Page:Aviation Accident Investigation - TWA crash on 6 May 1935 - Memorandum to the Secretary of Commerce.pdf/3

 between the time of his arrival and his departure on No. 6 the afternoon of May 5th, he was not engaged in any flight duty for the company. The flight subsequent to the transfer was a violation of regulations.

Regulation applicable—Chapter 5, Sec. (I)

".... If his (pilot) absence from an airline division has been more than six months' duration, the pilot shall obtain approval from the Bureau of Air Commerce before he is restored to duty."

Pilot Bolton did not take a quarterly S.A.T.A. physical examination and since the company had not provided his name on the prescribed list, it could not be known by the Washington Office that he was actively engaged as a S.A.T. pilot. Therefore, the Bureau would not have informed him or his medical examiner on or about February 10, 1935, that he should take a physical at that time.

Regulation applicable—Chapter 5, Sec. 3 (b)(3)

"Air line pilots shall be examined every three months by designated air line pilot medical examiners to determine fitness."

Co-pilot Kenneth Greeson did not hold a S.A.T. rating.

Regulation applicable—Chapter 5, Sec. 2 (d)

"A co-pilot holding a S.A.T. rating will be required where waivers of flight time limitations are allowed for continuous flight exceeding eight hours without an approved rest period."

Pilot Bolton's name did not appear on the pilot list presented by the company. This absence may be accounted for in the fact that the applications for letter of authority issued previous to January 1, 1935, do not contain a list of the pilots but that the applications submitted after January first do include a list of the pilots. According to Bureau files, there have been two applications for letters of authority granted since January 1, 1935, (a) that of April 10, 1935, covering sector from Winslow to Los Angeles via Grand Canyon, providing for day operation, (b) that of April 10, 1935, covering temporary authority to fly from Winslow to Los Angeles via Grand Canyon and Boulder City, providing for day operation.

In considering this subject of pilots' status, it is to be remembered that the operators as well as the Bureau are still laboring through the transition period from the Old Air Line Regulations to the new Air Line Regulations, which provide for more extensive and comprehensive regulation of air lines operating in interstate commerce. The scheme incorporated in the new Regulations provides for the inclusion by reference into the Bureau's Regulations of the approved rules appearing in the operations manual of the various companies. TWA was one of the first companies to submit its combined application for authority and operations manual.

7. The regulation violated by reason of the ineffective transmitter referred to at several points in the formal report of the Accident Board is as follows:

Regulation applicable—Chapter 8, Sec. 7 (d)