Just got through watching the hearing. Capt Klough did an excellent job with his submission.
A couple of points that were raised during the submission that if we have the opportunity needs further clarification.
Pilot fatigue:
There are regulations in place which govern flight and duty time limitations for pilots, however, most operators operate under exemptions to the published Flight and Duty time restrictions in CAO48. These exemptions are issued to airlines by CASA at the airlines request, are generally less restrictive and permit a company to roster a pilot to work and fly for an extended period of time than would otherwise be allowed. The exemptions to the flight and duty time restrictions fall into the same category as exemptions allowing airlines to operate onto narrower runways or operate aircraft with fewer flight attendants than would otherwise be allowed by the regulations. CASA are exempting airlines from certain published regulations in order to bring the airline a cost advantage even though there is a negative safety outcome.
REX:
Capt Klough seemed reluctant to say what I am sure he and most of us know. REX's pilot exodus and their inability to fill the empty positions was a direct result of the bad reputation they have as an employer. Even given their reputation and below market pay and conditions I still find it hard to believe that they could not find enough "suitable" pilots. Did one of the senators say the REX chief pilot searched the country looking for suitable pilots but could not find any??? What a load of rubbish!