[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 196 (Thursday, October 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 63641]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-22352]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Federal Aviation Administration

[Docket No. FAA-2020-0936]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Requests for Comments; 
Clearance of a New Approval of Information Collection: Survey of 
Industry's Response to Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO) 17007

AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, FAA 
invites public comments about our intention to request the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for a new information collection. 
The collection involves survey responses from U.S. operator (Part 121 
and Part 135) employees who lead departments responsible for Operations 
and Standards, Training, and Safety to understand how industry has 
addressed recommendations from SAFO 17007 and to inform future guidance 
on manual flight skill proficiency in future en-route and terminal 
environments. This information collection is necessary, as no other 
information sources have been identified that would provide the 
required information. Operator policies and procedures are not publicly 
shared; therefore, this is the only reliable method to gather anonymous 
information from a representative industry sample.

DATES: Written comments should be submitted by December 7, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Please send written comments:
    By Electronic Docket: www.regulations.gov (Enter docket number into 
search field).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Victor Quach by email at: 
[email protected]; phone: 202-267-3585.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Public Comments Invited: You are asked to comment on any aspect of 
this information collection, including (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for FAA's performance; (b) the 
accuracy of the estimated burden; (c) ways for FAA to enhance the 
quality, utility and clarity of the information collection; and (d) 
ways that the burden could be minimized without reducing the quality of 
the collected information. The agency will summarize and/or include 
your comments in the request for OMB's clearance of this information 
collection.
    OMB Control Number: 2120-XXXX.
    Title: Survey of Industry's Response to Safety Alert for Operators 
(SAFO) 17007.
    Form Numbers: Not applicable.
    Type of Review: New information collection.
    Background: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is developing 
guidance materials on maintaining manual flight skill proficiency in 
future en-route and terminal environments where pilots will have less 
opportunities to practice manual flight knowledge, skills, and 
abilities (KSAs) in a highly automated environment. The FAA is 
conducting this survey of U.S. operators (Part 121 and Part 135) to 
determine how the organizations have incorporated the recommendations 
in SAFO 17007 into line operations and training. SAFO 17007 (linked 
below) encourages the development of training and line-operations 
policies to ensure that proficiency in manual flight operations is 
developed and maintained for pilots. https://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo/all_safos/media/2017/SAFO17007.pdf.
    An invitation to complete a one-time electronic survey will be sent 
to U.S operators (Part 121 and Part 135) employees who lead departments 
responsible for Operations and Standards, Training, and Safety. These 
personnel are responsible for implementing the SAFO's recommendations 
into line operations and training. All data provided will be kept 
private to the extent possible by law. To preclude the identification 
of individual responses, all respondents will be given a participant 
code that does not identify them or their organization. Only the 
project leaders will have access to the coding key, which will be 
destroyed after data analyses are complete. Only analyses and reports 
of aggregate data will be produced and released.
    Failure to collect data on industry incorporation of SAFO 17007 
recommendations will impact the quality of future FAA guidance provided 
to address manual flight operations. As such, it may also jeopardize 
future manual flight operations in an increasingly automated 
environment. SAFO 17007 encourages operators to practice manual flight 
in an operational environment; however, increased use of flight deck 
automation from NextGen National Airspace improvements will limit 
practice opportunities resulting in an increased need to make other 
improvement, which may be addressed through future FAA guidance.
    Respondents: 1,224 U.S. Part 121 and Part 135 operator employees 
who lead departments responsible for Operations and Standards, 
Training, and Safety.
    Frequency: One time.
    Estimated Average Burden per Response: 30 minutes.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden: 30 minutes per respondent, 612 total 
burden hours.

Victor K. Quach,
Scientific and Technical Advisor.
[FR Doc. 2020-22352 Filed 10-7-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-13-P