Aviation Safety: FAA Has Begun Efforts to Make Data More Publicly
Available (Letter Report, 04/25/97, GAO/RCED-97-137).

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed: (1) what actions the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has taken to make aviation safety
information more available to the public; (2) what the public demand has
been for FAA's aviation safety information; (3) FAA's plans to expand
the aviation safety information available to the public; and (4) FAA's
progress in making safety information available to the public.

GAO noted that: (1) FAA took a number of actions to provide aviation
safety-related information to the public beginning in July 1996; (2) FAA
formed a working group of senior-level agency officials and adopted a
strategy of providing aviation safety information to the public through
a three-part effort: (a) establishing an aviation safety information web
site linked to the FAA's Internet web site; (b) publicizing significant
enforcement actions; and (c) undertaking a public education campaign on
aviation safety; (3) as of April 10, 1997, FAA has included four
databases on its aviation safety Internet web site; (4) those databases
include information on aviation accidents, other safety-related
incidents, traffic data (e.g., departures made) reported by large
commercial air carriers, which can be used to calculate comparative
accident or incident rates, and the safety recommendations made by the
National Transportation Safety Board to FAA; (5) since FAA first made
its aviation safety site on the Internet available to the public, it has
seen an approximate fourfold increase in the number of users who have
accessed the web site each week; (6) usage has increased during those
weeks when a public announcement related to the site has been made; (7)
in addition, FAA's data indicate that users are spending more time using
the site; (8) it is too soon, however, to tell if these trends will
continue; (9) FAA plans to expand the number of databases that it posts
on its aviation safety web site throughout the rest of 1997; and (10) it
expects to incorporate information on the airlines' composition (i.e.,
the make, models, and ages of aircraft in each airline's fleet) and
other indicators of aviation safety (e.g., data on near mid-air
collisions).

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-97-137
     TITLE:  Aviation Safety: FAA Has Begun Efforts to Make Data More 
             Publicly Available
      DATE:  04/25/97
   SUBJECT:  Airline industry
             Airline regulation
             Transportation safety
             Government information dissemination
             Commercial aviation
             Aircraft accidents
             Data bases
             Air transportation operations
IDENTIFIER:  Internet
             NTSB Aviation Accident/Incident Database
             FAA Accident/Incident Data System
             FAA Airline Traffic Statistics Database
             FAA National Airspace Incident Monitoring System
             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER


Report to the Honorable
Ron Wyden, U.S.  Senate

April 1997

AVIATION SAFETY - FAA HAS BEGUN
EFFORTS TO MAKE DATA MORE PUBLICLY
AVAILABLE

GAO/RCED-97-137

Aviation Safety

(341531)


Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  FAA -
  DOT -
  NTSB -
  FOIA -
  BTS -

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER


B-276714

April 25, 1997

The Honorable Ron Wyden
United States Senate

Dear Senator Wyden: 

Public concern about the safety of the nation's aviation system
escalated following the crashes of ValuJet flight 592 and TWA flight
800.  The Congress and the public have expressed interest in having
the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) publish airline-specific
safety data.  In a letter to the Administrator of the FAA dated July
10, 1996, you and Senator Wendell Ford requested that the FAA work
with the aviation community to recommend the best means to educate
the public and to make available to them information about commercial
aviation safety, while ensuring that the safety and integrity of the
system is maintained. 

As agreed with your office, this report reviews FAA's response to
your request.  Specifically, it addresses the following questions: 
(1) What actions has FAA taken to make aviation safety information
more available to the public?  (2) What has been the public demand
for FAA's aviation safety information?  (3) What are FAA's plans to
expand the aviation safety information available to the public?  In
addition, you asked us for our observations about FAA's progress in
making safety information available to the public. 


   RESULTS IN BRIEF
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

FAA took a number of actions to provide aviation safety-related
information to the public beginning in July 1996.  FAA formed a
working group of senior-level agency officials and adopted a strategy
of providing aviation safety information to the public through a
three-part effort:  establishing an aviation safety information web
site linked to the FAA's Internet web site, publicizing significant
enforcement actions,\1 and undertaking a public education campaign on
aviation safety.  As of April 10, 1997, FAA has included four
databases on its aviation safety Internet web site.  Those databases
include information on aviation accidents; other safety-related
incidents; traffic data (e.g., departures made) reported by large
commercial air carriers, which can be used to calculate comparative
accident or incident rates; and the safety recommendations made by
the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to FAA. 

