The Federal Aviation Administration’s NOTAM System Failure and its Impacts on a Resilient National Airspace

STATEMENT OF
BILLY NOLEN, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION NOTICE TO AIR MISSIONS SYSTEM
FEBRUARY 15, 2023

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to provide clarity on the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) management of the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, share details on recent events, and explain our efforts to modernize the NOTAM system.

Today is also an opportunity to discuss the modernization needs of the national airspace system (NAS) overall, some of the challenges we face, and some of the opportunities on the horizon.

We are experiencing the safest period in aviation history, but we do not take that for granted. Recent events remind us that we cannot become complacent and that we must continually invest in our aviation system.

NAS Modernization

2023 will be a big year for aviation. Our current authorization expires on September 30th, and there is sustained energy from both industry and government around the development of ideas and proposals to modernize the NAS and the FAA’s approach to managing it. As we delve into that reauthorization process, there are several important points we would like to highlight for the Committee. Right now, the FAA is managing three airspace systems to serve the diverse users of the NAS. The first is the classic or legacy system that many users of the NAS still count on. The second is the system that relies on the next generation of technology for improved communication, navigation, and surveillance. The FAA has operationalized the foundational pieces of this system, and we continue to deploy additional services as operator equipage and federal resources allow. The third is the future—a future that has already arrived. It is the system that must accommodate new entrants in all their forms, including drones, advanced air mobility aircraft, commercial spacecraft, and other new aircraft yet to be imagined. It will involve autonomous aircraft, data exchanges, and a dynamic airspace. For us to sustain, implement, and plan for all of these systems, we have a lot of work ahead. We look forward to partnering with the Committee to ensure that the FAA’s oversight and regulation of the NAS continue to deliver the level of aviation safety and efficiency expected by the American public, as new entrants come into service.

On our end, we must work with stakeholders and make strategic investments, and create an agile regulatory structure that maintains safety, ensures efficiency, and facilitates access for new entrants. We are committed to this work and need Congress to be a supportive partner both in terms of enacting a long-term reauthorization measure, and funding our modernization needs. We look forward to working with you on these challenges and assure you that safety will always guide our actions no matter the challenge.

The NOTAM System

A NOTAM contains essential information for airspace users providing safety information about particular aspects of the NAS that are not operating under normal status. FAA’s NOTAM system is a dynamic system that captures recent changes to conditions in the NAS. For example, NOTAMs frequently provide pilots and operators with information about an anomaly with a particular navigational aid, airport runway, or taxiway, or about an air space closure or a temporary flight restriction.

The FAA’s overall NOTAM system consists of two systems—an older U.S. NOTAM System (legacy system) and a newer Federal NOTAM System. The older portion of the NOTAM system relies on 30-year-old software and architecture. This portion collates NOTAM data from all sources and distributes it to some airspace users. The Federal NOTAM System portion is newer and serves as part of the foundation for the FAA’s ongoing NOTAM modernization effort.

NOTAM information comes from a variety of places: an airport or air traffic control tower that observes local changes, an FAA technician planning to work on a system, or an air service provider, to name a few. Airspace users enter and access the information from applications sitting on both portions of the FAA’s NOTAM system. Most airlines download NOTAMs from the FAA into their internal databases for dispatching aircraft. Users can also get NOTAMs from third party providers who get it from the FAA, or they can go to the primary source for specific NOTAM information, by calling a flight service station, air traffic control tower, or airport, for example.

NOTAM Service Interruption and Response

Late on January 10, 2023, NOTAM applications and services became unreliable. Technical experts attempted to address the issue by, among other things, switching to a backup database. There are three NOTAM backup databases—one in Oklahoma City and two in Atlantic City. While technical experts worked through the night, the FAA activated a hotline to provide real-time status updates to system users. During this time, there were no reports of operational impacts. In the early morning hours of January 11, 2023, the system appeared to have been restored, but formatting issues persisted. To resolve this, FAA’s air traffic leadership directed the rebuild of the databases.
 
As the morning air traffic rush approached, and work on the system continued, I ordered a ground stop at approximately 7:15 a.m. EST, pausing all departures in the United States in order to maintain safety and preserve predictability. I did so after consulting with the airlines and safety experts. Once resiliency testing on the system was conducted, I lifted the ground stop at 9:07 a.m. EST on January 11, 2023.

The FAA’s preliminary findings are that contract personnel unintentionally deleted files while working to correct synchronization between the live primary database and a backup database. We have found no evidence of a cyber-attack or other malicious intent. After the incident, we implemented a synchronization delay to ensure that bad data from a database cannot affect a backup database. Additionally, we have implemented a new protocol that requires more than one individual to be present and engaged in oversight when work on the database occurs. As our review of the root causes of this incident continue, please know that the FAA will keep the Committee apprised of our findings.

NOTAM Modernization

Beginning in 2012 with the Pilot’s Bill of Rights (Public Law 112-153) and continuing in 2018 with the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-254), which further amended the Pilot’s Bill of Rights, Congress directed the FAA to continue developing and modernizing the NOTAM repository, in a public central location, in a manner that is Internet-accessible, machine-readable, and searchable. Since those enactments, the FAA has made progress modernizing the NOTAM system. This progress includes improvements not only to the NOTAM content and  presentation/publication, but also to the information technology architecture that supports and delivers this vital safety information. The nearly decade-long modernization work includes transitioning away from the legacy portion of the system mentioned earlier. We expect that a significant portion of the modernization work will be complete by mid-2025. We continue to assess the feasibility of accelerating the current schedule.

The goal of the FAA’s NOTAM modernization effort is to provide NOTAMs that are complete, accurate, timely, and relevant to safe flight operations. The FAA has made great progress in fulfilling the congressional mandates for modernization, including close coordination with industry and the adoption of recommendations from industry stakeholders that use NOTAMs. Specifically, the FAA is working in coordination with the Aeronautical Information Services Reform Coalition (coalition), whose members include representatives from, among others, air carriers, aircraft owners, pilots, airport executives, labor interests of air carriers, general and business aviation, and international operators. Our continued work with the coalition is one of the many examples where a government-industry partnership has helped to significantly inform and improve the direction and quality of our work.

We are working to face the challenges in maintaining our systems while keeping pace with new and emerging technologies and entrants. However, we are committed to improving and securing our systems, finding new ways to be agile in order to face these challenges, and continuing to achieve the highest levels of safety and efficiency. We look forward to working with the Committee and this Congress in developing a long-term FAA reauthorization bill that accelerates the next era of aviation—one that is safe, efficient, sustainable, and open to all.

###
 

FAA Reauthorization: Enhancing America’s Gold Standard in Aviation Safety

STATEMENT OF
DAVID H. BOULTER, ACTING ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR AVIATION SAFETY

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE AVIATION SAFETY

FEBRUARY 7, 2023

Chair Graves, Ranking Member Larsen, and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I am David Boulter, and I serve as the acting associate administrator for aviation safety at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a role I have held for almost a year. During my career, I have been fortunate to serve in numerous aviation roles both in industry with commercial air carriers and in government. Over the past 25 years, my government service includes positions in the FAA as an aviation safety inspector, director of operations for multiple legacy FAA flight programs, senior FAA representative in Afghanistan, and executive for the FAA’s Flight Program. My permanent position is the executive director of flight standards. I believe the breadth of my real-world experience has given me a common-sense approach that focuses on safety – and on constantly moving forward. In my mind, complacency and stagnation are equal threats to a safety culture.

In December 2020, Congress included the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, with more than 100 provisions for the FAA to implement, in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021. I thank the Committee for its leadership in passing this important legislation, and we have completed more than half of its directives. I also want to emphasize the efforts of the families of the victims of the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. This legislation would not have been possible without your tireless advocacy on behalf of your loved ones. The important work we have accomplished includes strengthening oversight of manufacturers that have delegated authority through the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program, instituting the Voluntary Safety Reporting Program for FAA safety employees, and recently issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking that would require aircraft manufacturers, on-demand and for-hire operations (14 CFR Part 135), and air tour operators to implement a safety management system. We remain focused on implementation of this legislation and continue to make significant strides in fulfilling its requirements.

In recent months, the agency has made important headway in meeting additional statutory obligations aimed at improving safety and has moved a number of those rulemaking projects forward. I am proud to say that in my one-year tenure, we have published seven aviation safety rulemaking actions stemming from congressional direction.

At all times, the safety of the traveling public has been our top priority. The commercial aviation system in the United States currently operates at an unprecedented level of safety, but we do not take that for granted. We achieved this safety record because we have made a concerted effort to evolve in how we approach safety oversight – both in detecting risks and in responding to the risks identified. Key to this approach is a commitment to sharing data through an open and transparent safety culture to detect risks and address problems before accidents occur.

Our mission is continuous improvement in safety — even as we see significant changes on the horizon to how people and packages might travel by air in our busiest cities and across the country. The FAA is rising to that occasion. We are taking steps to establish a regulatory framework that enables innovation and manages the identified risks commensurate with desired operations. This ensures that new entrant aircraft and operators – including those seeking to conduct advanced air mobility (AAM) operations – will benefit from 120 years of lessons learned since the Wright brothers made their first controlled flight.

I would like to acknowledge my fellow panel members. I am encouraged that you asked representatives from a wide range of aviation interests to speak today. As we all know, aviation safety is a team effort, and we all share the mutual goal of making the world’s safest mode of transportation even safer. While we all have specific roles to play, we understand the solemn trust that the public has placed in us.

I think it is important to take a moment to recognize National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair, Jennifer Homendy, and the important collaborative relationship between our two agencies. We work jointly on accident investigations, with the FAA providing support with real-time information, technical data, transportation to accident scenes, and aviation safety inspector/accident investigator support and cooperation. We also collaborate on safety priorities, to include FAA responses to NTSB safety recommendations. Since 2011, the FAA has annually closed more recommendations than it has received, and the number of open recommendations for FAA (222) is at its lowest point in more than two decades. The FAA takes the NTSB’s role seriously and devotes a tremendous amount of time and attention to addressing their recommendations.

Safety Highlights

Today, I want to briefly share some of the actions we are taking to fulfill our safety mission, which extends from general aviation to commercial and air carrier operations.

