FAA to Push for Stricter Requirements for Pilot Licenses

The head of the Federal Aviation Administration told a Senate panel Thursday he wants new rules aimed at enhancing pilot training and preventing pilots from flying when they're too tired.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said his agency hopes to create a new category of commercial pilot licenses for beginning pilots, the Wall Street Journal reported. Under the proposed changes, pilots would need more than the roughly 250 hours of flying time currently required, as well as extra training in a variety of conditions.

Babbitt said he's against mandating all airline pilots have at least 1,500 hours of flight experience. That's a requirement demanded by families of those killed in the crash of Continental Express flight near Buffalo, N.Y., last winter.

New rules should focus on the quality of the training, Babbitt said, and not the number of hours.