Time for a Hard Look by the FAA

Seven-year-old Jessica Dubroff was trying to become the youngest person to pilot a plane across the United States when the craft carrying her, her father and a flight instructor crashed in Cheyenne, Wyo., killing the three of them. Jessica’s was the latest attempt by a child aviator to set an age record for cross-country flight.

Now, after the tragic crash, the Federal Aviation Administration will take a hard look at rules concerning youngsters in the cockpit. The time has long since come.

Jessica’s plane crashed in a residential neighborhood of Cheyenne shortly after takeoff. The weather was poor--gusty winds, heavy rain with poor visibility. The National Transportation Safety Board will make a determination on the cause of the crash in coming months.

There should be no delay on a review of rules regarding young pilots. FAA regulations say pilots have to be at least 16 to solo. But children younger than 16 can take the controls of a plane if they are supervised by a licensed pilot. In recent years, children as young as 8 have set age records for cross-country flight. Jessica was attempting to surpass those marks.

At 4-feet-2, Jessica needed a booster seat to see out the windshield. She wore extenders to reach the rudder pedals. Her flight experience amounted to just 35 hours. Yet no rules were broken when she took off on a proposed journey from Half Moon Bay, Calif., to Falmouth, Mass. There should have been.