Turf protection sank to new levels recently as a Tennessee senator used a Senate rule to block safety legislation backed by the families of Continental Flight 3407. Sen. Bob Corker backed off of that stance Wednesday, though, and the legislation headed to the Senate floor. It’s about time.

Corker used a “hold” to stall the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill, looking out for the interests of his home state and that of Memphis-based FedEx. His fellow Tennessee Republican, Sen. Lamar Alexander, added his support for that tactic, based on objections to a provision in the House version of the bill that would allow FedEx drivers to organize on a local level under the National Labor Relations Act. The hold was lifted after Senate leaders agreed to push to remove that provision when the Senate and House versions of the bill are reconciled.

It has taken three years to pass a multiyear FAA reauthorization bill, and during that period the crash of Flight 3407 here claimed 50 lives. Families of the victims have been fighting since last spring to get the bill’s safety provisions turned into law.

Corker’s hold clearly put the interests of one company over the safety of the flying public. Time-honored political tactic or not, that’s just unacceptable. The hold-lifting deal doesn’t change that, although progress on the bill—previously stalled by Senate insistence that health care reform come first—is welcome.

The Senate bill addresses the key issue of increased pilot-training standards and remedial training programs. It has been pushed by Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., who wants an amendment to the bill, among others, that would require newly hired co-pilots at commercial airlines to have 1,500 hours of flying experience, the same as pilots, and up from the current requirement for co-pilots of 250 hours.

Schumer, who gained the support of House Majority Leader Harry Reid, is credited for keeping the FAA legislation out of the jobs bill and setting aside time for debate on the full FAA reauthorization, including the safety provisions.

It’s now up to the Senate to move this legislation through to the reconciliation stage, and for both branches of Congress to come up with a final version that includes the new safety rules. The families of Flight 3407 deserve that. So does anyone who travels by airliner.