Airline Safety

It is absurd that the FAA is “under siege” over pilot fatigue (Oct. 8). Rigorous enforcement of pilot work schedules is probably just as impossible as enforcement of every detail of aircraft maintenance. If the FAA had the resources to do so and the consumer had to absorb the cost, flying would be so expensive that we would all be riding trains again.

A better method would be for the FAA to clearly publicize the levels of compliance of airlines with all safety regulations and let the flying public decide which carriers to fly. Only in the case of exclusive routes would intensive, direct enforcement make sense. Carriers with the best safety compliance records should be given first choice of those routes and in addition be granted tax incentives to fly to less-profitable destinations.

STU O’GUINN

Huntington Beach