries Association from 2008-2013. From 2013 to 2015 he served as Senior Vice President for Safety, security, and Operations at AA. His latest work was being appointed by President Trump to Deputy Administrator of the FAA in June of 2017 (Daniel K. Elwell). Elwell, serving as acting head of the FAA is in the running for official status of head of the FAA in the next election.

Other candidates include Bobby Sturgell, former Acting Administrator under President George W. Bush, and Representative Sam Graves, who wasn't aware he was up for the position and currently seeking another position as chairman of the House Transportation Committee, which will be coming available within the year. (Wise, L.)

Lastly, In the running, we have John Dunkin, current pilot for President Trump.
President Trump has made it clear that he would like Dunkin to take the position of head of the FAA. Dunkin has flown with Trump since his airline company in 1989, which went under in 1992 when the company wasn't turning a profit and Trump couldn't afford to keep the company alive with all of his other businesses also not turning a profit. Durning the 2016 elections, Dunkin flew the president around and organized the travel schedule during that period. Trump supports him Because Dunkin said to him, "sir, the equipment they're putting on is just the wrong stuff. If we're going to modernize our system we should be using the right equipment" (Lanktree, G.). Trump believes he's a good candidate because he's a smart enough person and we need a "sophisticated person for the job" (Lanktree, G.). To me, if Dunkin was a part of the decision making process during Trumps airline business, which went under financial hardship early on it's career, then maybe he isn't the right man for the position of the Head of the FAA. Someone who'd be handling billion dollar budgets and is currently working and colluding with president Trump, who himself, hasn't shown a good history with the aviation industry.


Former Heads of the FAA:
Jerome Babbitt  (2009-2011) (Randy Babbitt)

• Pilot for Eastern Airlines for 25 years
• For the ALPA; he served as Executive Administrator from 1987 to 1990 and then President from 1990 to 1998
• He formed an airline management and financial consulting firm name Eclat Consulting, which merged into the aircraft management division of Oliver Wyman

Lynne Osmus (Acting) (June 2009- December 2009) (Osmus, L)

• Deputy Associate Administrator for civil Aviation Security (2001-2002)
• Senior Advisor to the Deputy Administrator (2002-2003)
• Assistant Administrator for Security and Hazardous Materials (2003-2010)

Daniel K. Elwell. (2018, January 10). Retrieved March 03, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/about/key_officials/elwell/

Lanktree, G. (2018, February 26). Who is John Dunkin? Trump wants his personal pilot to head America's aviation regulator. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://www.newsweek.com/who-john-dunkin-trump-wants-his-personal-pilot-head-faa-819300

Osmus, L. (n.d.). Lynne Osmus. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynne-osmus-06714994

Randy Babbitt. (2018, February 17). Retrieved March 04, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Babbitt

Wise, L. (n.d.). Is White House considering Sam Graves for FAA chief? It's news to him. Retrieved March 04, 2018, from http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article202727444.html

The Commercial Space Industry

Discloser: I have no Idea why the text won't change so it's all legible. I've tried everything I could think of, but at this point I give up. I think if you highlight the text, it makes it a little easier :(

In the beginning...
Unfortunately, Russia beat us into space, launching their satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit in 1957. Just behind that was U.S satellite Explorer 1, which launched in 1958. The first human in space was Russian Lt Yuri Gagarin. Vostok 1 launched on April 12, 1961, and orbited for 108 minutes, at an altitude of roughly 202 miles (A Brief History of Space Exploration).

This is where U.S. shines! And No Conspiracy theories allowed to post on this blog :)
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 carried 3 men into space and landed Neil armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the surface of the moon. This was a one day mission and returned safely to earth on July 21st (A Brief History of Space Exploration).

1) Space Tourism:
The first ever space tourist was Dennis Tito. On April 28, 2001, Dennis took part in the first commercial space flight, taking off for an 8 day mission on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and entering the international space station. It cost him a total of $20 million dollars to take the trip. Space Adventures, the virgin based company that arranged Dennis's mission with Russia's Federal space Agency, has sent a total of 7 other people into space since the mission in 2001. (Writer, M. W.)

More recently, Space X launched the largest rocket ever built into space. On February 6, 2018, Elon Musk, founder and CEO of space X, launched the Falcon heavy rocket carrying his Roadster Tesla on a journey through space. The entire rocket is designed to be reusable. The boosters have been designed and where proven successful, to both take off, and deploy its landing legs and successfully return and land on earth. This latest launch has shown how private companies are striving to make commercial space flights even more possible and safe a flight can really be.

2) Rules and Regulations:The Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984 was the first regulations put in place. This authorized the Department of Transportation (DOT) more specifically the FAA's office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST) to regulate launches and reentry vehicles and launch sites. This act was amended two time already, once in 1988 to make it easier for companies to obtain licenses and insurance, and again in 2004. This side of the industry is new, and like all new things, rules and regulations are going to change, usually for the better. Something like this needs to be regulated with safety in mind, however, it should make it outrageous to obtain and maintain a license to continue operations. With the government promoting the commercial space industry, companies, like space X, have been developing rockets and other ways to make the publics dreams of going to space true (Office of Commercial Space Transportation). 

