FAA Advisory Panel seeks to reduce new 1,500 hours for co-pilots rule

US' FAA Advisory Panel is reportedly seeking to reduce, by two-thirds, a requirement of a key safety change recently passed by Congress that airline co-pilots have a minimum of 1,500 hours of flying experience, up from the current 250 hours, making it the same experience threshold that captains must meet (AP, 14-Oct-2010). The key safety change was passed in response to a regional airline crash in 2009 that killed 50 people. Airline representatives on the panel worry that if the threshold for co-pilots is raised then carriers will be forced to raise salaries and benefits in order to attract more experienced pilots.