Since FAA first made its aviation safety site on the Internet
available to the public, it has seen an approximate fourfold increase
in the number of users who have accessed the web site each week. 
Usage has increased during those weeks when a public announcement
related to the site has been made.  In addition, FAA's data indicate
that users are spending more time using the site.  It is too soon,
however, to tell if these trends will continue. 

FAA plans to expand the number of databases that it posts on its
aviation safety web site throughout the rest of 1997.  It expects to
incorporate information on the airlines' composition (i.e., the make,
models, and ages of aircraft in each airline's fleet) and other
indicators of aviation safety (e.g., data on near mid-air
collisions). 


--------------------
\1 FAA may initiate enforcement actions under its compliance and
enforcement program in response to apparent or alleged violations of
the laws governing federal aviation or of the Federal Aviation
Regulations.  Enforcement actions include administrative actions,
such as warning notices and letters of correction; legal enforcement
remedies, such as amending, suspending, or revoking airlines'
operating certificates; and punitive actions, such as imposing civil
(financial) penalties and temporarily suspending certificates. 


   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

FAA is responsible for setting standards, assessing compliance, and
taking enforcement actions to ensure that the airlines meet safety
standards.  To carry out this responsibility, FAA monitors the
airlines' compliance with the Federal Aviation Regulations through
periodic inspections.  Those regulations set the standards for the
airlines' operations and maintenance functions. 

A number of possible indicators of aviation safety exist.  In a 1988
report, we identified and assessed potential ways of measuring the
airlines' performance in areas important to safety.\2 The accident
rate is a widely recognized measure of overall aviation safety.\3
However, because accidents occur so infrequently, there are no
statistically significant differences in the accident rates among
similar airlines.  Also, because accident rates reflect what has
already happened, their relevance to accident prediction or
prevention can be limited.  Among the other measures discussed in
that report were information on inspection results, unsafe incidents,
airlines' financial condition, pilots' competence, and maintenance
quality. 

Safety-related aviation information varies in the extent to which it
is available to the public.  In general, "availability" indicates
whether or not information is protected from dissemination by federal
law.  For example, the National Transportation Safety Board, the
official source of information on airline accidents, routinely
publishes information on aviation accidents.  On the other hand, the
public can obtain some other information only after making a request
through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).  According to FAA,
information on the enforcement actions against regulated entities
(i.e., air carriers, airports, manufacturers, schools, or repair
stations) has generally been available to the public only through
FOIA requests, or when FAA elects, on a case-by-case basis, to
publicize an enforcement action. 


--------------------
\2 Aviation Safety:  Measuring How Safely Individual Airlines Operate
(GAO/RCED-88-61, Mar.  18, 1988).  The report also reviewed
government and academic research projects to develop basic
information on factors influencing aviation safety. 

\3 The accident rate is computed by dividing the number of accidents
by a measure of the airline's activity, such as the number of
operating hours, passenger miles, or departures. 


   FAA'S ACTIONS TO PROVIDE MORE
   AVIATION SAFETY INFORMATION TO
   THE PUBLIC
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

FAA began to take a number of actions to provide aviation
safety-related information to the public in July 1996.  The
Administrator asked FAA's Office of System Safety to assemble a
working group of senior-level officials to determine how the FAA
could most efficiently and effectively accomplish this task.  In
addition to FAA's then-Deputy Administrator, the group included
representatives from FAA's offices of Regulation and Certification,
Chief Counsel, Government and Industry Affairs, Civil Aviation
Security, and Public Affairs. 

FAA solicited comments from the public and from the aviation
community on how best to educate the public about, and make
information available on, commercial aviation safety.  FAA contracted
with a consultant to generate a discussion of and obtain feedback on
the types of aviation safety data that FAA might make available to
the public, the means by which such information might be distributed,
and the issues and considerations that arise in the distribution of
these data.  The contractor's draft report was made available for
public comment through the Federal Register on November 13, 1996. 