Evolving our regulatory structure is necessary to enable new users of the airspace, and support innovation and new commercial operations with aircraft and technologies that are evolving at a pace not previously seen in our industry. Sustaining the agency’s safety record will be dependent upon the ability to be agile in our regulations, yet firm in our enforcement. Although we recognize the need to adapt to new technologies and enable their use, we must also manage risk and be deliberative in our decisions. The FAA is using modern tools and philosophies and incorporating performance-based regulation where possible to develop a regulatory environment that ensures aviation safety remains paramount. We have several recent examples of rulemaking that demonstrate our continued commitment to improving safety and providing flexibility to users of the National Airspace System (NAS).

• In November, we issued two final rules. The first requires a commercial balloon pilot to hold a valid second-class medical certificate when flying for compensation or hire (other than flight instruction) – a standard that aligns with what every other commercial pilot must hold. The second final rule requires applicants to demonstrate the integrity of the airplane structure in the presence of pilot-commanded rudder pedal reversals. Adopting the new load condition will protect the airplane from excessive loads on the vertical stabilizer.
• In December, we published a proposed rule that would revise standards for the design of proposed transport category airplanes. These standards would reduce the likelihood of potentially catastrophic risks due to undetected failures. For example, the changes would improve the likelihood that an operator discovers a failure before it develops into an unsafe condition. This would allow the FAA to address, and require an applicant to address, the more integrated nature of modern transport airplane systems.
• Beginning last month, flight attendants are now guaranteed additional and uninterruptable rest that aligns with what pilots receive, ensuring a crew is not fatigued when they report for duty. In January we also extended the duration of aircraft registration certificates from three to seven years – a benefit to all aircraft owners and the FAA. Both of these final rules were prompted by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

While these past few months have been busy, we have fully staffed additional rulemaking projects and expect great progress in 2023. The resulting rules will have important implications for certain aircraft, operations, and pilots as we look to enhance the safety of existing operations, continue to normalize certain aspects of operations with unmanned aircraft, and integrate new entrant aircraft into our national airspace.

• We issued a proposed rule for secondary flight deck barriers on certain airplanes used in commercial service last fall, took public comment, and are working to address comments and finalize the rule. This rule would protect the flightdeck from unauthorized intrusion when the flightdeck door is open.
• We have a project that will propose to modernize special airworthiness certification of piloted aircraft as well as a project that would define a regulatory process for determining airworthiness for certain unmanned aircraft. We are also developing rules to enable unmanned aircraft to be flown beyond visual line of sight.
• Finally, we have a special federal aviation regulation on powered-lift– or SFAR – for the integration of certain AAM aircraft into the NAS. This rule would enable a path forward for qualifying pilots as well as determining which operating rules apply to powered-lift. This proposal is a critical step for the United States to usher in the next era of aviation.

Other Safety Initiatives

Our work to improve aviation safety does not stop at our borders. As Congress has directed in section 243 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, we continue our efforts as a global leader in aviation, and much of the globe is watching in anticipation of our plans for integrating new entrant aircraft into the NAS and the desired operations envisioned by manufacturers and future operators. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Personnel Training and Licensing Panel is tackling pilot qualification for AAM aircraft and the U.S. has been leading this activity. At the ICAO Assembly this past September, the FAA proposed that ICAO establish an advisory group that would connect all aspects of the AAM ecosystem as the world works to enable this industry. The proposal was well-received and work has begun to stand up a study group. We look forward to supporting that effort.

In addition to our important work on rules and the development of international consensus standards, we would be remiss to not mention how we support the aviation industry through the issuance of guidance and information to support rule implementation and operations by all airspace users. The FAA published one of the highly anticipated advisory circulars on flightpath management in November. This document provides both guidance and recommended practices for operators to implement operational procedures and training for managing the airplane’s flight path, which includes manual flight operations and managing automated systems. Addressing pilot overreliance on automation through this guidance remains safety-critical. The foundation of its content originated from recommendations from our Air Carrier Training Aviation Rulemaking Committee and is a wonderful example of how industry and government can come together to address a challenge and achieve a common goal – enhancing safety.

In October, we published a revision to our guidance that supports recreational operations of unmanned aircraft and aligns with the statutory permissions afforded to those flyers by the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Another huge accomplishment was the consolidation and updating of six -related advisory circulars into a single Aviation Weather Handbook that was published in November.

This technical reference streamlines pilot access to all of the FAA’s weather documentation and is designed to support everyone who operates in the NAS – from recreational pilots to commercial pilots and dispatchers. Having current technical information about weather is a critical component to safe flying and pilot decision making and it is important that the FAA continue to support airspace users with handbooks like this.

Moving Forward

It is an exciting time in aviation, and we have a lot to look forward to – this also means there is no shortage of work ahead of us. I am extremely proud of the work our staff is doing to address the breadth of aviation safety work we have in front of us. With innovation, it is important we continue to develop and train our workforce so we can continue to meet the regulatory needs of this industry and our safety mission. We are executing workforce strategies to do this while also onboarding diverse talent with the right expertise to strengthen our workforce. The development and expansion of the professional aviation workforce in general is also critical to our industry, and we are proud to promote exciting careers like being an aviation mechanic or a pilot through Aviation Workforce Development grants.

Finally, we will continue to engage with the aviation community, our labor partners, and industry stakeholders, on addressing the safety and sustainability challenges that face our industry through our established committees and outreach events. Our collaborative efforts with long-standing groups like the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST), the General Aviation Joint Safety Committee (GAJSC), and the U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST), help us achieve our collective safety mission and continue to push the envelope in finding ways to enhance safety for all stakeholders. Through the more recent establishment of the Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions (EAGLE) team a year ago, we partnered with aviation stakeholders to find a safe and practical path to eliminate the use of leaded aviation fuel by no later than 2030 without adversely affecting the existing piston-engine fleet.

Thank you for this opportunity to share information on some of our most important work. We look forward to continued support from the committee and subcommittee on maintaining the safest aviation system in the world during this time of rapid innovation.

##

The Evolving Cybersecurity Landscape: Federal Perspectives on Securing the Nation’s Infrastructure

Finally, many of the recommendations in the National Academy of Science study are consistent with the FAA’s cybersecurity strategic objectives, and many others align with broader ongoing FAA workforce development, diversity, and recruitment efforts. As technology and systems continue to evolve to meet the aviation challenges of tomorrow, so must our workforce. The FAA recognizes that a diverse pool of talent is critical to finding the right people for the right job at the right time. We also recognize that competitiveness in cybersecurity hiring and retention is important in order to attract and retain top talent. The FAA will use all of its federal recruiting, hiring and retention capabilities to continue building and to maintain the FAA cybersecurity workforce.

Conclusion

Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Committee, the FAA’s cybersecurity responsibilities and our strategy to implement those responsibilities has expanded and evolved significantly over the years. Our efforts to address cybersecurity challenges have benefited from congressional oversight, our own initiatives, and our cooperative efforts with other executive branch agencies. As the technology of the aviation ecosystem evolves, we expect that cybersecurity will continue to be a growing challenge and a significant aspect of both aviation safety and the efficient use of airspace. We look forward to keeping Congress informed of our progress on all aspects of cybersecurity. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

1https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/17/2021-10460/improving-the-nations-cybersecurity.

2Pub. Law No. 114-190, § 2111.

3Pub. Law No. 115-254, § 509.

4https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-21-86.pdf.

5Pub. Law No. 115-254, § 549.

Implementation of Aviation Safety Reforms

STATEMENT OF
STEPHEN M. DICKSON, ADMINISTRATOR
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

HEARING BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE
 COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION:

Implementation of Aviation Safety Reforms

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Good morning Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, and Members of the committee:

Thank you for the opportunity to be here with you today to discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approach to aviation safety oversight and our activities to implement changes to strengthen the aircraft certification process. Certifying aviation products is a critical aspect of the FAA’s safety mission. We are committed to improving the certification process, including our oversight of functions delegated to aircraft designers and manufacturers. We have undertaken a number of initiatives to address this goal, as well as to comprehensively implement the requirements of the bipartisan Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (“Act”).

Before we begin to discuss the specifics of certification reform implementation, on behalf of the United States Department of Transportation and everyone at the FAA, I would like to recognize, as we have before, the families of the victims of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents and extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to them. It has been 3 years since the Lion Air accident, and we have made significant progress on addressing the findings and recommendations that resulted from the numerous investigations and independent reviews of both accidents involving the Boeing 737 MAX. We will continue to prioritize our work to improve aviation safety to make sure this never happens again.

As mentioned, our efforts to implement certification reform are well underway. I want to thank Congress for enacting this landmark aviation safety legislation and for this committee’s continued leadership on aviation safety matters. The Act has more than one hundred unique requirements that we are implementing in a holistic, systematic, transparent, and efficient manner to improve aircraft certification and safety oversight. The FAA is working diligently to implement the requirements while also ensuring that we are approaching our efforts as systemically and effectively as possible.  Specific agency actions taken to implement the requirements of the Act are discussed more fully below; however, I also wish to note that, in general, our approach to aircraft certification and safety oversight has changed.  The FAA’s relationship with manufacturers is evolving. We are prioritizing oversight of manufacturers and working to focus that oversight on safety critical areas. We are delegating fewer responsibilities and demanding more transparency from them, and evaluating key assumptions prior to delegating functions in certain areas.    While we continue to value their technical expertise, we are also committed to enforcing the highest safety standards for the manufacturers that we regulate. Our work to fully implement the Act is still in the early stages, and we are carrying it out with the urgency that it requires.  The discussion below provides an overview of some of our accomplishments to date.   