3) Future of Commercial Space:
In the near future, I see space travel as a bucket list (rich persons bucket list) only type of travel. Until the cost becomes more reasonable for the normal person, it wont be a huge success in the general public. However, if we ever need to get off earth and go to mars because earth becomes uninhabitable, then everyone might get the chance to do so, but I don't see that happening in my life time.

4)What does it take to work in the industry?

Their are many jobs to be offered other then a pilot onboard the space crafts. Unfortunately, many if not all of the jobs require some sort of engineering degree, and a background in developing software systems for large vehicles. Other jobs many include chauffeurs? It would be pretty cool to drive around the pilot or even Elon Musk, maybe you'll become best friends and he'll take you with him on a flight some time because theirs an open seat. 
one can only dream though :)



A Brief History of Space Exploration. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from http://www.aerospace.org/education/stem-outreach/space-primer/a-brief-history-of-space-exploration/


Contributor, E. H. (n.d.). Facts About SpaceX's Falcon Heavy Rocket. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from https://www.space.com/39779-falcon-heavy-facts.html


Office of Commercial Space Transportation. (2017, September 27). Retrieved February 22, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/ast/regulations/


Writer, M. W. (n.d.). First Space Tourist: How a U.S. Millionaire Bought a Ticket to Orbit. Retrieved February 22, 2018, from https://www.space.com/11492-space-tourism-pioneer-dennis-tito.html

The Current Status of UAVs

Welcome to the future, well at least 2018. Drones are everywhere! The everyday person can now fly a registered drone, with or without a license.

*UAV's fall under Part 107
Any drone weighing 0.55 lbs to 55 lbs must be registered and given a registration number
Individuals must go through the process to get certified for commercial use

• UAV must weigh less then 55 lbs, including payload, at takeoff
• They are only allowed to be flown in class G airspace
• The UAV must remain in the line of sight of the individual who's operating it
• Must remain at or below 400 ft
• they must remain 5 miles away from an airport unless prior arrangements are made
• flight times can only occur during daylight or civil twilight
• Speed limit is 100mph
• Right of way rule applies and UAV's must give way to all manned aircrafts
• UAV's are not allowed to fly over people, or moving vehicles, who are not apart of the operation (unless in a heavily populated area

(Fly under the Small UAS Rule)

Individuals can use a drone for businesses and be paid or make money from the use of the UAV. some operations can include area photography, security, maintenance checks, etc.

Other countries use them to. The photo below shows (green) places that have regulations and allow UAV operations, (yellow) locations that have stricter rules that must be followed, and other (gray) areas where no data was found for UAV operations.

(Here's a Map with Up-to-Date Drone Laws For Every Country)

UAV's are currently used in countries such as Canada.
Companies such as Mulitvista use drones to capture images for photo and video documentaries, and other services tailored to their client's needs. 

NAS

From my opinion, I do see UAV's working their way into the NAS. They have proven to be helpful with business operations, and making them apart of the NAS would help regulate operations making it safer for manned aircrafts to continue their operations. So challenges or problems that may occur is that people are always going to try and go around the rules. Flying in areas they don't belong or just doing things with their aircrafts that they may not be ready for and causing harm or damage to persons or property. 

Military

The military currently uses drones and UAV's for things such as areal recon. The drones can fly for hours and hover in areas not noticeable to the enemies, giving enemy locations to the troops on the ground. Drones can also be attached with weapons and used to attack areas that my be harder to get to with other aircrafts, or even deliver their payload in an area that is unsafe for manned aircraft to enter. Drones make it easier to plot coordinates, and launch weapons more accurately causing little to no damage to surrounding areas. 

To be honest, it was a little tricky to find a job listing that wasn't for flying planes, even though i was searching UAV. I found one for a videographer position with phillips enterprise. other than needing video editing experience, the job requires experience with UAV's.  

https://job-openings.monster.com/Videographer-w-Drone-experience-required-Shelby-Township-MI-US-Phillips-Enterprise/11/192943011

Fly under the Small UAS Rule. (2017, December 14). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/uas/getting_started/part_107/

Here's a Map with Up-to-Date Drone Laws For Every Country. (2017, September 21). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from https://petapixel.com/2017/09/20/heres-map-date-drone-laws-every-country/

Should Cargo Carriers Be Exempt From Flight/Duty Changes?

Colgan Air Flight 3470 was a huge turning point for flight and duty hours for flight
operations under Part 171. After this crash, the industry was forced to look at how fatigue affected pilots personal abilities and their reactions to circumstances that arise in the air and on the ground.

The new regulations changed a lot and also strengthen things that where already set in place. In this posting, I will do my best to summarize the major changes and how its different from the past regulations. However, for the entirety of the new regulation, visit this site for the final action and ruling on this matter.