According to senior FAA officials, in deciding what means the agency
would use to provide greater information to the public, FAA
recognized the challenges of availability and accessibility.  FAA
noted the growing use of the Internet as an expedient and
cost-effective means to provide information, especially to those in
government, the aviation industry, academia, and the media.  As a
result, FAA announced on January 29, 1997, that it would use the
Internet to pursue all three of its information strategies: 
establishing an aviation safety information web site linked to FAA's
Internet web site, publicizing significant enforcement actions, and
undertaking a public education campaign on aviation safety. 

However, because broad sections of the general public may not have
access to the Internet, FAA recognized that it might need to
distribute safety information through some other supplementary means. 
FAA considered using toll-free telephone numbers to provide the
public with certain safety information.  However, on the basis of the
experience of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, FAA
decided that it lacked the staff resources to answer the large number
of calls that it might receive.\4 FAA subsequently decided to provide
information, at least initially, through other public channels.  As
the Internet information effort develops, FAA expects to reassess the
need for toll-free telephone access. 

FAA announced that beginning on February 1, 1997, it would issue
press releases on newly issued enforcement actions concerning
significant cases against regulated aviation entities that involve
safety and security issues, including cases seeking civil penalties
of $50,000 or more.  As of April 16, FAA had issued press releases
about three enforcement actions involving civil penalties, along with
three instances in which it has revoked air carriers' operating
certificates.  In addition to its normal procedures for issuing press
releases, FAA has included them on its aviation safety information
web site.  FAA's homepage is pictured in figure 1. 

   Figure 1:  FAA's Internet
   Homepage

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  http://www.faa.gov

FAA began its public education campaign about aviation safety on
April 2, 1997.  On the basis of the public comments received on the
consultant's draft report, FAA determined that it needed to explore
more effective ways of communicating with consumers about aviation
safety.  To complement its information-sharing efforts, FAA's public
education campaign is designed to help the public better understand
the safety of the overall system.  FAA prepared a short overview of
the aviation safety system and included it on its aviation safety
information web site. 

In addition to the press release and public education information,
the aviation safety information web site includes a link to a web
site maintained by the FAA's Office of System Safety, where the
public can access and search several of the principal sources of
aviation safety data and information that are used by the federal
government.  It also includes an explanation of how to use the data
and cautions about how those calculations should and should not be
interpreted.  Figure 2 shows the information presented on the web
site on aviation safety data. 

   Figure 2:  FAA's Web Site on
   Aviation Safety Data

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  http://nasdac.faa.gov/internet/

FAA plans to make public various aviation safety-related databases
over time.  When it was first made available to the public, the web
site included three aviation safety databases: 

  -- The NTSB Aviation Accident/Incident Database, which is the
     official repository of aviation accident data and causal
     factors.  NTSB generally defines an "accident" as an occurrence
     associated with the operation of an aircraft in which
     individuals are killed or suffer serious injury, or the aircraft
     is substantially damaged.  An NTSB-defined incident is an
     occurrence, other than an accident, associated with the
     operation of an aircraft that affects or could affect the safety
     of operations.  The NTSB database contains only selected
     incident reports.  As of April 9, 1997, this database included a
     total of 37,696 records of aviation accidents and incidents,
     dating back to 1983.  By far, the vast majority (34,073, or
     approximately 90.4 percent) concerned general aviation aircraft
     accidents and incidents; 3,623 records (9.6 percent) concerned
     large or commuter air carriers' accidents and incidents. 

  -- The NTSB's safety recommendations to FAA with FAA's responses. 
     NTSB uses information it gathers during accident investigations
     and the determination of probable cause to make safety
     recommendations to all elements of the transportation industry. 
     The recipient of a recommendation must respond formally to the
     recommendation and specify what action is or is not being taken
     and why.  This database includes the 3,471 recommendations made
     by NTSB to FAA since 1963, along with FAA's responses.\5

  -- The FAA's Incident Data System, which contains a more extensive
     collection of records of aviation incidents--potentially
     hazardous events that do not meet the aircraft damage or
     personal injury thresholds contained in NTSB's definition of an
     accident.  As of April 9, 1997, this database included a total
     of 67,057 records of aviation incidents, dating back to 1978. 
     As with the NTSB's Aviation Accident/Incident Database, a
     relatively small percentage (28.0 percent) of the total number
     of records concerned incidents experienced by large or commuter
     air carriers. 

