Release #: Vol. 84, No. 4
May 01, 2015

FAA Reauthorization and ALPA’s Safety and Policy Agenda

By ALPA Staff

The 2015 reauthorization of the FAA will be a catalyst for many ALPA policy priorities. In September 2015, the current FAA authorization bill expires. Work is under way to craft a bill that both houses of Congress will pass and that the president will sign into law. This is no easy feat in today’s political environment, but ALPA’s top priority is that this legislation is completed on time and without the extraneous measures that delayed the last bill’s passage for more than two years and necessitated 23 extensions.

Over the last year, ALPA has focused on working with stakeholders and U.S. government decision-makers to promote a framework for the FAA to continue operating without interruption. ALPA’s goal is to support legislation that provides the agency with dedicated, stable funding that will enable it to both fulfill its safety mandate and move forward on safety and system efficiency and modernization programs, such as NextGen.

Air traffic system governance and the debate over corporatization

Leaders in Congress have called for “transformational” reform of the FAA, and debate about the future of the structure and governance of the U.S. ATC system has begun in earnest. Late last year, ALPA testified before Congress on FAA modernization and outlined its position regarding structural and governance changes to the FAA regarding the ATC system.

ALPA outlined the necessary components should there be any changes, including long-term, stable FAA funding and protections for current FAA employees who could be affected by a change. ALPA will insist on holding a position on any new governance board. Any constructive debate about a more effective means to provide stable, dedicated, and long-term funding to support the ATC system in an equitable way while maintaining safety may be warranted.

Regarding the airline industry’s tax and fee structure, it’s no secret that U.S. airlines are overburdened with onerous taxes, leading all other industries with 17 unique federal taxes and fees. In addition to the competitive disadvantage this unfair tax burden causes U.S. airlines in the international marketplace, the revenue generated from these government-imposed taxes is not used entirely on aviation infrastructure, safety, and security. If the FAA reauthorization bill includes any wholesale structural changes that affect the ATC system, the Association will push for reforms in a number of areas, including a fee structure that insures that all fees are used to benefit aviation infrastructure, safety, and security.

Playing defense: protecting safety at all costs

The Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 significantly improved aviation safety. In conjunction with the current FAA reauthorization, ALPA’s Government Affairs and Engineering & Air Safety Departments have been working to protect critical safety enhancements, such as science-based flight- and duty-time rules and pilot training and qualification regulations—including minimum requirements for pilots flying under FAR 121 operations—from being rolled back. Any reauthorization legislation must not weaken current safety standards or impede the development of future safety regulations.

Unmanned aircraft systems

Regarding unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), ALPA is adamant that their operation must not introduce any risk that would negatively affect the incredible safety record of the U.S. airline industry. ALPA has communicated to Congress that it supports the safe integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system (NAS) and recognizes the potential commercial benefits this technology presents. However, the government must not allow pressure to rapidly integrate UAS into the NAS to rush a process that must be solely focused on safety. Safety and technology standards must be in place before a UAS can occupy the same airspace as manned aircraft or operate in areas where UAS might inadvertently stray into airspace occupied by airliners.

Science-based fatigue rules for cargo operations

ALPA has long called for parity with respect to fatigue rules for cargo and passenger operations. In previous legislation, Congress supported language to require the same flight-time, duty-time, and rest standards for cargo and passenger operations. The next FAA reauthorization bill gives Congress an opportunity to address this issue by simply requiring the FAA to develop and implement science-based flight- and duty-time regulations for cargo operations. Cargo pilots fly the same types of aircraft, on the same routes, through the same airspace, and into the same airports as pilots who fly passengers. Science-based rules are needed that address fatigue risk for all operations, not just those for passenger airlines.

Secondary cockpit barriers

The downing of four airliners and the loss of nearly 3,000 lives on 9/11 was attributed, in part, to inadequate cockpit protection. Shortly after 9/11, Congress and the FAA required that hardened cockpit doors be installed on passenger airliners. Although the requirement heightened security, it didn’t take into full consideration that the cockpit door must be opened during flight to provide for pilots’ physiological needs and for operational necessity related to safety. In response, some airlines have installed lightweight, inexpensive secondary cockpit cockpit barriers. Unfortunately, the airline industry’s commitment to voluntarily deploying secondary barriers has waned in recent years. ALPA is advocating that the FAA reauthorization bill require secondary barriers on airliners, and the Association supports H.R. 911/S. 911.

Safe carriage of lithium batteries

For many years, ALPA has been at the forefront of improvements to safely transport lithium batteries as cargo by air. The last FAA reauthorization legislation included provisions to encourage harmonizing U.S. regulations with international standards regarding carrying lithium batteries on aircraft. However, the international standards fall short, and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) must do more. In the short term, ALPA urges Congress to recognize that lithium batteries contributed to the UPS accident in Dubai in 2010 as the United Arab Emirates government did in its official accident report that the General Civil Aviation Authority released. Doing so will enable the DOT to institute further necessary safety improvements regarding the transport of lithium batteries as cargo.

HIMS

The Human Intervention Motivation Study (HIMS), an industrywide program in which airlines, pilot unions, and the FAA work together to preserve careers and further aviation safety, needs congressional authorization. This substance-abuse treatment program, developed specifically for airline pilots, coordinates the identification, assessment, treatment, and medical recertification of pilots in need of such help. The program has been federally funded through the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine and typically is appropriated in three-year cycles. However, without congressional authorization, the program regularly faces elimination due to complicated and political maneuvering during congressional budgeting cycles.

Pilot-in-command authority

By regulation, but not by statute, FAR 91.3 establishes that the pilot in command of an airplane is the final authority regarding the safe operation of that aircraft. This regulation has been in place for decades, yet some airline managements occasionally threaten to or do initiate punitive action against a pilot who makes a decision based on the safety interest of the operation versus the operational interest of the airline. Congress, as the oversight entity that enables the FAA to perform its safety mission, should reinforce the regulation by adding a statement that reaffirms FAR 91.3.

Strengthening safety reporting programs

Voluntary safety reporting programs such as Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA), the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), and the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program are important, collaborative tools that enhance aviation safety through analysis of voluntarily reported safety events and discrepancies, helping to prevent accidents and incidents. The safety benefit of ASAP programs and voluntarily submitted aviation safety information can be improved and increased by automatic acceptance of ASAP reports into the program until the program Event Review Committee (ERC) can meet and review the reports. The ERC could potentially exclude a report from the program if it meets one of the exclusionary criteria. Currently, weeks may pass between ERC meetings to review reports, which could delay implementing safety enhancements. Reports should be automatically accepted, and ALPA is advocating this change in the FAA reauthorization legislation. Under an automatic acceptance scenario, a report could be excluded when the ERC convenes and the report is determined to meet one of the five established exclusionary criteria, but until then the safety benefit would immediately be realized. Several ASAP programs already have automatic acceptance protocols built into their programs. This model should be applied to all ASAP programs.

Funding for Pacific Island airports

Midway and Wake Island airfields are enroute alternate airfields that serve as emergency airports for transpacific operations. Both airports operate at a cost of approximately $1 million per year and must be authorized to continue to be available. These airports are used multiple times a year for diversions.

ALPA will continue to be a vocal advocate for protecting and promoting the U.S. airline industry and making the national airspace system even safer and more efficient. Stay tuned.

This article is from the May 2015 issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, the Official Journal of the Air Line Pilots Association, International—a monthly publication for all ALPA members.

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