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/media/2120-AJ58-FinalRule.pdf   

• The new rule covers different requirements based on operations at different times of day. Their main changes have to deal with removing the distinction between domestic, supplemental, and flag passenger operations in the thought that pilot fatigue has causing factors that are universal in the industry. It also touches on that pilots, and companies, are equally responsible for reducing fatigue. airlines must do so by offering a safer resting environment for the pilots, and for the pilots to use the resources provided by their company.

• Companies have already been instructed to have fatigue related training courses such as the effects of fatigue on pilots. The new regulation will also enforce carries to update their educational programs every 2 years.

• Flight duty period (FDP) is now limited to 8-9 hours of flight control time (Actual flight time) depending on what time of day the pilots FDP begins. This FDP can very for Augmented (Increased) Operations, if the company provides flight crew of 4, and adequate on- board sleeping areas for pilots.

• Reserve and unaugmented operations: provided that the total number of hours a flight crew member may spend in a flight duty period and reserve availability period may not exceed 16 hours or the maximum applicable flight duty period table plus four hours, whichever is less.

(Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l.)

• The regulation allows for extended FDP in the event that unforeseen situations arise after take off. A 30 minute "buffer window" is attached to the FDP for certain situations  

• Split duty times that benefit night time operations now bust be at least 3 hours long and scheduled in advanced. Flight crew must rationally evaluate their ability to complete their assigned duties prior to the flights.

• For pilots who begin flying at night, the FAA determined that 2 hour night time sleep periods improves pilot performance for up to 5 consecutive night flight operations.

• Rest: Carriers will be required to provide their crew with a 10-hour rest opportunity prior to commencing a duty period that includes flying. This includes at least 8 hours of uninterrupted flight time if a long commute is involved. In addition, the length of continuous time off during a 7-day period has been extended from 24 hours under the existing rules to 30 hours.

(Huerta, M. P.)

The final rule does not apply to all-cargo operations, although those carriers have the ability to fly under the new rules if they so choose. When first proposed, cargo operations where going to be included, however, the white house administration ordered the FAA to remove them (Goelz, J. H). 

Cargo operations continue to fall under Part 121, Subparts Q, R and S. 

(1) 1,000 hours in any calendar year;

(2) 100 hours in any calendar month;

(3) 30 hours in any 7 consecutive days;

(4) 8 hours between required rest periods.

-More exceptions can be found in the regulations

(14 CFR 121.471)

For the sake of the pilots who fly cargo operations, I do feel that cargo industries should be included in the new regulations. The pilots are flying the same aircrafts, leaving from the same airports, and landing at the same airports that are used for all operations. Everyone gets tired at different times, and who's to say cargo pilots shouldn't get the same rights as those who are flying passengers. However, the cargo industry is a heavy 24/7 operation, which tends to lean on pilots making more flight at times that may require it. If anything, the hours should be a little less strict as the commercial airlines, but more strict then current regulations.

Now with that being said, I see that more often then not, the problem that arises with cargo operations is that the plane wasn't loaded correctly and the pilots where doomed from the start. Flights like National Airlines Flight 102 (April 29,2013) was carrying military vehicles and equipment. After stopping off at their fuel stop, the aircraft took off again and had some of the cargo shift during take off. the pilots couldn't regain control of the plane and crashed, killing all 7 crew members. UPS Airlines flight 6 (September 3, 2010) had cargo catch fire in the cargo hold with no fire detection or suppression system to alert the pilots. Smoke filled the cockpit and both pilots where not able to fly the plane resulting in the lost of their lives. Now, the fire in the cargo hold was fueled by the oxygen tanks that ruptured and then fueled the fire in an area which would have no other oxygen source to allow a fire to start or continue if ignited. So in theory, no fire detection or suppression system should have been needed. Because of this, we have changed what and how we load into airplanes for safety measures. So if anything, there needs to be more training on loading procedures and how to tie down cargo so that shifting during flight would never be possible. 

From a management perspective, I feel that any more requirements, which would limit the amount of flying that a pilot could do, would hurt the cargo industry. With the current pilot shortages, this would limit the amount of cargo flights could make, losing them money. However, Safety should be and is our industries number one priority, and if pilot error due to fatigue is liked to current FDP for cargo pilots, then something should be done.

14 CFR 121.471 - Flight time limitations and rest requirements: All flight crew members. (n.d.). Retrieved January 31, 2018, from https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/121.471

Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l. (n.d.). GUIDE TO PART 117 FLIGHT TIME LIMITATIONS AND REST REQUIREMENTS. Retrieved from http://www3.alpa.org/portals/alpa/committees/ftdt/Part-117-Flight-Time-Limitations-and-Rest-Requirements.pdf

Goelz, J. H. (2014, September 11). Cargo pilot hours should be regulated, too: Column. Retrieved January 31, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/09/11/cargo-pilot-airline-safety-fatigue-regulations-commercial-column/15474061/

Huerta, M. P. (2011, December 11). Flight crew Member Duty and Rest Requirements . Retrieved January 31, 2018, from https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/recently_published/media/2120-AJ58-FinalRule.pdf