Users cannot readily retrieve complete copies of these three
databases.  Rather, users may browse (i.e., look at) individual
records, count records (e.g., all accidents involving commuter air
carriers during a given time period), or select particular reports on
the basis of user-supplied words or phrases (e.g., smoke) and/or
user-selected criteria, such as the aircraft's category of
operation.\6

FAA added another database on March 31, 1997, that provides the means
by which the accident and incident information can be put into some
context.  FAA extracted this database--Airline Traffic
Statistics--from information gathered by the Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS).\7 It contains three selected measures of individual
airlines' operations:  the number of departures, hours flown, and
miles flown, by year, in domestic commercial service during the
5-year period from 1991 through 1995.  Those statistics are the
activity measures most frequently used to calculate accident and
incident rates for the airlines.  Unlike the first databases that FAA
included on its web site, users cannot search the data on traffic
statistics on the Internet.  Users can, however, obtain a copy of
this complete database from FAA's web site, for use on their own
computers. 

FAA includes warnings and disclaimers to explain the limitations of
the databases it includes on its web sites.  In general, these
warnings and disclaimers state that the contents of the web sites are
unofficial.  FAA notes that the databases may not be complete and
makes no certification about the accuracy of the data. 


--------------------
\4 According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's
budget submission to the Congress for fiscal year 1998, its Auto
Safety Hotline received over 800,000 calls in calendar year 1995, and
the number was expected to rise in 1996 and 1997.  The Department of
Transportation has requested $1.8 million for the hotline in fiscal
year 1998.  Among other things, the hotline provides consumers with
information concerning motor vehicle safety, such as recall
information on a consumer's vehicle or child safety seat, and general
information to increase consumers' understanding and awareness of
traffic safety. 

\5 We have recently reported on FAA's responsiveness to
recommendations made by us, the Department of Transportation's
Inspector General, and NTSB.  See Aviation Safety:  FAA Generally
Agrees With but Is Slow in Implementing Safety Recommendations
(GAO/RCED-96-193, Sept.  23, 1996). 

\6 An air carrier's category of operation refers to that part of the
Federal Aviation Regulations under which the carrier operates.  Large
air carriers' (airlines') operations are covered by part 121 of the
regulations, and commuter air carriers' operations are covered by
part 135. 

\7 BTS is a unit of the Department of Transportation.  BTS compiles,
analyzes, and makes accessible information on the nation's
transportation system.  The major U.S.  airlines are required by
federal regulation to provide specific financial, activity, and
descriptive data to BTS. 


   EARLY DATA INDICATE THAT PUBLIC
   DEMAND FOR AVIATION SAFETY
   INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET HAS
   GROWN
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :4

Since FAA first established its aviation safety web site on the
Internet, it has seen an approximately fourfold increase in the
number of users who have accessed the safety data web site each week. 
FAA's computers measure usage in several ways, and each indicates
that usage of FAA's site has grown since it was made public.  The
best measure of web site usage, according to FAA officials, is the
number of users who have accessed the site.  Although FAA cannot
identify every individual user who accesses its site, it does count
the number of users that access the web site over a period of time
using a measure called a "user session."\8 In mid-January, before FAA
publicly announced the availability of the web site, it averaged
about 2,000 user sessions per week, even though the web site
consisted mainly of a page explaining that the data will be available
at a later date.  After media attention about the availability of the
web site in late January, the usage that week grew to almost 9,000
user sessions.  After declining over several weeks, usage again grew
after FAA added the searchable safety data to the site on February
28.  FAA hosted about 8,200 user sessions during the last week of
March.  Figure 3 illustrates the number of user sessions per week for
the safety data web site. 

   Figure 3:  Total Weekly Usage
   of FAA's Aviation Safety Data
   Web Site, for Weeks Ending
   January 4 Through April 12,
   1997

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

\a Press conference introducing web site--1/29/97. 

\b First searchable safety data put on web site--2/28/97. 

Source:  GAO's analysis of FAA's data. 

In addition to an increase in the number of users, FAA's data
indicate that the public is utilizing the safety data web site more
often than when it was first made available.  First, FAA tracks the
average time of each user session.  The length of the average user
session had grown to about 12 minutes in early April.  Also, FAA
tracks the number of times each user requests a file from FAA's
computers--called a "hit."\9 The average number of hits generated
during each user session has also grown, from 18.6 in early January
to as high as 31.9 in early April.  (These data on the number of hits
per user session are displayed in table 1.) According to FAA
officials, the increases in both of these statistics indicate that
users are finding the safety data more useful, possibly for research,
than in the past.  They added, however, that it is too early to tell
if these trends will continue. 