• Safety Management Systems. To ensure a holistic and proactive assessment and mitigation of hazards, and to support further improvement in safety performance, we continue to work with industry to increase transparency, strengthen risk management practices, and improve feedback channels between industry and the FAA.  We believe that enhancing and promoting the use of safety management systems (SMS)—where safety issues are actively looked for and identified, and then the root cause is addressed—is integral to achieving this objective, and we have taken a number of steps toward increasing the use of SMS  in the design and manufacturing environment. As required by the Act, we have initiated a rulemaking that contemplates requiring aircraft manufacturers that hold both a type certificate and a production certificate to adopt SMS, consistent with international standards and practices.^[1] As part of this rulemaking, we will also evaluate potential SMS requirements for repair stations, certificate holders that conduct common carriage operations under part 135, and certain air tour operators under part 91.[2] We also created guidance for the development of voluntary SMS programs and are working closely with industry to encourage participation in voluntary SMS programs to further enhance safety across the entire aviation system. Currently, four design and manufacturing organizations have voluntarily adopted SMS with six others in progress. Boeing also established an SMS under the FAA’s Voluntary SMS program as part of the settlement agreement. The voluntary programs have enabled the FAA to gain valuable experience on oversight of SMS for design and manufacturing organizations, and the lessons learned will help inform FAA’s SMS rulemaking and policy development.
• System Safety and Human Factors.  We are working on several initiatives to ensure system safety assessments and human factors assumptions are incorporated into the FAA’s aviation safety policy and oversight. We have initiated a rulemaking to standardize regulations and guidance for conducting system safety assessments on transport category airplanes.[3]  In addition, the expert safety review panel that we established pursuant to the Act is meeting regularly to review the assumptions relied upon in aircraft design and certification of transport category aircraft—including assumptions regarding pilot response times.  We are also developing new guidance for industry on the submission of safety critical information. There are several interrelated provisions regarding human factors and human systems integration. To address these, we have taken a number of steps to strengthen the foundation of aviation human factors safety research and to bolster the technical expertise within the Aviation Safety (AVS) organization. This includes developing a human factors education and training program, doubling the number of human factors staff within AVS, and realigning the hiring of technical advisors with the necessary technical expertise involved in critical safety decisions.  
• Global Collaboration. To further international harmonization and collaboration with respect to aircraft type certification and continued operational safety, the FAA established the Changed Product Rule International Authority Working Group and held the first meeting in July 2021. This working group will develop recommendations for international policy and guidance to ensure proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from an integrated whole aircraft system perspective. The FAA is working closely with the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international stakeholders to influence and adjust the maintenance and pilot training requirements for U.S. products operating under the oversight of another civil aviation authority. In addition, FAA representatives have presented at and attended several webinars, work group meetings, and seminars, including a presentation at the 2021 Zhuhai International Flight Training and Safety seminar on topics of competency based pilot training and automation dependency. The FAA plans to continue this global engagement into the future, including seeking new opportunities to collaborate with civil aviation authorities and other international stakeholders to foster improvements in international safety standards and practices for aircraft design and certification, pilot training, and operational safety management.  Additionally, to fulfill the requirement to ensure that pilot operational evaluations for aircraft type certifications utilize pilots from air carriers that are expected to operate such aircraft, the FAA has already begun to incorporate air carrier pilots into such evaluations. 
• Data.  We are actively expanding our oversight capabilities by advancing data collection and analytics tools to share safety data within the FAA and between industry stakeholders and international partners. These efforts include technological enhancements to the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system to integrate new data sources and methods for safety analysis, which will improve data quality and accessibility to support risk-based decision-making. In addition, the FAA’s new contract with the Transportation Research Board, established pursuant to the Act in June 2021, will aid the agency’s effort to conduct annual analysis and reporting on current and emerging safety trends in aviation.  As the aviation landscape continues to evolve, it will be increasingly necessary to bolster the FAA’s use of safety data and collaboration with industry to identify potential hazards and safety problems and to solve these problems before they give rise to an accident or incident.
• Integration of Certification and Oversight.  The Act requires the FAA to convene an interdisciplinary integrated project team upon the agency’s receipt of every application for a new type certificate for a transport category airplane. The FAA previously commissioned the Integrated Program Management team comprised of subject matter experts from Flight Standards and the Aircraft Certification Service to assess current practices and policies and make recommendations for improving FAA oversight through the integration of design and operations. The best practices identified from this process are being applied to ongoing certification projects, and we intend to enhance the current procedures to incorporate additional requirements contained in the Act.  The FAA is also revising our current Technical Advisory Board (TAB) process to use the TAB in all new and amended type certification projects. We anticipate implementing this policy next spring. The Act also directs FAA to establish an executive council to oversee the FAA Compliance Program. This program provides a framework for how the agency returns a regulated entity to compliance through comprehensive safety data sharing between the FAA and regulated entities. Pursuant to the Act’s requirements, we established the FAA Compliance Program Executive Council to monitor the operation and effectiveness of the Compliance Program, and held the first meeting in August 2021. We also updated the Compliance Program order to reflect the implementation of the Executive Council and the Compliance Program Steering Committee.[4]
• Culture of Safety and Excellence. The FAA is committed to fostering a just safety culture, while providing transparency to improve safety, operational excellence, and efficiency. These efforts include promoting voluntary safety reporting, increasing workforce competencies, and attracting talented staff. In April 2021, we implemented the Voluntary Safety Reporting Program (VSRP) to provide a mechanism for employees to voluntarily report potential hazards and safety concerns without fear of reprisal or other repercussions.[5] Preliminary data on VSRP usage indicates that employees are comfortable using the system and they are regularly using it to raise safety concerns. An added bonus of VSRP is that it promotes collaboration between employees and management for proactively addressing safety concerns and developing corrective action recommendations. To assess the effectiveness of these efforts and to meet the requirements of the Act, we will conduct annual internal safety culture assessments that include surveys of AVS employees in order to evaluate the safety culture and the implementation of VSRP programs. 
• Accountability. A critical part of fostering a just safety culture is ensuring that we hold our people to the highest safety standards. In response to requirements in the Act, we have taken a critical look at our own internal oversight processes and taken steps to enhance accountability. This includes re-designating the Office of Investigations to the new Office of Investigations and Professional Responsibility and establishing investigative processes that are based on best practices identified from similar offices at other federal agencies and from the FAA’s experience, expertise, and other sources. Although our work is not yet done, we believe that incorporating these best practices will improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and transparency of the FAA’s investigative process.
• Delegation.  The Act requires the FAA to institute extensive and meaningful changes to the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program and our oversight of that program. To address these legislative requirements, we expect to implement significant changes to our policies and procedures for delegating certification authority to private entities. These changes include policy requiring FAA approval of individual ODA unit members for certain ODA types, and policy aimed at preventing interference with ODA unit members in performance of their duties.  We are also standing up an expert panel to conduct a review of ODAs for transport category airplanes and make recommendations to the FAA based on that review. Additionally, as required under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, we previously established the ODA Office to provide oversight and to ensure consistency of the FAA’s audit functions under the ODA program. In April 2021, the FAA realigned the ODA Office to report directly to the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety. This reporting structure reflects the FAA’s priority to oversee, standardize, and ensure consistency in the ODA system, as well as to facilitate many of the ODA reform requirements contained in the Act. To that end, the ODA Office anticipates adding more employees in Fiscal Year 2022, and hiring has already begun. The additional staff will allow the office to perform more outreach, identify best practices, and implement measures to maintain consistent oversight.
• Certification and Continued Operational Safety Processes. Ensuring the safety of aviation products through certification is an important function of the FAA, and we are continuously taking steps to enhance the type certification process. This includes revising guidance and criteria used for determining significant changes to best ensure that proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from a whole aircraft-level perspective, including human interface elements. We have also commissioned external reviews to evaluate our Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Model and type certification process. To address the Act’s requirements to establish an appeal and issue resolution processes for certification decisions, we are developing an implementing order.
• Innovation.  Aviation is incredibly dynamic, and it is imperative for the FAA to take steps to accelerate and expand the deployment of new technologies in order to reduce barriers and actively promote innovation that enhances the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System. We recently established and staffed the Center for Emerging Concepts and Innovation to support certification of new aircraft and technologies by providing pre-application engagement with companies to identify a preliminary path to compliance. We are also taking steps to foster enhanced coordination across the FAA on emerging products and concepts.

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Wicker, I want to assure you, and each member of the committee, that the FAA is fully committed to thorough and complete implementation  of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. As we continue this process, we remain committed to our transparent and accountable approach, which includes regular briefings on our progress with staff of the committees of jurisdiction, labor partners, industry stakeholders, and more. We will continue to assess our entire certification and oversight framework in light of past experience, industry growth, technological advancements, and innovation as we carry out our responsibilities for public safety. We approach all of this work with humility and do not take safety for granted. We are confident that we are making substantial and meaningful progress, and will continue to keep Congress apprised throughout this work.

^[1] RIN 2120-AL60, Safety Management System (SMS) for Parts 21, 91, 135 and 145 issued. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AL60

[2] The FAA is developing a final rule to require the use of SMS at airports certificated under Part 139. RIN 2120-AJ38, Airport Safety Management System. https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AJ38

[3] RIN 2120-AJ99, System Safety Assessments for transport category airplanes issued.

https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202104&RIN=2120-AJ99

[4] Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Aviation Administration Compliance Program, Order 8000.373B, April 22, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/FAA_Order_8000.373B.pdf.

[5] Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Voluntary Safety Reporting Program, Order 800.375, February 02, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/VS_8000.375.pdf.

Starships and Stripes Forever: An Examination of FAA’s Role in the Future of Spaceflight

STATEMENT OF
BRIGADIER GENERAL WAYNE R. MONTEITH, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (RET.)
ASSOCIATE ADMINISTRATOR FOR COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION

BEFORE THE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION
ON
COMMERCIAL SPACE REGULATION

June 16, 2021

Chair Larsen, Chair DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today to discuss the topic of commercial space regulation.  Commercial space activity is in the midst of a significant surge. The growth of the industry presents new challenges and opportunities as the technology evolves, and the number of industry participants expands.  The FAA is committed to keeping pace with the growth of commercial space transportation, while prioritizing safety and ensuring access for all users of the National Airspace System (NAS).

Commercial Space Overview

The FAA, through the Office of Commercial Space Transportation (AST), licenses and permits the launch and reentry of commercial space vehicles consistent with public health and safety, safety of property, and the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.  The mission AST carries out includes the responsibility to encourage, facilitate, and promote U.S. commercial space transportation.  These statutory objectives provide a framework that has resulted in an impressive safety record for a rapidly growing industry.  The FAA has licensed or permitted over 450 launches and reentries, none of which has led to any fatalities, serious injuries, or significant property damage to members of the public. 

The commercial space industry in the United States is dynamic, growing, and evolving.  To illustrate recent growth, during each of the fiscal years (FY) 2018 through 2020, the FAA licensed an average of over 30 launches/reentries of commercial space vehicles.  For FY 2021, we have already licensed 48 launches/reentries and expect significant growth in commercial launch activity beyond what we experienced over the last several years.  Or, put another way, a decade ago the FAA licensed just a single launch in 2011.  Five years ago, in 2016, the FAA licensed 11 launches, or about one per month.  This calendar year, the FAA is averaging more than one licensed launch per week.  As the industry continues to expand, the FAA has intensified its efforts to fulfill its commercial space mission, maintaining the highest level of safety without stifling industry growth. 

