Commercial aviation is a very safe form of transportation. But aviation accidents can have catastrophic consequences, with large loss of life. The public demands a high standard of safety and expects continued improvement. General Aviation (GA) is also an important element of the U.S. transportation system and the U.S. economy; however, the majority of aviation fatalities have occurred in this segment of aviation. Since 1988, there has been a gradual trend downward in the number of general aviation accidents, but progress has not been steady. DOT is working with the GA community to achieve further improvements in safety.

Performance Goal

• By 2007, reduce the commercial aviation fatal accident rate per 100,000 departures by 80 percent, from a three-year average baseline (1994 through 1996 - 0.051 fatal accidents per 100,000 departures).
• Reduce general aviation fatal accidents.

Performance measures:

<trend graphic>

<trend graphic>

External Factors: As demand for commercial air transport continues to grow back to pre-9/11 levels and beyond, government and industry must continue to meet the new challenges present every day to maintain and improve the current level of safety in this mode of transportation.

General aviation (GA) aircraft range from single-seat home-built aircraft to rotary wing craft, balloons, and extended-range turbojets. Levels of risk are highly variable within this aviation segment, and regulatory oversight varies considerably. Some elements of general aviation operate in hazardous environments, such as agricultural application, external-load operations, fire fighting, and pipeline/power line patrol.

Strategies and Initiatives to Achieve 2004 Targets: DOT resources attributable to this performance goal are depicted below:

<resource graphic>

As part of the FAA’s Safer Skies initiative, FAA and the aviation industry formed two joint working groups to focus on commercial aviation and on general aviation. These groups systematically identify the most frequently occurring accident causal factors and develop safety improvements specific to particular factors.

Commercial Aviation

In the post-9/11 world of commercial aviation, the focus has shifted to cabin and cockpit security. This shift, combined with a financial downturn in the aviation industry, slowed progress on the Safer Skies initiative during FY 2002.

The FAA has been working closely with the aviation industry to prevent terrorist takeover of aircraft in flight. These efforts include the hardening of cockpit doors to prevent unauthorized entry during the operation of the aircraft. Another effort increases aircraft structural integrity in an onboard explosion, allowing the plane to land safely, and minimizing loss of life.

FAA, in concert with the commercial aviation industry, will:

• continue to identify and implement Safer Skies interventions, monitoring progress in achieving the expected accident reduction goals in the areas of uncontained engine failure, controlled flight into terrain, approach and landing, loss of control, and runway incursion;
• encourage the expansion of voluntary safety programs, such as the Aviation Safety Action Program (employee self-reporting of events involving possible regulatory violations) and the Flight Operational Quality Assurance Program (routine monitoring of digital flight data), as well as providing safety information from such programs to airlines and the FAA;
• deploy the production version of the Internet Airmen Certification and/or Rating Application (IACRA) to provide timely certification service to aviation industry users; and
• work on aging aircraft systems, fuel tank safety, and flammability.
  FAA will also add 302 additional controller trainees and 20 additional safety staff in FY 2004 ($14.6 million) to prepare for a wave of controller retirements in the next several years, and to increase safety monitoring.

General Aviation

The primary strategy for improving GA safety under the Safer Skies initiative is a collaborative working relationship between the FAA and the GA community to identify problems and implement solutions. FAA will continue to work with the aviation community and other government agencies to identify causal factors of accidents and intervene accordingly to prevent future accidents. Specifically for controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), FAA will continue improvements in pilot education and awareness by revising practical test standards, knowledge tests, and associated training materials to improve CFIT awareness and avoidance.

Inadequate pilot decision-making regarding weather is a major cause of GA accidents, and over 80% of weather-related accidents are fatal. Intervention strategies for General Aviation regarding weather will focus on:

• developing guidance for operators, airmen and inspectors to evaluate the application of advanced weather products for operational use; and
• providing better training of pilots to avoid and cope with weather hazards through improved training materials and enhanced continuing education programs to disseminate these materials.

To improve oversight, FAA is developing a System Approach for Safety Oversight (SASO) ($12 million). This new approach will integrate safety information systems and improve FAA’s ability to forecast, identify, and target key safety aspects where surveillance can best address critical GA safety issues.

Ongoing Safety Mission Activities

FAA’s regulation and certification program establishes aviation safety standards, monitors safety performance, conducts aviation safety education and research, issues and maintains certificates and licenses, and manages rulemaking.

FAA's aviation medicine research program works to enhance cabin safety factors. It is developing guidelines based on accident research, toxicological findings, and analyses of information from the consolidated aeromedical database to help prevent aircraft accidents, injuries, and death.

FAA’s research in safety technology ($94.7 million) supports the regulatory program, which sets safety standards for aircraft design, operation, and maintenance. Areas studied include fire-resistant materials for cabin interiors, fire detection equipment, inspection and maintenance of aging aircraft, human factors contributing to unsafe flight deck and maintenance practices, and prevention of engine failure.

Accident Precursors

Operational Errors - A fundamental aviation safety principle is separation – the need to maintain a safe distance from aircraft, terrain, obstructions, and certain airspace not designated for routine air travel. Air traffic controllers employ rules and procedures that define separation standards for a variety of environments in which aircraft operate. When controllers fail to apply or follow the rules and procedures that define separation standards, an operational error occurs.

