Flight 1354

Anyone else spot a bit of contradiction throughout this story?

Both pilots commanding the Airbus (AIR:FP) A300 flight were killed after striking trees while descending too rapidly, crashing short of the runway. The National Transportation Safety Board declined to blame fatigue for the crash, although the co-pilot’s failure to rest properly and the physical rigors of working at night were cited as contributing factors.

Federal rules that took effect in January, governing how much rest and off-duty time pilots must receive, do not apply to the pilots at UPS (UPS) and FedEx (FDX). The freight companies argue that their schedules are radically different and that their pilots already receive more rest time between flying shifts than do passenger pilots.

NTSB member Robert Sumwalt, who led the on-site probe of UPS Flight 1354, said at Tuesday’s hearing that the agency would not “sacrifice our credibility to try to make a point” in blaming pilot fatigue as a cause of the crash. The NTSB does not support  different rest rules for pilots. Sumwalt cited a union survey of 2,202 UPS pilots in which most said they feel the company’s culture does not allow them to take themselves off-duty when they are fatigued. “You’ve got some problems, get them cleaned up,” Sumwalt, a former US Airways (AAL) pilot, told UPS officials.

UPS called the accident “a terrible aberration” and said it has changed procedures regarding stabilized approaches, automation, pilots’ decisions to go around when an approach is shaky, and altitude call-outs on descent. “This accident underscores the shared responsibility that companies and pilots have to ensure proper rest and to report to work fit for duty,” spokesman Mike Mangeot said in an e-mail.

The Independent Pilots Association, which represents 2,600 UPS pilots, sued the Federal Aviation Administration after the agency announced what pilots call the “cargo carve out,” exempting FedEx and UPS from the rest rules. A bill that has been pending in Congress for more than a year would require cargo and passenger pilots to fly under the same rest rules. Last month, the NTSB took the unusual step of removing both UPS and its pilots’ union from the Birmingham crash investigation, citing “prejudicial” statements from both sides regarding pilot fatigue as a potential issue in the crash.