A Streamlined Commercial Space Regulatory Framework

In 2018, the FAA began its work to streamline launch and reentry regulations to create an environment that promotes economic growth, minimizes uncertainty, protects safety, security, and foreign policy interests, and facilitates American leadership in space commerce.  At that time, the existing commercial space regulatory framework was based largely on Federal launch standards that were developed in the 1990s or earlier, and were often overly prescriptive and a hindrance to innovation.  Further, the rules were neither streamlined, nor consolidated.  That regulatory structure may have satisfied the commercial space needs then, but the industry has changed substantially and continues to evolve.  After two and a half years of focused work, the FAA published a final rule on December 10, 2020, that consolidated, updated, and streamlined all launch and reentry regulations into a single performance-based part—14 CFR part 450—to better fit today's fast-evolving commercial space transportation industry.[1]  Part 450 includes regulations applicable to all launch and reentry vehicles, whether they have reusable components or not—a change from the prior framework.  The updated regulations align with the goals of creating an environment that does not hinder industry innovation and importantly, enhances safety objectives without prescribing specific solutions.  The commercial space industry provided extensive input during the public comment period for part 450, and we are pleased that initial reactions to the rule have been consistently positive.  Additionally, after the rule was released, the FAA held a 3-day workshop and offered one-on-one meetings with companies to familiarize them with the final rule.  Each operator who took advantage of these meetings conveyed that they were pleased with the final rule and appreciated our outreach efforts. 

While the launch and reentry regulations have been published for several months and became effective on March 21, 2021, our engagement with industry on the requirements of the rules continues.  AST has issued some advisory circulars to provide additional guidance on how to meet the requirements of part 450, and is developing more. We continue to engage with operators on specific aspects of part 450 compliance during pre-application consultations.  Many of the advisory circulars that we anticipate issuing will provide detailed guidance for the industry on recommended safety procedures and practices for minimizing hazards.  We expect that there will be launches licensed under part 450 in the near future. 

Other Regulatory Considerations

We are constantly analyzing the regulatory needs of the industry for both public safety reasons and to ensure that the commercial space regulatory framework is performance-based and does not inhibit the health and success of the industry.  In support of that effort, the FAA is revising the regulations applicable to orbital debris mitigation for launch and reentry operations.  As part of this work, we are evaluating appropriate national and international standards for orbital debris mitigation including evaluating the safety risks of uncontrolled reentries of space objects.  These evaluations will include considerations of the risks to both commercial aviation and people on the ground.     

Additionally, the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) has recommended that part 440—Financial Responsibility—be reviewed and considered for revision.  As part of our continuous review of the sufficiency of our commercial space regulations, we anticipate that a comprehensive analysis of this part would ensure that the right regulations with the right scope are in effect at the right time.  Such a review would help to ensure that the public has the appropriate protections and that industry has clarity and flexibility to achieve the regulatory performance objectives without unnecessary burdens. 

Part of AST’s responsibility is also to monitor commercial space transportation licensees to ensure they adhere to the conditions of their licenses and comply with the applicable regulatory and statutory requirements.  In this regard, the FAA has broad authority to suspend or revoke a license, and impose civil penalties if necessary.  The FAA takes our oversight responsibilities seriously to ensure licensees are in full compliance.

Office of Spaceports

Keeping up with an industry that is evolving rapidly is a challenge.  The pace at which the commercial space industry continues to change has resulted in an increase in both the complexity and the volume of the workload for AST.  Some of that complexity has required us to make structural changes to better execute our mission.  As this Committee knows, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 required us to identify within AST a centralized policy office to support launch and reentry sites and to generally support improvement of spaceports.  In response to that mandate, the Office of Spaceports was officially established in March 2020, and is functioning today.  AST is committed to removing barriers to competitiveness for spaceports and to helping ensure that the United States leads the world in space infrastructure.   The operation of the first non-Federal spaceport was licensed by the FAA in 1994, and there are currently 12 non-Federal spaceports across the United States licensed for launch or reentry operations.  A spaceport license is valid for 5 years and is renewable.  While the FAA considers many factors when reviewing an application for a spaceport license, two of the most important are public safety and environmental impact.  The FAA carries out a thorough and rigorous application review process to make sure we issue a license consistent with our mandate to protect public health and safety, safety of property, and the foreign policy and national security interests of the United States.

We recognize that spaceports have significant potential to become important economic hubs. For example, of the 47 FAA licensed launches this fiscal year, six have occurred at FAA licensed spaceports. As a result, the Office of Spaceports has taken action to share information on the capabilities of U.S. spaceports broadly. For example, in October 2020, we published a web-based spaceport directory outlining U.S. spaceport infrastructure and capabilities and the services provided by FAA licensed spaceports, Federal launch ranges, and private commercial spaceports.  This directory documents the capabilities of our nation’s network of spaceports for the commercial space transportation industry, as well as U.S. government space users, and may help to serve as a tool for the Office of Spaceports to identify future needs.

The Office of Spaceports is putting spaceports on the map.  Spaceports or “Space Launch Activity Areas” are denoted as rocket symbols on aeronautical sectional charts increasing aviator awareness of launch or reentry activities in their area.  The Office of Spaceports is also in the process of publishing additional instructional information about Space Launch Activity Areas in the FAA Airman’s Information Manual that will encourage aviators to check notices to airmen in these areas for additional launch or reentry specific information.  These efforts help to integrate space and aviation activities and increase overall safety of the NAS. 

The Office of Spaceports also facilitates FAA review and approval of space-related activities at FAA licensed spaceports to enable a stronger commercial space transportation industry.  These activities include rocket engine testing, flight corridor development for supersonic, hypersonic, and suborbital space activities, and beta testing of new space launch platforms for future use by the commercial space transportation industry.  Further, the Office of Spaceports works to facilitate commercial support for launches from Federal launch locations.  Finally, the Office of Spaceports is evaluating whether the FAA’s spaceport regulations (part 420 and 433) for launch and reentry sites should also be updated.

Integration of Commercial Space into the NAS

Of the many challenges AST faces, integration of commercial space into the NAS is a top priority.  Commercial space operations are currently treated as “special cases” in which air traffic controllers block off large sections of airspace for extended periods of time for a single launch.  Although this process is currently manageable, it is unsustainable in the long run given the expected growth in commercial space launches.  Moreover, the current process, while effective, is resource intensive and inefficient.  Launch teams voluntarily provide real-time information concerning the status of a launch or reentry vehicle either over the telephone or over an internet connection.  Under these limitations, launch teams can only support one mission at a time. 

In AST, we are actively working on solutions to address how commercial space will grow within the NAS alongside commercial and general aviation.  Our vision of spaceport operations is that they should be able to operate either co-located with airports or in close proximity to them.  To this end, we are working on multiple initiatives.  We worked with the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey to build the agency’s first dedicated commercial space integration lab for developing and prototyping technologies that will be leveraged towards enhancing commercial space operation awareness to better manage the NAS.  Additionally, AST continues its work with the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization on the Space Data Integrator technology.  This safety-based technology, which will automate the current manual processes, will enable the FAA to track a space mission’s progress as it flies through the airspace.  When deployed, this technology will enable the FAA to better manage the airspace that must be closed to other users and more quickly implement and release airspace restrictions as a mission progresses.  At the FAA, we recognize that our role is not just limited to the safety of the airspace—but to ensure equal access to it as well.  We are fully engaged in balancing the needs of all airspace users—including traditional manned aircraft, drones, commercial space transportation, and others.

Conclusion

In closing, the FAA is committed to effectively carrying out its responsibilities for public safety and the health of the commercial space transportation industry.  We will continue to assess our entire regulatory framework in light of the industry’s growth and look forward to working with Congress and industry to strike the appropriate balance.  This concludes my testimony, and I will be glad to answer any questions from the Committee.

[1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/12/10/2020-22042/streamlined-launch-and-reentry-license-requirements

Examining the Federal Aviation Administration’s Oversight of Aircraft Certification

STATEMENT OF STEPHEN M. DICKSON
ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
UNITED STATES SENATE
EXAMINING THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION’S 
OVERSIGHT OF AIRCRAFT CERTIFICATION

JUNE 17, 2020

Chairman Wicker, Ranking Member Cantwell, and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for inviting me here today to speak with you about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) oversight of aircraft certification and to provide you with an update concerning the Boeing 737 MAX.  At the outset, on behalf of the United States Department of Transportation and everyone at the FAA, I would like to acknowledge, as we have before, the families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air accidents and extend, once again, our continued deepest sympathies and condolences to them.  These tragic accidents should not have happened, and thus underscore and reaffirm the seriousness with which we approach aviation safety every day. We want the families, and the world, to know that we continue to work tirelessly to see that the lessons learned from these accidents will result in a higher margin of safety for the aviation industry globally.
Before I continue to the focus of this hearing, I want to digress for a moment to address some of the challenges the aviation industry has faced during the ongoing public health emergency.  Aviation employees have worked diligently these past months — despite the risks to themselves — to safely transport supplies and passengers at a time when our nation has needed them.

Secretary Chao and the Department of Transportation have been clear that passengers should wear face coverings while traveling by air, for their own protection and the protection of those around them.   Face coverings are especially important in situations where social distancing is not feasible.  This comes as a health guideline from the agency responsible for public health, the CDC.

Of course, across the transportation system every mode is different.  But when it comes to air travel, the DOT and the FAA expect the traveling public to follow airline crew directions and policies, which are in place for passenger protection and the health of air crews, and to take very seriously the precautions recommended by the CDC and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).  As we move through the phases of reopening, the FAA will continue to support airlines and their front-line employees as they implement these CDC guidelines.  And we will continue to apply our aviation expertise to help lead efforts with other Federal agencies, with industry, and with our international partners to address public health risk in the air transportation system, both internationally and here in the United States.

I would also like to add that despite the public health challenges associated with COVID-19, our commitment to aviation safety has never wavered and our air transportation system remains safe, resilient, and flexible, thanks to the sustained focus and hard work of aviation professionals in the FAA and industry.

Status of the 737 MAX Return-to-Service

Safety is the core of the FAA’s mission and is our first priority.  We are working diligently so that accidents like the ones that occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia—resulting in the tragic loss of 346 lives—do not occur again.  The FAA continues to follow a thorough process for returning the 737 MAX to service.  As we have stated many times in the past, this process is not guided by a calendar or schedule.  Safety is the driving consideration.  I unequivocally support the dedicated professionals of the FAA in continuing to adhere to a data-driven, methodical analysis, review, and validation of the modified flight control systems and pilot training required to safely return the 737 MAX to commercial service. I have directed FAA employees to take the time needed to do that work.

