Some regional airlines have used car parts in their airplanes. These infractions are a major issue and completely unacceptable. To learn more, please continue reading...

Regional airlines such as Gulfstream account for half of all scheduled passenger flights in the U.S., according to Business Week.That's why it's so disturbing to hear these airlines fail in so many aspects of basic aviation safety.

For example, it was discovered Gulfstream airline installed automotive air conditioning parts not certified by the FAA for use in their planes. Think about that - the air conditioning parts used in a Ford Focus could be in a Gulfstream airplane right now trying to handle all the atmospheric and hydraulic pressures of a large, commercial plane. Truly scary.

In May of this year, the FAA found that Gulfstream had violated multiple regulations and slapped them with a $1.3 million fine. This would be the largest fine against a regional airline. Though, Gulfstream is appealing it.

Using shoddy parts isn't the only glaring issue. Gulfstream also failed to properly enter pilot flying hours from its manual, hard-copy logbooks into their computer system. As a result, crew members flew more hours than the FAA allowed, both on a daily and weekly basis.

So what does all this add up to? Seven of the last eight commercial aviation accidents involved regional airlines and 87 percent of all commercial airplane crashes featured a regional plane, according to the BBC.

As a licensed pilot with a passion for soaring through the sky in an airplane, I find these statistics outrageous and a full investigation into the practices of these regional airlines is necessary. The poor pilots (both literally and figuratively) employed by these airlines are overworked and underpaid. The end result is our safety gets put at risk.

The issue of pilot fatigue is being addressed in Congress and I hope meaningful reforms are implemented. But they need to supplement any reform with some type of stiffer regulations and/or penalties on these regional airlines. Too many lives are being put at risk due to their carelessness.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Viriginia injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have experience handling cases for victims of mass transit accidents such as airplane, train and bus crashes. In fact, our law firm published a free consumer safety guide on what to do if you are hurt in a plane wreck.

We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, Virginia but we're ready to come to you anywhere in VA including Suffolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Newport News and Norfolk, VA, if you've been seriously hurt by someone else's carelessness.

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