One of the major approaches to reducing operational errors is to provide a common understanding of procedures and policies among controllers and users. Training for controllers is central to this approach and will continue to be the focus of FAA’s safety strategies in this area. Training will be enhanced by aggressive identification of operational error causal factors. Technological improvements such as deployment of modern displays, new decision support tools, and improved communication systems will support better determination of aircraft location and reduce miscommunication between pilots and controllers. FAA will:

• use the User Request Evaluation Tool (URET), to provide controllers with advance notification of potential conflicts to preclude operational errors;
• reduce repeat incidents by individuals through skill enhancement and remedial training. This will be accomplished by better identification of causal factors and refresher training on procedures for avoiding common types of operational errors;
• emphasize position relief briefings between air traffic controllers to facilitate a more effective transfer of position responsibility and reduce operational errors occurring during the first minutes following the relief;
• continue the operational focus initiative to eliminate distractions not associated with or conducive to the control room environment and keep the focus on the operation through effective sector/position management;
• reduce repeat incidents by air traffic controllers through meaningful individual skill enhancement/remedial training. This will be accomplished by better identification of causal factors and refresher training on procedures for avoiding common types of operational errors; and
• continue to identify and correct controller performance deficiencies prior to an operational error or deviation and resolve performance deficiencies through corrective training.

Runway Incursions - A runway incursion is any event that causes a collision hazard or results in a loss of separation with an aircraft taking off, landing, or intending to land at an airport. FAA will continue to implement the National Blueprint for Runway Safety, containing a multi-pronged effort of outreach, training for pilots and controllers, improved runway signage and markings standards, and technology ($119.8 million) for better situational awareness of ground movements. FAA will continue key runway safety initiatives already underway:

• emphasizing situational awareness in air traffic controller on-the-job training and pilot and vehicle operator training courses;
• continuing the Runway Incursion Technical Evaluation Teams, which comprehensively assess all potential safety-enhancing technologies and products;
• expanding data link usage for communications between air traffic controllers and pilots;
• studying whether to require pilots to receive specific clearances for crossing any runway, and whether, absent affirmative clearance, pilots must hold short of the runway;
• encouraging airports’ use of Airport Improvement Program funds for installing and maintaining security fencing, signs, markings, and lighting at all airports, and promoting use of perimeter roads; and
• identifying underlying causes of human error, and developing standard human factors investigation and analysis methods for all aviation incidents and accidents, including runway incursions.

In addition, the FAA will:

• include a regional and local focus in the Runway Safety Action Team process, increase the number of airport visits, and obtain "best practices" from each line of business; and
• conduct additional regional workshops designed to raise awareness and report on progress and conduct a national Human Factors Workshop on Runway Safety to share lessons learned and recommend more ways to reduce runway incursions.

Other Federal Programs with Common Outcomes: Building upon the Memorandum of Understanding between the FAA and NASA, in FY 2000 the agencies finalized and began implementing the FAA/NASA Integrated Research Plan. The purpose of this plan is to effectively leverage FAA and NASA safety research and development resources to achieve a common goal of an 80 percent fatal aviation accident reduction.

FAA supplementary performance measures:

Note on data: FY 2002 operational error reduction performance target reflects the former measure of the number of operational errors where at least 80 percent of required aircraft separation was not maintained. # The FY 2002 actual number of operational errors is 617 and this will be shown in DOT’s next performance and accountability report.

Management Challenge – Commercial and General Aviation Safety (Operational Errors and Runway Safety) (IG/GAO)

The IG and GAO have stated that the FAA must take steps to reverse the trend in known safety risks, strengthen oversight and rulemakings, and manage the aviation safety and air traffic control workforce strategically over the long term. The IG observed that during the last 14 months, FAA has made further progress in reducing the risk of aviation accidents due to operational errors and runway incursions. Operational errors (incidents that could result in collisions in the air) and runway incursions (incidents that could result in collisions on the ground) decreased by 11 percent and 17 percent, respectively, over FY 2001 levels. While reduced air traffic operations contributed to a reduction of these incidents, FAA initiatives to reduce operational errors and runway incursions at specific facilities were also contributing factors.

Notwithstanding these improvements, operational errors and runway incursions remain as top management challenges because (1) at least three serious operational errors and one serious runway incursion occurs, on average, every 10 days (in which collisions were barely averted); and (2) FAA now projects that air traffic, measured in terms of operations, will return to its pre-9/11 growth pattern between 2005 and 2007. FAA needs to continue initiatives to further reduce the risk of aviation accidents.

The FAA will determine the feasibility of expanding Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS) beyond currently covered large air carriers to smaller commercial air carriers and complete system safety and risk analysis training for all ATOS-assigned field inspectors. The FAA will continue implementation of the Continuing Analysis and Surveillance System (CASS) improvements to address deficiencies in aircraft maintenance programs at some major air carriers through development and publication of advisory circular guidance to clarify 14 CFR §121.373, CASS Requirements, and to deliver updated FAA policy and procedures and training courses to the inspection workforce.

As discussed above, FAA continues to address accident precursors, such as runway incursions and operational errors in its comprehensive aviation safety program.