With respect to our international partners, the FAA clearly understands its responsibilities as the aviation safety regulator for the State of Design for the 737 MAX.  Last fall, we met with more than 50 foreign civil aviation officials, all of whom have provided input to the FAA.  We have continued to have regular dialogue with them during the COVID-19 public health emergency. Each respective nation will make its own decision for clearing the 737 MAX for flight, however, we are also conducting and planning additional outreach activities to engage with our international partners, including providing support on return-to-service issues; maintaining transparency through communication and information sharing; and scheduling meetings for technical discussions.

As I have stated before, the FAA’s return-to-service decision on the 737 MAX will rest solely on the FAA’s analysis of the data to determine whether Boeing’s proposed software updates and pilot training address the known issues for grounding the aircraft.  The FAA fully controls the approval process for the flight control systems and is not delegating anything to Boeing.  The FAA will even retain authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates of airworthiness for all new 737 MAX airplanes manufactured since the grounding.  When the 737 MAX is returned to service, it will be because the safety issues have been addressed and pilots have received all of the training they need to safely operate the aircraft.

Actions that must still take place before the aircraft will return to service include a certification flight test and completion of work by the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB), which includes the FAA and our international partners from Canada, Europe, and Brazil.  The JOEB will evaluate pilot training needs using line pilots of various experience levels from both U.S. carriers as well as international carriers.  The FAA’s Flight Standardization Board for the Boeing 737 will issue a report addressing the findings of the JOEB, and the report will be made available for public review and comment.  Additionally, the FAA will review all final design documentation, which also will be reviewed by the multi-agency Technical Advisory Board (TAB), made up of FAA Chief Scientists and experts from the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.

The FAA will issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community providing notice of pending significant safety actions and will publish an Airworthiness Directive advising operators of required corrective actions.  I will not sign off on the aircraft until all FAA technical reviews are complete, I fly it myself using my experience as an Air Force and commercial pilot, and I am satisfied that I would put my own family on it without a second thought.

Oversight of Aircraft Certification

Safety is a journey, not a destination—a journey we undertake each and every day with humility.  Today’s unprecedented U.S. safety record was built on the willingness of aviation professionals to embrace hard lessons and to proactively seek continuous improvement.  The FAA both welcomes and recognizes the importance of scrutiny of our processes and procedures.  In addition to this Committee’s work and other congressional reviews, several independent reviews have been initiated to look at different aspects of the 737 MAX certification and the FAA’s certification and delegation processes generally.

The unprecedented Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR), commissioned by the FAA, was the first review to be completed and entailed the participation of nine other civil aviation authorities joining the FAA to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the certification of the automated flight control system on the 737 MAX.  The JATR was chaired by former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Christopher Hart and was comprised of a team of experts from the FAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the aviation authorities of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.  Never before have 10 authorities come together to conduct this type of review.  The JATR provided its unvarnished and independent review and we appreciated their recommendations when they were released this past fall.

The FAA has also received recommendations from the NTSB and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee’s (KNKT) accident report on Lion Air Flight 610. Earlier this year, the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority released an interim accident report on Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, with recommendations.  Further, the Secretary of Transportation’s Special Committee to Review the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Process released its recommendations in January of this year.  The Special Committee was established to advise and provide recommendations to the Department on policy-level topics related to aircraft certification.

The FAA recently shared with Congress its Action Plan in response to the recommendations of the Special Committee.  The plan discusses in depth the FAA’s actions, both planned and underway, to address the recommendations.  Importantly, the FAA developed its plan not solely in response to the Special Committee recommendations, but also in the context of the other recommendations received from the JATR, NTSB, and KNKT, as well as FAA’s own findings. The actions described in the FAA’s Action Plan are responsive to all recommendations received and apply to the entirety of the FAA’s approach to aircraft certification.  The plan reflects the FAA’s commitment to improving our certification process domestically, and to improving aviation safety globally.  We believe that transparency, open and honest communication, and our willingness to improve our systems and processes are the keys to restoring public trust in the FAA and in the safety of the 737 MAX when it is returned to service.

Moving Forward

Beyond the 737 MAX, the FAA is committed to addressing issues regarding aircraft certification processes and aviation safety generally, not only in the United States, but internationally as well.  Over the years, the FAA has exercised a leadership role in the promotion and development of global aviation safety.  We have helped raise the bar on safety standards and practices worldwide working with the ICAO and other civil aviation authorities.  We have an opportunity to do even more.  We are committed to expanding our efforts with other authorities around the world and to fostering safety standards and policies at ICAO to help meet the public’s expectations of the highest possible levels of safety globally, even in areas the FAA does not regulate directly.  Without safety as a foundation, we cannot have a vibrant aviation industry in any country, much less between countries.  Our international air transportation network is a tightly woven fabric that is dependent on all of us making safety our core value.  To that end, at the 40th Session of the ICAO Assembly the U.S. presented a working paper, Pilot Training Improvements to Address Automation Dependency, with several of our international partners.  The paper was accepted and in May of this year we were able to get it included in an ICAO proposal on the establishment of a Personnel Training and Licensing Panel which will be considered in July.

In our continuing efforts to raise the bar for aviation safety across the globe, it will be important for the FAA and our international partners to foster improvements in standards and approaches not just for how aircraft are designed and produced, but also how they are maintained and operated.  We at the FAA are prepared to take the lead in this new phase of system safety.   As noted in our Action Plan responding to the recommendations of the Special Committee our actions will address specific areas of focus including, safety management systems, system safety, globalization, data, internal coordination between certification and flight standards teams, personnel, delegation, amended type certificates, innovation, and existing recommendations.  Our strategy to implement these action items will coalesce around several major themes discussed briefly below.

Holistic Approach

In the context of aircraft certification, a holistic approach means that an aircraft system includes the aircraft itself with all of its subsystems, including the flight crew.  The aircraft is not a collection of parts or systems, but should be viewed as a whole. A holistic approach to aircraft certification would not rely upon item-by-item reviews in isolation, but would take into account the interactions and interdependencies between all systems and the crew.  Such an approach would link all safety requirements for type certification to other aspects of safe operation including, for example, pilot training and operational performance.

Human Factors

Human factors considerations are an important part of the machine design process, which will need to take into account safety and performance levels of human users.  As aircraft systems become more complex and the level of automation increases, the integration of human factors into the design of aircraft will be increasingly important.   Human factors considerations must include trained and qualified personnel who will be responsible for operating and maintaining these increasingly safe and complex aircraft.

Workforce of the Future

In order to meet the safety needs of a rapidly evolving aerospace system, the FAA will need to recruit, hire, maintain, and retain a workforce with the necessary technical expertise, capabilities, and adaptability.  Our efforts must ensure that we are able to hire and retain the right people with the right skills and mindset, engaged at the right time, with systemic coordination between certification and operational suitability.

Information and Coordinated Data Flow

Ensuring a coordinated and flexible flow of information during any oversight process is critical.  In the context of aviation safety, the concept of sharing information cuts across many initiatives that the FAA continues to examine for potential expansion.  These include the following important categories, all of which are part of the broader information and data flow theme:

1. Safety Management Systems. Safety Management Systems (SMS) establish a commitment, in this case on the part of the manufacturer, to continually improving safety. SMS identifies and manages risk and provides safety assurance by continually evaluating risk controls and by creating a positive safety culture within a workforce. Integrating a safety management system into the processes for design and production, as well as operations, enables insight into the connections and interrelationship between systems.
2. Big Data. The FAA must continue leaning into our role as a data-driven, risk-based, decision-making oversight organization that prioritizes safety above all else.  We do that by breaking down silos between organizations and implementing programs like SMS supported by compliance programs and informed by data.  We look at the aviation ecosystem as a whole, including how all the parts interact: aircraft, weather, pilots, engineers, flight attendants, technicians, mechanics, dispatchers, air traffic controllers, safety inspectors, training programs, certification, passengers—everyone and everything in the operating environment.  This includes building upon the successes we have had collaborating with industry and implementing voluntary safety information sharing programs.  In the broader context of the overall importance of data to a safety regulator such as the FAA, we are examining the data we have, identifying data we may need, and looking for new methods to analyze and integrate data to increase safety.
3. Just Culture. In addition to the technical work required for truly integrated data, a key enabler of a data-driven safety organization is a healthy and robust reporting culture.  A good safety culture produces the data needed to understand what’s actually happening.  If we know about safety concerns and we know where threats are coming from and how errors are occurring, we can mitigate the risks and fix the processes that led to those errors.  A good safety culture demands that we infuse that safety data into all of our processes from top to bottom—in a continuous loop.  To be successful, a safety organization relies on a Just Culture that places great value on front-line employees and empowers those involved in the operation to raise and report safety concerns in a timely, systematic way, without fearing retaliation.  A Just Culture starts at the top.  It’s something leadership has to nurture, encourage, and support everywhere in the organization.  Employees have to see the results, see what the data is showing, and see how the organization is using analytic tools to identify concerns and errors and put actions in place to mitigate them.  Employees and organizations need to see results that come from leveraging safety data and technical expertise into a safer operation.

Initial Action

As we move ahead to implement these strategies, we have developed a budget request to address specific related needs.  For example, the FY 2021 President’s Budget requests funding to recruit additional specialized skilled employees, such as more human factors experts and software engineers.  The request would also fund a new system that tracks employee training, qualifications, and certifications to ensure our aviation safety workforce has the skills and knowledge required to execute our oversight functions.  This action addresses some of the findings of this committee’s investigatory work that has assisted in pointing out inconsistencies with our tracking systems.

Consistent with Congressional direction, the budget request will support our new office to oversee Organization Designation Authorization (ODA). While the ODA program has been in place since 2005, the creation of a single office supports standardized outcomes and improvements across the ODA program.  Further, the budget request will support improvements to voluntary information sharing programs such as Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) and the Aviation Safety Reporting Program. These programs are critical tools in the FAA’s toolbox, facilitating the collection of safety data that allows the FAA to identify trends and improve upon aviation safety.  Each of these requests provide a snapshot of our concerted effort to continually improve aviation safety.

