The most offensive and least justifiable portion of NPRM 95-18 (Notice of Proposed Rule Making) is the increase beyond 8 hours in the flight-time limitation for all domestic and international two-pilot crews. 

The purpose of this rulemaking is to address the problem of pilot fatigue, and it makes no sense whatsoever to address that problem by dramatically increasing the amount of time pilots may spend in flight without a rest. Were the effects not so dramatic, the proposal would be comic: like a plan to catch up on lost sleep by staying up later, or a plan to lose weight by eating more chocolate.

The FAA contends that its proposal is consistent with the NASA TM (Technical Memorandum), but there is no basis for that claim. While the NASA researchers did recommend that the "cumulative flight duty period not exceed 10 hours within a 24-hour period," the "flight duty period" they were referring to included all periods from the time the pilot first reports for a duty period until the end of the final flight segment -- essentially the same definition proposed by the FAA for its concept of duty period.  

It is also important to consider that all the responsible government agencies (Congress, NASA, the FAA, and the NTSB) have agreed that pilot fatigue exists and that the current regulations need revision to insure that pilots do not fly when fatigued. By proposing to increase the hard flight time beyond the current eight hours, the FAA is increasing, not reducing, the fatigue potential for pilots. There is absolutely no scientific rationale or industry experience that would justify any increase in the hard flight time from the current eight hours.

Fatigue has been attributed to accidents and incidents in other industries as well. The following outlines the odds ratios for an accident relative to time on duty. This slide is taken from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's Research Findings on Driving Hours and Work Hours. The complete presentation is available by clicking here.  

Chart:  Odds Ratios for Crashing by Driving Hours,  Controlling for Time of Day