                                Table 1
                
                 Weekly Hits per User Session for FAA's
                Aviation Safety Data Web Site, for Weeks
                Ending January 4 Through April 12, 1997

                                            Average time       Average
                                 Number of  of each user     number of
                                      user       session      hits per
Week ending                       sessions     (minutes)  user session
----------------------------  ------------  ------------  ------------
1/4/97                                 861           N/A          18.6
1/11/97                              2,223           N/A          17.7
1/18/97                              2,333           N/A          18.0
1/25/97                              1,711           N/A          18.6
2/1/97                               8,916           N/A          20.8
2/8/97                               7,071           1.5          21.4
2/15/97                              4,189           N/A          20.3
2/22/97                              3,316           N/A          19.3
3/1/97                               5,091           N/A          21.8
3/8/97                               4,358          10.7          25.0
3/15/97                              6,966           9.9          22.0
3/22/97                              6,096          10.0          21.7
3/29/97                              8,214          11.3          23.0
4/5/97                               4,733          12.0          31.9
4/12/97                              4,926          11.3          29.0
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Note:  N/A = Not available. 

Source:  GAO's analysis of FAA's data. 

Finally, FAA's computers also keep track of the host computer of each
user who accesses the safety data site.  The user's host computer is
operated by the organization that provides access to the Internet,
whether that organization is an Internet service provider (such as
America Online, Compuserve, or Netcom, that mainly serve the public)
or another organization, such as Boeing.  These data indicate that
many of the host computers that access FAA's site most frequently are
operated by Internet service providers.  Other frequent users are the
Air Force and airlines such as Delta, which operate host computers
that are generally available only to their employees.  These same
data indicate that about 10 percent of those who access FAA's site
are doing so from a computer located outside the United
States--mostly from Germany and Canada. 

Because FAA made the safety education material available only
recently (on April 2, 1997), it has only limited information on the
number of user sessions for that web site:  FAA recorded 313 user
sessions on that web site for the week ending April 5 and 515 for the
week ending April 12.  For the press releases on enforcement actions,
however, FAA's statistics indicate that weekly usage has generally
fallen since FAA first made those press releases available, and fewer
users have accessed this page than have accessed the safety data web
site.  Figure 4 shows the change in the number of weekly uses of the
press release information since early February 1997. 

   Figure 4:  Total Weekly Usage
   of FAA's Safety Press Release
   Internet Page, for Weeks Ending
   February 8 Through April 12,
   1997

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Source:  GAO's analysis of FAA's information. 


--------------------
\8 As defined by FAA's software, a user session is a period during
which another computer is retrieving data from FAA's Internet web
site. 

\9 FAA's software could generate several hits during each user
session--one for the file containing the page itself and one for each
of the graphic files displayed on the page.  However, because of the
way most users' web software is designed, repeat visits to the same
page may not be counted as hits. 


   FAA'S PLANS TO EXPAND
   INFORMATION ABOUT AVIATION
   SAFETY ON ITS WEB SITE
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :5

FAA plans to add other safety-related information to the web site
gradually over time.  By May 31, 1997, FAA plans to add data from the
FAA National Airspace Incident Monitoring System, which includes
information on near mid-air collisions.\10 On June 1, 1997, FAA
expects to make available a quarterly report of enforcement actions
in the safety and security areas against aviation entities.  This
report, which describes enforcement actions closed with a civil
penalty or orders of certificate suspension or revocation, will cover
the first quarter of 1997.  Thereafter, FAA expects to issue its
quarterly enforcement reports about 30 days after the end of each
quarter. 