Conclusion

Aviation’s hard lessons and the hard work in response to those lessons—from both government and industry—have paved the way to creating a global aviation system with an enviable safety record.  But as I mentioned earlier, safety is a journey, not a destination.  We have achieved unprecedented levels of safety in the United States.  Yet what we have done in the past and what we are doing now is not good enough for the future in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.  We must build on the lessons learned, and we must never allow ourselves to become complacent.

The United States has been, and will continue to be, the global leader in aviation safety.  We are confident that continuing to approach this task with a spirit of humility, openness, hard work, and transparency will bolster aviation safety worldwide.

This concludes my statement.  I will be glad to answer your questions.
 

Looking Forward: The Future of America’s Aviation Maintenance and Manufacturing Workforce

The FAA’s first and most important responsibility is to maintain the safety of the NAS. This means that our efforts are focused in part on ensuring that our own workforce is up to the challenge of setting and enforcing the standards for the broader aviation workforce. As directed by the 2018 Act, the FAA recently reviewed and revised our safety workforce training strategy to align with an effective risk-based approach to safety oversight. This effort will help to foster an inspector and engineer FAA workforce that has the skills and training necessary to provide effective safety oversight.

We recognize the importance that workforce development has for the overall safety of the NAS. To that end, we are committed to partnering with industry, the academic community, and government agencies to remove unnecessary barriers for entry into aviation careers, as well as to enhance education pathways and build the pipeline of qualified aviation professionals. We are grateful for the support of the Committee in highlighting these workforce issues and the need for collaborative solutions from all stakeholders.

This concludes my statement and I will be happy to answer your questions.

The Boeing 737 MAX: Examining the Federal Aviation Administration’s Oversight of the Aircraft’s Certification

STATEMENT OF STEPHEN M. DICKSON
ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE,
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
THE BOEING 737 MAX:
EXAMINING THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION’S
OVERSIGHT OF THE AIRCRAFT’S CERTIFICATION
DECEMBER 11, 2019

Chairman DeFazio, Ranking Member Graves, and Members of the Committee:

Thank you for inviting me here today to speak with you about the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) approach to safety oversight and to provide you with an update concerning the Boeing 737 MAX. On behalf of the United States Department of Transportation and everyone at the FAA, I would like to, once again, extend our deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims of the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air accidents. Deputy Administrator Dan Elwell and I have met with the family members and friends of those onboard. In these meetings, we have seen their pain, their loss, and it reaffirms the seriousness with which we must approach safety every single day. That is why we are working tirelessly to ensure that the lessons learned from these terrible losses will result in a higher margin of safety for the aviation industry globally.

Accompanying me here today is Earl Lawrence. Mr. Lawrence is the Executive Director of the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service, where he is responsible for type certification, production approval, airworthiness certification, and continued airworthiness of the U.S. civil aircraft fleet including commercial and general aviation activities.

Status of the 737 MAX Return-to-Service

Safety is the core of the FAA’s mission and is our first priority. We are working diligently to ensure that the type of accidents that occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia—resulting in the tragic loss of 346 lives—do not occur again. The FAA is following a thorough process for returning the 737 MAX to service. This process is not guided by a calendar or schedule. Safety is the driving consideration. I unequivocally support the dedicated professionals of the FAA in continuing to adhere to a data-driven, methodical analysis, review, and validation of the modified flight control systems and pilot training required to safely return the 737 MAX to commercial service. I have directed FAA employees to take whatever time is needed to do that work.

With respect to our international partners, the FAA clearly understands its responsibilities as the State of Design for the 737 MAX. In September, we met with more than 50 invited foreign civil aviation officials, all of whom have provided input to the FAA and will play a role in clearing the 737 MAX for flight in their respective nations. We are also conducting and planning a number of outreach activities, including providing assistance to support foreign authorities on return-to-service issues; maintaining transparency through communication and information sharing; and scheduling meetings for technical discussions.

As I have stated before, the FAA’s return-to-service decision on the 737 MAX will rest solely on the FAA’s analysis of the data to determine whether Boeing’s proposed software updates and pilot training address the known issues for grounding the aircraft. The FAA fully controls the approvals process for the flight control systems and is not delegating anything to Boeing. The FAA will retain authority to issue airworthiness certificates and export certificates of airworthiness for all new 737 MAX airplanes manufactured since the grounding. When the 737 MAX is returned to service, it will be because the safety issues have been addressed and pilots have received all of the training they need to safely operate the aircraft.

Actions that must still take place before the aircraft will return to service include a certification flight test and completion of work by the Joint Operations Evaluation Board (JOEB), which is comprised of the FAA Flight Standardization Board (FSB) and our international partners from Canada, Europe, and Brazil. The JOEB will evaluate pilot training needs. The FSB will issue a report addressing the findings of the JOEB and the report will be made available for public review and comment. Additionally, the FAA will review all final design documentation, which also will be reviewed by the multi-agency Technical Advisory Board (TAB). The FAA will issue a Continued Airworthiness Notification to the International Community providing notice of pending significant safety actions and will publish an Airworthiness Directive advising operators of required corrective actions. Finally, I am not going to sign off on this aircraft until all FAA technical reviews are complete, I fly it myself using my experience as an Air Force and commercial pilot, and I am satisfied that I would put my own family on it without a second thought.

Oversight of Aircraft Certification

Safety is a journey, not a destination—a journey we undertake each and every day with humility. Today’s unprecedented U.S. safety record was built on the willingness of aviation professionals to embrace hard lessons and to proactively seek continuous improvement. The FAA both welcomes and invites scrutiny of our processes and procedures. In addition to this Committee’s investigation, several independent reviews have been initiated to look at different aspects of the 737 MAX certification and the FAA’s certification and delegation processes generally.

The first review to be completed was one that the FAA commissioned—asking nine other civil aviation authorities to join the FAA in a Joint Authorities Technical Review (JATR) to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the certification of the automated flight control system on the 737 MAX. The JATR was chaired by former National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Christopher Hart and was comprised of a team of experts from the FAA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the aviation authorities of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. Never before have 10 authorities come together to conduct this type of review. I thank the JATR members for their unvarnished and independent review and we welcome their recommendations.

The FAA also initiated a TAB made up of FAA Chief Scientists and experts from the U.S. Air Force, NASA, and Volpe National Transportation Systems Center. The TAB’s task is to conduct an independent review of the proposed integrated system, training, and continued operational safety determination for the 737 MAX. The TAB recently briefed me, and previously briefed this Committee, on their progress and the status of Boeing’s and the FAA’s responses to the return-to-service action items.

Last month, the FAA received recommendations from the NTSB and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee’s accident report on Lion Air Flight 610. We are carefully evaluating the recommendations in both of these reports as we continue our review of the proposed changes to the 737 MAX. Work also continues on the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General audit of the 737 MAX certification, as well as this Committee’s investigation and other congressional reviews. Finally, we are also awaiting a report from the Secretary of Transportation’s Special Committee on aircraft certification. This blue-ribbon panel was established earlier this year to advise and provide recommendations to the Department on policy-level topics related to certification across the manufacturer spectrum.

We believe that transparency, open and honest communication, and our willingness to improve our systems and processes are the keys to restoring public trust in the FAA and in the safety of the 737 MAX when it is returned to service. The FAA is fully committed to addressing the recommendations from all of the various groups reviewing our certification processes. We will implement any changes that would improve our certification activities and increase safety. It would be premature, however, to discuss any changes concerning the FAA’s certification processes or FAA’s personnel at any level before this Committee’s investigation and other ongoing reviews have concluded, and we have a chance to carefully analyze their results and recommendations.

Moving Forward

Beyond the 737 MAX, the FAA is committed to addressing issues regarding aircraft certification processes not only in the United States, but around the world. These issues include:

• moving toward a more holistic versus transactional, item-by-item approach to aircraft certification – taking into account the interactions between all aircraft systems and the crew;
• integrating human factors considerations more effectively throughout the design process, as aircraft become more automated and systems more complex; and
• ensuring coordinated and flexible information flow during the oversight process.

Yet, if we are to continue to raise the bar for safety across the globe, it will be important for the FAA and our international partners to foster improvements in standards and approaches not just for how aircraft are designed and produced, but also how they are maintained and operated. We at the FAA are prepared to take the lead in this new phase of system safety. I see our strategy coalescing around four themes: Big Data; Just Culture; Global Leadership; and People.

Big Data

The FAA must continue leaning into our role as a data-driven, risk-based decision-making oversight organization that prioritizes safety above all else. We do that by breaking down silos between organizations and implementing Safety Management Systems supported by compliance programs and informed by data. We look at the aviation ecosystem as a whole, including how all the parts interact: aircraft, pilots, engineers, flight attendants, technicians, mechanics, dispatchers, air traffic controllers—everyone and everything in the operating environment. The FAA is examining the data we have, identifying data we may need, and looking for new methods for analyzing and integrating data to increase safety.

Just Culture

In addition to the technical work required for truly integrated data, a key enabler of a data-driven safety organization is a healthy and robust reporting culture. A good safety culture produces the data you need to figure out what’s really happening. If we know about safety concerns and we know where threats are coming from and how errors are occurring, we can mitigate the risks and fix the processes that led to those errors. A good safety culture demands that we infuse that safety data into all of our processes from top to bottom—in a continuous loop.

To be successful, a safety organization relies on a Just Culture that places great value on front-line employees and those involved in the operation raising and reporting safety concerns in a timely, systematic way, without fearing retaliation. A Just Culture starts at the top. It’s something leadership has to nurture and support everywhere in the organization. Employees have to see the results, see what the data is showing, and see how the organization is using analysis tools to identify concerns and errors and put actions in place to mitigate them.

Global Leadership

Today, the U.S. aviation system is the safest, most dynamic and innovative in the world, and we have the numbers to prove it. This is largely due to these collaborative approaches to safety. An example of the kind of collaboration and safety innovation we can use to lead the global aviation safety system to even higher levels of performance is Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS). ASIAS is one of the crown jewels of the aviation safety system in the United States. It is unique in the world. Its purpose is to proactively discover and mitigate emerging safety issues before they result in an incident or accident.

