FAA orders broad revamp of pilot training after safety lapses

U.S. airline pilots will receive mentoring and revamped training under a sweeping new regulation designed to address air-crash revelations in which crews didn’t follow basic rules.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday published a final regulation designed to improve pilot “professionalism,” more than three years after the rule was proposed.

“This final rule will mitigate incidents of unprofessional pilot behavior and reduce pilot errors that can lead to a catastrophic event,” the FAA said in the regulation.

The new rules will take effect in 2022 and 2023, FAA said.

It resulted from fatal crashes more than a decade ago in which pilots didn’t follow basic safety procedures, such as avoiding distracting conversations while preparing to land, the FAA said.

In the wake of those crashes, Congress in 2010 ordered the FAA to revamp the pilot training rules.