Go! flight part of NTSB review
Star-Bulletin staff
The National Transportation Safety Board will review the issue of employee fatigue in airline operations, based on four incidents, including go! Airlines Flight 1002, which overshot Hilo Airport in February.
NTSB will discuss the incidents Tuesday in Washington, D.C., for a possible recommendation letter to the Federal Aviation Administration about "the dangers of human fatigue within airline operations," a NTSB news release said.
One of the incidents to be reviewed is an Oct. 19, 2004, fatal Corporate Airlines plane crash in Missouri that killed 13 of 15 people on board. An NTSB study found pilot fatigue likely contributed to the crash.
In April, Mesa Air Group, operator of go! Airlines, completed an internal investigation and fired both pilots of Flight 1002. The pilots are suspected of sleeping on a 214-mile flight from Honolulu to Hilo on Feb. 13. The plane was carrying 40 passengers and overshot the airport by 15 miles before an air traffic controller was able to make contact.
Both the FAA and the NTSB are investigating the incident but have not yet released their findings.
Ian Gregor, FAA spokesman, said the agency has completed its investigation, but he declined to comment until officials determine whether the pilots should face any penalties.
If found in violation, the pilots could face sanctions from a warning letter to the loss of their licenses. The airline could also face sanctions, but Gregor said the pilots had close to 15 hours of rest, surpassing the required eight hours of rest before a flight.