ASIAS de-identifies airline and company proprietary data submitted by a growing number of stakeholders in accordance with information sharing agreements and governance protocols. This ensures a level of protection for participants and protects against disclosure of a specific flight crew or entity, which has helped to foster a culture of trust within the ASIAS program and across stakeholder organizations. As trust has developed, data access has increased and enabled advancements in data analysis methodologies through more automated capabilities and the fusing together of data streams that provide a 360-degree perspective on safety issues. This “fusion” bypasses the limits associated with analyzing data in separate silos of information, provides insight from multiple integrated data sources, and enables analysts to better understand the full context of safety events. ASIAS works in partnership with the Commercial Aviation Safety Team (CAST) that proactively mitigates risks thorough the voluntary adoption of Safety Enhancements.

Over the years, the FAA has exercised a leadership role in the promotion and development of global aviation safety. We have helped raise the bar on safety standards and practices around the world working with ICAO and other civil aviation authorities. We have an opportunity to do even more. We are committed to expanding our efforts with other authorities around the world and to fostering safety standards and policies at ICAO to help meet the public’s expectations of the highest possible levels of safety globally, even in areas the FAA does not regulate directly. Without safety as a foundation, we cannot have a vibrant aviation industry in any country, much less between countries. Our international air transportation network is a tightly woven fabric that is dependent on all of us making safety our core value.

People

We live in an incredibly dynamic time in aviation, with new emerging technologies and capabilities transforming the NAS. But at its core, a huge technical, operational, and regulatory agency like the FAA is made of people—people who are driven to serve, people with families, hopes and dreams, and most importantly, people who are dedicated safety professionals. I have the utmost respect for the jobs that they do every day, making sure our skies are safe and that the operation of the system is efficient—and serves the public—as well as it possibly can. It’s now time to show the next generation of aviation leaders what incredible opportunities lie ahead for them in our field, both personally and professionally. It is the people who will innovate and collaborate to take us to the next level of safety, operational excellence, and opportunity.

Conclusion

Aviation’s hard lessons and the hard work in response to those lessons—from both government and industry—have paved the way to creating a global aviation system with an enviable safety record. But as I mentioned earlier, safety is a journey, not a destination. We have achieved unprecedented levels of safety in the United States. Yet what we have done in the past and what we are doing now will not be good enough in the future in an increasingly interconnected world. We must build on the lessons learned, and we must never allow ourselves to become complacent.

Those lessons teach us that in order to prevent the next accident from happening, we have to look at the overall aviation system and how all the pieces interact. Time and again, it has been shown that accidents happened due to a complex interaction of multiple issues. Focus on a single factor will lead us to miss opportunities to improve safety that come from regulators and industry raising the bar not just in certification, but in maintenance and training procedures.
That will require truly integrated data and collaboration, enterprise-wide. When our data—and our organizations—are kept in silos, we may miss information that could provide an opportunity to make important safety decisions that will improve processes or even prevent accidents entirely. We have to be constantly learning from each other—regulator and those we regulate—to help each other improve.

The United States has been, and will continue to be, the global leader in aviation safety. We are confident that continuing to approach this task with a spirit of humility, openness, and transparency will bolster aviation safety worldwide.

This concludes my statement. I will be glad to answer your questions.

2018 FAA Reauthorization Progress

STATEMENT OF JOEL SZABAT
ACTING UNDER SECRETARY FOR POLICY, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
BEFORE THE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION
2018 FAA REAUTHORIZATION PROGRESS
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Chairman Larsen, Ranking Member Graves, Members of the Subcommittee:

Thank you to the Committee and to Congress for passing the 2018 FAA Reauthorization Act last fall and for inviting me to testify on behalf of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The more than 550 sections of the Act cover a wide range of aviation issues, many supporting Secretary Chao’s first priority of safety and the Department’s mission to provide the safest and most efficient airspace in the world. Our team is working to accomplish the directives Congress set forth in the Act, which provided the stability and direction needed to continue the important missions we oversee on a day-to-day basis and to address new challenges.

Despite the government shutdown last winter and our ongoing response to the fatal accidents and grounding of the 737 MAX, we have made great progress on the safety, civil rights, and consumer protection provisions of the Act. We identified more than 360 deliverables for the Department, and, while we have not been able to address all of the deliverables simultaneously or meet all the requirements in this first year, the Department has demonstrated unwavering commitment to the provisions of the Act. We will continue to deliver on the goals and realize the vision of this Committee and this Congress as a whole.

With many different mandates, each meriting timely completion, the responsible course of action is to distribute and schedule the work in a way that reflects the key principles of our mission. This also must be done without disrupting ongoing work in matters of safety, policy, oversight, and operations.

Working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), our other modal administrations, and other agencies as necessary, we have addressed safety, accessibility and consumer rights, and a stronger, more efficient infrastructure. We have also advanced the integration of new technologies into the airspace that hold promise for improved safety, accessibility, and economic opportunity, such as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). I am sure the members of this Committee share these goals, and I look forward to discussing some of our achievements to date.

Safety

DOT takes pride in our extremely successful safety record and appreciates the additional authorities and measures taken in this latest reauthorization to continue that legacy. We have already responded to Reauthorization requirements to establish new offices to deal with important issues, such as oversight of delegated authorities, (e.g. Organization Designation Authorizations), consumer advocacy, and support of our Nation’s spaceports.

To help maintain the safety of passengers with respect to lithium batteries, the FAA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) are taking action to implement Reauthorization provisions. We have harmonized domestic regulations with the ICAO Technical Instructions, begun working with stakeholders to identify and mitigate risks, and established inter-governmental and industry working groups to provide research, evaluation, and safety recommendations for the safe air transportation of lithium batteries.

The Reauthorization has also augmented our work in maintaining the world’s safest airspace through the formation of several new advisory bodies and mechanisms. For example, the Secretary has already created task forces such as the Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee. The continued authority and certainty provided by the Reauthorization has been helpful in allowing us to continue to provide the world’s highest expectation of safety for the flying public.

These efforts are taking place in the context of evaluating Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft for clearance to fly in the United States. As the Secretary has said repeatedly, the 737 MAX will not return to service until the safety experts at the FAA have determined it is safe to fly. The Secretary and the FAA Administrator have called for multiple objective and substantive reviews of the FAA’s certification process and its analysis of the 737 MAX safety issues and potential resolutions. The issues with the 737 MAX are now being reviewed, studied, and addressed by the NTSB, the Special Air Certification Committee convened in March, the DOT Inspector General, an interagency Technical Advisory Board, the Joint Authorities Technical Review Team, various Congressional committees, and others. We will continue this important work, including ongoing coordination with other nations' safety certification authorities.

Consumer Advocacy

The Department is also actively working to implement the many aviation consumer protection and civil rights provisions of the Act, and we are doing it with the help of the people whose voices need to be heard. The Act requires us to establish four advisory committees, develop seven mandatory rulemakings, consider four discretionary rulemakings, and conduct twelve studies, reports or other tasks. Here are some highlights of our accomplishments.

Key mandates in the Reauthorization include establishing an Aviation Consumer Advocate within DOT to assist consumers in resolving airline service complaints filed with the Department, to identify actions the Department can take to improve the resolution of airline service complaints and enforcement of aviation consumer protection rules, and to identify regulations and policies that can be amended to resolve airline service complaints more effectively. In March 2019, we selected Blane Workie, Assistant General Counsel for the Department’s Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings, to serve as the Aviation Consumer Advocate. To help her fulfill the responsibilities of the Aviation Consumer Advocate, Ms. Workie has already established two new positions in her office – Director of Consumer Advocacy and Director of Civil Rights Advocacy.

Approximately a month after the passage of the bill, DOT reconstituted the Aviation Consumer Protection Advisory Committee (ACPAC) and established the National In-Flight Sexual Misconduct Task Force (Task Force) as an ACPAC Subcommittee. The first ACPAC meeting was scheduled for January 16, 2019, but had to be canceled because of the government shutdown. The meeting was then held in early April, and focused on the transparency of airline ancillary service fees, involuntary changes to travel itineraries, and the operation of the Task Force. The work of the ACPAC is ongoing.

Also, the Task Force members have been actively exploring how best to address and prevent incidents of sexual misconduct on board aircraft. The Department is very committed to addressing the problem of in-flight sexual misconduct and assault to provide a safe flight in every sense of the word. The Task Force members have already met five times this year in one or two-day meetings that occurred in April, May, June, July and September. The work focused on training, reporting, and data collection regarding incidents of sexual misconduct. As part of their duties, Task Force members have heard and reviewed first-hand accounts from passengers and flight attendants who have experienced sexual misconduct onboard commercial aircraft. We expect the Task Force to conclude its work this calendar year.

Accessible Air Service

The Reauthorization also contains several provisions requiring DOT to review its Air Carrier Access Act regulation and take certain actions as appropriate. For example, section 433 directs us to consider developing specific recommendations regarding improvements to wheelchair assistance by U.S. airlines, and how airline training programs can address consumer complaints regarding wheelchair assistance. Section 434 requires us to develop the "Airline Passengers with Disabilities Bill of Rights." As required by section 440, we will also review, and if necessary, revise regulations to ensure that passengers with disabilities receive dignified, timely, and effective assistance from trained personnel. We will also require training to occur on an annual schedule for personnel charged with providing physical assistance to passengers with disabilities.

We have already started the process of reviewing the regulations to determine what actions need to be taken in these areas. We look forward to consulting with stakeholders, including disability organizations, airlines, and their contractors. We also just established the Air Ambulance and Patient Billing Advisory Committee (AAPB Advisory Committee) and the Air Carrier Access Act Advisory Committee (ACAA Advisory Committee). Both necessitated issuing of notices to find the best-suited members, and both committees are now in place. The active ongoing work of the Department in forming and engaging with these committees as well as with ACPAC, reflects our commitment to protecting the rights of air travelers, to human dignity in general, and to the American ideal of balanced representation.

The AAPB Advisory Committee will make recommendations regarding disclosure of charges and fees for air ambulance services and insurance coverage, as well as consumer protection and enforcement authorities of both DOT and State authorities, and the prevention of balance billing to consumers. The ACAA Advisory Committee will identify and assess barriers to accessible air travel, determine the extent to which DOT is addressing those barriers, recommend improvements, and advise the Secretary on implementing the Air Carrier Access Act. We will announce the date of the first meeting of the AAPB Advisory Committee as well as the first meeting of the ACAA Advisory Committee after coordinating with the advisory committee members.

