Pilots to Get More Rest Under Rule Prompted by Crash

Airline pilots would get nine hours of rest between shifts, a 13 percent rise from current schedules, under the first proposed U.S. overhaul of fatigue rules in 15 years, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The changes, prompted by an airline crash that left no survivors last year near Buffalo, New York, also would require pilots to get at least 30 consecutive work-free hours weekly, a 25 percent increase from existing rules, LaHood said today.