Peter
Buffington, author, has been a licensed commercial pilot for 15 years.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Sciences from the
University of North Dakota and is currently employed as a Software
Quality Analyst in the Midwest. He flies for pleasure outside of work.
Peter has logged more than 2,500 hours total flying time in countless
aircraft makes and models.
Peter began writing the first edition
of Squawk 7700 in October of 2000, completion was in May of 2001. The
first edition was published by Morris Publishing in July 2001. Two
months after publishing the first edition, the events of 9-11-2001
unfolded forever changing the airline industry. Peter's motivation in
publishing his personal story was his desire to see change in the
regional airline industry. The regional airline's hiring practices,
corner-cutting, and Pay-For-Training were pushing the moral and ethical
envelope. Peter knew by publishing his story many aspects of the the
airlines daily operations would be exposed.
Nearly 10 years passed
since publication of the first edition. Two recent air disasters
motivated Peter to publish a second edition of Squawk 7700. The crashes
of Comair Flight 5191 in Lexington, Kentucky and Colgan Air 3407 in
Buffalo New York. Shortly after the US Airways Flight 1549 incident in
New York, Peter and Jeff Skiles began working together to see that
changes were implemented in the way regional airlines hired pilots, and
to expose the daily lifestyle of a regional airline pilot. Jeff Skiles
was called to testify before congress on numerous occasions in 2009.
Jeff explained why change was urgently needed in the regional airline
industry. On July 30th, 2010, the U.S. House and Senate Passed the FAA
Safety Bill setting forth new pilot hiring minimums and training
requirements. On August 1st, 2010 the POTUS signed the FAA Safety Bill
HR 5900
Peter has been a Featured Author at EAA AirVenture 2011, 2012, and 2013.
