[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 234 (Monday, December 7, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67505-67506]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-32483]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration
RIN 2120-AF 04


Policy on the Use for Enforcement Purposes of Information 
Obtained from an Air Carrier Flight Operational Quality Assurance 
(FOQA) Program

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: General Statement of Policy.

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SUMMARY: This document states the FAA policy concerning the use for 
enforcement purposes of information obtained from an air carrier 
voluntary Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) program, and sets 
forth what the FAA considers to be a FOQA program for purposes of this 
policy.

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 7, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas M. Longridge, Air 
Transportation Division, Flight Standards Service, telephone (703) 661-
0260, facsimile (703) 661-0274, email: [email protected], 
mailing address: AFS-230, P.O. Box 20027, Washington, D.C. 20041, or 
Peter J. Lynch, Enforcement Division, Office of the Chief Counsel, 
telephone (202) 267-3137, facsimile (202) 267-7257, email: 
Peter.L[email protected], mailing address: AGC-300, 800 Independence Avenue, 
SW, Washington, DC 20591.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Since the mid-1940's the civil air transport accident rate has 
significantly decreased. This decrease is due in part to the air 
transport industry's practice of discovering, understanding, and 
eliminating factors that lead to accidents and incidents. For many 
years, industry, the FAA, and the National Transportation Safety Board 
(NTSB) have used information from flight data recorders (FDRs) and 
digital flight data recorders (DFDRs) to identify the causes of 
accidents and to attempt to eliminate those causes systematically.
    Airplanes used in operation as conducted under 14 CFR part 121 and 
certain types of aircraft used in operations conducted under parts 91, 
125, and 125 are required to have flight data recorders. Any operator 
who has installed approved flight recorders is required to keep the 
recorded information for at least 60 days after an accident or incident 
requiring immediate notification to the NTSB (14 Secs.  CFR 91.609(G), 
121.343(I), 125.225(G), AND 135.152(E)). The flight data recorder 
information can thus be analyzed to determine causes of an accident or 
incident.
    In the past 20 years, technological advances in digital flight data 
recording and on-board storage media have increased the potential for 
obtaining and analyzing information on the flight characteristics of an 
aircraft during its operation. This information can be analyzed on a 
routine basis in order to identify trends which, if uncorrected, could 
lead to an unsafe situation. The key potential safety benefit of this 
strategy is that it would enable the FAA and aircraft operators to take 
early action to prevent accidents. This benefit would be in addition to 
current sources of safety information on which the agency and industry 
rely for after-the-fact accident- or incident-driven data extraction 
and analysis which may then be used to develop safety fixes to prevent 
later accidents, and information from operator self-disclosure 
programs. Because of its capacity to provide early objective 
identification of safety shortcoming, the routine analysis of digital 
flight data offers significant additional potential for accident 
avoidance.
    In January 1995 the Department of Transportation sponsored an 
Aviation Safety Conference in cooperation with key representatives from 
industry and government. A major concern of the conference was a 
projection that even if the currently low accident rate remains 
constant, the number of accidents per year could nevertheless continue 
to increase due simply to the increase in traffic volume expected in 
the future. The conference focused therefore on the development of 
additional measures that the FAA and industry might pursue in the 
interest of precluding this possibility. It was observed that while 
enforcement will remain a useful tool for the protection of public 
safety, enforcement alone is unlikely to achieve the further reductions 
in the accident rate that are needed. Industry must play an active role 
in better identifying potential threats to safety and in self-
initiating the necessary corrective actions before they lead to 
accidents. Among the recommendations from the conference, the voluntary 
implementation of FOQA programs was identified as one of the most 
promising industry initiatives with realistic potential to reduce 
accidents.
    Conference participants further recommended that the FAA sponsor a 
FOQA Demonstration Study in cooperation with industry in order to 
permit both government and industry to develop hands-on experience with 
FOQA technology in a U.S. environment, document the cost-

[[Page 67506]]

benefits of voluntary implementation, and initiate the development of 
organizational strategies for FOQA information management and use. In 
the interest of encouraging participation in such a study, and in 
response to industry expressions of concern over the enforcement 
ramifications of participating in it, the FAA committed itself at the 
conference to issuing an interim policy statement concerning the use of 
FOQA information by the FAA.
    In February 1995, the FAA Administrator issued a statement of 
policy on the use of FOQA information for enforcement purposes. In 
letters to the President of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and 
the President of the Air Transport Association (ATA), the Administrator 
committed to limitations on the use of FOQA information for enforcement 
purposes. The letters also stated that, ``The FAA will use information 
from the demonstration study as well as experience gained as a basis 
for determining appropriate future action regarding the need for and 
appropriateness of rulemaking to codify the limitations on the FAA's 
use of FOQA information.''
    The FOQA Demonstration Study has been conducted over the past 3 
years in cooperation with major airlines in the U.S. Analysis of the 
flight data information, which is deidentified at the time of 
collection, has provided substantial documentation of the benefits of 
FOQA. The Demonstration Study's findings are very similar to the 
results obtained by foreign air carriers, many of whom have long 
experience in the use of this technology. These include documenting 
unusual autopilot disconnects, GPWS warnings, excessive rotation rates 
on take-off, unstabilized approaches, hard landings, and compliance 
with standard operating procedures. They also include use of FOQA data 
for monitoring fuel efficiency, identifying out-of-trim airframe 
configurations, enhanced engine condition monitoring, noise abatement 
compliance, rough runway surfaces and aircraft structural fatigue. 
These results clearly validate the value of FOQA for safety 
enhancement.
    Based on the results of the Demonstration Study, the FAA has 
concluded that FOQA can provide a source of objective information on 
which to identify needed improvements in flight crew performance, air 
carrier training programs, operating procedures, air traffic control 
procedures, airport maintenance and design, and aircraft operations and 
design. The acquisition and use of such information to achieve 
improvements in these areas clearly enhances safety. The FAA therefore 
finds that encouraging the voluntary implementation of FOQA programs by 
U.S. operators is in the public interest.

Policy Statement

    The FAA encourages voluntary airline collection of deidentified 
digital flight data recorder data to monitor line operations on a 
routine basis, along with the establishment of procedures for taking 
corrective action that analysis of such data indicates is necessary in 
the interest of safety. The FAA also recognizes the industry's concerns 
regarding the use of deidentified FOQA information to undertake 
enforcement actions. The FAA therefore has determined that the 
appropriate policy is to refrain from using deidentified FOQA 
information to undertake enforcement actions except in egregious cases, 
i.e., those that do not meet the conditions listed in section 9, 
paragraph c of Advisory Circular 00-46D governing the Aviation Safety 
Reporting Program. This policy applies only to information collected 
specifically in a FOQA program that is FAA-approved.
    For purposes of this policy, the term ``FOQA program'' means an 
FAA-approved program for the routine collection and analysis of in-
flight operational data by means of a DFDR. The program would include a 
description of the operator's plan for collecting and analyzing the 
data, procedures for taking corrective action that analysis of the data 
indicates is necessary in the interest of safety, procedures for 
providing the FAA access at the carrier's offices to deidentified 
aggregate FOQA information, and procedures for informing the FAA as to 
any corrective action being undertaken. The FAA will be able to monitor 
safety trends evident in the FOQA data and the operator's effectiveness 
in correcting adverse safety trends.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 2, 1998.
Jane F. Garvey,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 98-32483 Filed 12-3-98; 11:27 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-M