FAA has also indicated that it will expand the available information
on airline traffic statistics in two ways.  First, it will add data
for 1996 as soon as it receives them from BTS in June or July.  In
addition, FAA expects to add traffic statistics for commuter
airlines.  At present, the traffic statistics that FAA has posted are
limited to ones on domestic operations by large air carriers (i.e.,
generally those that operate aircraft with more than 60 seats).  In
addition, by the end of September 1997, FAA will develop a new
database that will provide certain basic information about each air
carrier, such as the number of specific makes, the models, and the
ages of the aircraft flown by the carrier and the date when the
carrier was certificated by the Department of Transportation (DOT)
and FAA to operate.\11 According to FAA officials, the agency has not
yet decided how much data should be provided from the existing FAA
databases or whether some information could be better provided by the
individual air carriers, perhaps in conjunction with their trade
associations, through direct links between their respective Internet
web sites and FAA's. 

According to FAA officials, the agency also intends to evaluate its
efforts to provide safety information to the public, but not until
March 1998, after the web site has been in operation for
approximately 1 year. 


--------------------
\10 Near mid-air collisions are incidents associated with the
operation of an aircraft in which a possibility of collision occurs
as a result of an aircraft's proximity of less than 500 feet to
another aircraft. 

\11 Before commencing operations, new airlines must obtain two
separate authorizations from the DOT--"economic" authority from the
Office of the Secretary of Transportation and "safety" authority from
FAA.  The Office of the Secretary of Transportation is responsible
for assessing whether applicants have the managerial competence,
disposition to comply with regulations, and financial resources
necessary to operate a new airline.  FAA uses a multiphased process
to determine whether an applicant's manuals, aircraft, facilities,
and personnel meet federal safety standards.  For additional
information on these certification processes, see Certification of
New Airlines:  Department of Transportation Has Taken Action to
Improve Its Certification Process (GAO/RCED-96-8, Jan.  11, 1996). 


   GAO'S OBSERVATIONS ON FAA'S
   PROGRESS TO DATE
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :6

In an October 1996 report on aviation safety, we concluded that the
time had come for FAA to begin the process that can lead to
publishing airline-specific safety data.\12 The report recommended
that the Secretary of Transportation instruct the Administrator of
FAA to study the feasibility of developing measurable criteria for
what constitutes aviation safety, including those airline-specific,
safety-related performance measures that could be published for use
by the traveling public.  DOT concurred with that recommendation. 

FAA's Internet web site represents a good first step toward providing
the public with some aviation safety information.  Providing the
information in which FAA has the greatest confidence--NTSB's
accident/incident data, FAA's incident data, and BTS' traffic
data--seems to be a reasonable approach.  The early data on the usage
of the web site indicate that the public has an interest in aviation
safety data. 

FAA has said that evaluating its efforts will be an important aspect
of its overall strategy of providing more information to the
traveling public.  We agree.  Such an evaluation could help FAA
determine whether it is meeting the needs of the traveling public and
whether it should improve, refine, or expand its safety information,
as well as improve the quality of the underlying data.  It might also
incorporate considerations of the extent to which the public finds
these data easily usable, in view of the complexity and size of the
posted databases.  While it is too early to conduct an evaluation,
FAA could begin the planning necessary to ensure that its evaluation
produces meaningful results. 


--------------------
\12 Aviation Safety:  New Airlines Illustrate Long-Standing Problems
in FAA's Inspection Program (GAO/RCED-97-2, Oct.  17, 1996). 


   AGENCY COMMENTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :7

We provided DOT and FAA with copies of a draft of this report.  We
met with DOT and FAA officials, including the Manager of FAA's Safety
Data Services Division, acting on behalf of the Deputy Assistant
Administrator for System Safety.  DOT and FAA officials agreed with
the draft report's overall message and provided editorial and
technical comments that we incorporated as appropriate. 


---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :7.1

The information in this report was developed through discussions with
officials at FAA and analysis of data on the usage of FAA's web site
over time.  We also reviewed previously issued GAO products,
pertinent federal regulations, and FAA's Internet web sites.  We did
not independently assess the quality of the data that FAA includes on
its Internet web sites.  We performed our review from March through
mid-April 1997 in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards. 

As you requested, unless you publicly announce its contents earlier,
we plan no further distribution of this report for 30 days.  We will
then send copies to the Secretary of Transportation; the Director,
Office of Management and Budget; and other interested parties.  We
will also make copies available to others upon request. 

Major contributors to this report were Thomas Kai; Steve Martin; and
James Sweetman, Jr.  Please call me at (202) 512-3650 if you or your
staff have further questions. 

Sincerely yours,

Gerald L.  Dillingham
Associate Director, Transportation Issues


*** End of document. ***