Consumer-Focused Regulation

The Department is committed to enhancing consumer protection and access in the aviation sector. We believe that there should be no more regulations than necessary, and those regulations should be straightforward, clear, and designed to minimize unnecessary and costly burdens on aviation stakeholders. During the past year, we made strides in implementing the consumer protection and access rulemaking mandates in the Reauthorization. These rulemakings are all identified in the Department’s upcoming fall Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions as actions we plan to issue in the near and long term. Among these rules are regulations that would issue guidance on cell phone communications on aircraft, require refunds to customers for services not received, require minimum customer service standards of large ticket agents, and streamline the consumer complaints process.

The Reauthorization also prohibits U.S. and foreign airlines from denying boarding to a revenue passenger traveling on a confirmed reservation, or involuntarily removing that passenger from the aircraft once the passenger has checked in for flight before the check-in deadline, and his or her boarding pass has been collected or accepted by the gate agent.

We will also be issuing a proposed rule related to traveling by air with service animals. There is rising concern that passengers are increasingly bringing untrained emotional support animals onboard aircraft – which could put the safety of crewmembers and other passengers at risk. Our rulemaking will define "service animal," develop minimum standards for what is required for service animals and address the issue of emotional support animals. Last year, DOT published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on service animals, and we plan to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later this year. We want individuals with disabilities to continue using their service animals, while also maintaining safety and reducing the likelihood that other passengers will be able to falsely claim their pets are service animals.

Innovation and Infrastructure

We remain in close communication with industry, international regulatory bodies, and the public when it comes to the technology that is promising to reshape aviation as we know it - Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). We are entering the final year of the President’s Integration Pilot Program, where we have been working steadily with industry, State, local, and tribal governments to enable unique operations, and more importantly, to uncover the key issues we face as a Nation in adapting a disruptive, but promising technology into a complex, highly coordinated airspace system. We continue to receive recommendations from the Drone Advisory Committee (DAC), our test sites, our centers of excellence for research, standards bodies, and international partners on what the focus of our work should be and the next steps that will continue UAS integration on a larger scale.

We are engaging with the public through the rulemaking process and the DAC. Earlier this year, we published our proposed amendment to Part 107 that will allow for limited, safe operations over people, flights at night, and easier ways for Part 107 pilots to remain current in their certifications. We are working with our intergovernmental partners and the Office of Management and Budget to publish a proposed rule that will establish remote identification requirements for UAS. This will be a key milestone in promoting the safe operations of UAS as we continue to work with industry to develop the technologies that will enable routine beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) and truly integrated operations. These advances offer significant new opportunities, and we will continue to work with the public and all relevant government and industry partners to realize these milestones.

We are doing more than rulemaking. Under Section 349 of the Act, we opened airspace authorizations to recreational flyers of UAS for quick, automated access to airspace. We are establishing a framework for broad, electronic testing that will make UAS instructions more accessible, and more understandable to more potential flyers, than ever before. This year, the FAA granted the first air carrier certification to a commercial drone operator for package deliveries in rural Christiansburg, Virginia, and other similar certifications will follow. The Department has not only been innovating the way forward, but we have been collaborating, building consensus, and constructing UAS solutions that promote safety, security, and responsibility, along with greater UAS operations.

We also have a responsibility to invest in our Nation’s infrastructure, and the funding for grant programs, including the Airport Improvement Program, in the Reauthorization will help to provide the best possible environment and experience for travelers to small and large airports. We have already implemented all of the statutory changes to the Essential Air Service (EAS) Program and the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP), and we have a keen interest in administering these small community programs as effectively as possible.

Conclusion

While we have not yet completed all of our obligations under the Reauthorization, we have demonstrated our commitment to meeting them, and we have the right principles in place to accomplish the work. On behalf of the Secretary, I assure you that we will continue our diligent work and push forward, collaboratively, to achieve the safe, accessible vision for aviation that Congress set forth as a shared ideal in the Reauthorization. I am happy to join Dan Elwell and our staff to answer any further questions you may have on these provisions.

Thank you all for your time and attentiveness.

Implementation of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018

STATEMENT OF DANIEL K. ELWELL
DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
BEFORE THE
COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FAA REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018
SEPTEMBER 26, 2019

Chairman Larsen, Ranking Member Graves, Members of the Subcommittee:

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) ongoing work to implement the provisions of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (2018 Act or Act).  The 2018 Act is a wide-ranging reauthorization measure that provided the FAA with a host of critical new authorities and responsibilities on a broad range of aviation issues including enhancing safety, improving infrastructure, and enabling innovation. Although the 2018 Act reauthorized aviation programs for five years, the vast majority of the specific mandates require FAA action within the first year.  The Act’s focus on the first year of the reauthorization period, as well as other challenges that the FAA has encountered since enactment, has required the FAA to prioritize its implementation strategy.  Despite these challenges, I am pleased to report that the FAA has made substantial progress on fulfilling the congressional mandates in the Act, and I would like to summarize for you some of the FAA’s accomplishments.  

Aircraft Certification & Flight Standards

The regulations and policies that guide the FAA’s approach to aircraft certification and flight standards have evolved over time in order to adapt to an ever-changing industry, and to ensure that safety is always our first priority.  Continuous improvement is an integral component of the FAA’s safety culture and we are committed to learning from our experiences and using what we’ve learned to improve our process.

• Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee. The 2018 Act requires the Secretary of Transportation to establish a Safety Oversight and Certification Advisory Committee (SOCAC) to advise the Secretary on policy-level issues facing the aviation community related to FAA safety oversight and certification programs and activities.  The Act further requires the new advisory committee to focus on a number of specific aspects of the FAA’s safety oversight role including, for example, organization designation authorization (ODA). 

  Secretary Chao this summer announced the appointment of 22 members to the advisory committee.[1]  The SOCAC consists of members representing stakeholders from across the aviation sector.  Additionally, the Secretary created a Special Committee within the structure of the SOCAC to specifically review FAA procedures for the certification of new aircraft.[2]  Through this framework, leading outside experts will help determine if improvements can be made to the FAA’s aircraft certification process.  As Secretary Chao emphasized, safety is the number one priority of the Department.  The FAA embraces meaningful oversight to make air transportation safer.  We welcome the work of the SOCAC and the Special Committee and look forward to reviewing their recommendations.

• Organization Designation Authorization Office.  The use of delegation, in some form, has been a vital part of our Nation’s aviation safety system since the 1920s.  Congress has continually expanded the designee program since creation of the FAA in 1958, and it is critical to the success and effectiveness of the certification process.  In March 2019, consistent with requirements under the 2018 Act, the FAA formally established the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Office within the Office of Aviation Safety.  This Office will ensure consistency of ODA oversight functions.  It will facilitate standardized application of policy, ensure the proficiency of ODA staff in executing oversight processes, monitor risk and performance issues, and facilitate continuous improvement of ODA program performance. 

• Aircraft Certification Performance Objectives and Metrics.  The 2018 Act requires the FAA to establish, in conjunction with the SOCAC, aircraft certification performance metrics and to apply and track the metrics for both the FAA and industry.  After a months-long effort to develop the metrics, the FAA, in collaboration with the Safety Oversight and Certification Aviation Rulemaking Committee (SOC ARC), established a list of 14 metrics in August 2019.  The FAA is prepared to track the metrics after coordinating with the SOCAC at their initial meeting in November 2019.  We expect that tracking these metrics will allow the FAA to identify inefficiencies, increase accountability, and improve safety. 

• Flight Standards Performance Objectives and Metrics.  The Act also requires FAA to establish, in conjunction with the SOCAC, flight standards performance metrics.   In August 2019, the FAA established the Flight Standards Transparency, Performance, Accountability, and Efficiency (FST PAcE) Aviation Rulemaking Committee.  This rulemaking committee has been tasked to make recommendations concerning the performance metrics for both the FAA and industry.

Aviation Safety

The 2018 Act is the most comprehensive aviation reauthorization measure enacted in over 30 years.  In addition to the 33 separate FAA rulemakings required under the Act, Congress also required the FAA to create new Aviation Rulemaking Committees (ARCs) and to task the existing Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) with specific responsibilities concerning various aviation safety objectives.  The list below provides a glimpse into some of the important work the FAA has accomplished in this area since enactment. 

• Flight Attendant Duty/Rest Period.  Ensuring that crewmembers are properly rested is a critical component of aviation safety.  In April 2019, the FAA initiated a rulemaking in accordance with the 2018 Act, to modify applicable rules to require a minimum rest period of 10 hours for any flight attendant scheduled to a duty period of 14 hours or less.[3]  In support of this effort, the FAA drafted an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) that concluded OMB review last week and will be published soon.  [A1] We expect the process will provide us with data from aviation stakeholders and the general public to assist us in developing the proposed rule.

  Additionally, on June 18, 2019, the FAA published information to advise the industry of the flight attendant fatigue risk management plan requirements contained in the 2018 Act.  The FAA is actively receiving and reviewing air carrier flight attendant fatigue risk management plans.[4]

• Designated Pilot Examiners.  On June 20, 2019, the FAA directed the ARAC to review all regulations and policies related to designated pilot examiners.[5]  Through the ARAC, the FAA will gather recommendations on regulatory and policy changes necessary to ensure that an adequate number of designated pilot examiners are deployed and available to perform their duties to meet the growing needs of the public.

• Secondary Cockpit Barriers.  The 2018 Act requires the FAA to issue an order requiring the installation of a secondary cockpit barrier on each new aircraft that is manufactured for delivery to a passenger air carrier in the United States operating under part 121 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.[6]  The FAA is committed to implementing this requirement.  On June 20, 2019, the ARAC accepted an FAA tasking to provide recommendations regarding implementation of this provision.  The FAA looks forward to reviewing the ARAC’s recommendations and moving forward on this mandate.   

• Pilot Duty/Rest Period.  On May 21, 2019, the FAA established the Part 135 Pilot Rest and Duty Rules Aviation Rulemaking Committee. [7]  The 2018 Act requires the FAA to convene the committee to review, and develop findings and recommendations regarding, pilot rest and duty rules under part 135 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations.

• Emergency Evacuation Standards.  On April 24, 2019, the FAA established the Emergency Evacuation Standards Aviation Rulemaking Committee.  This ARC will provide a forum for affected parties to discuss and provide recommendations to the FAA on certification of emergency evacuation systems, designs, and procedures.[8]  The formation of the ARC is a significant step forward in fulfilling the requirements under the 2018 Act to review and report on cabin evacuation procedures. 

• Safety Critical Staffing.  The 2018 Act requires the FAA to update its safety critical staffing model.  The staffing model is an important mechanism to help determine the number of aviation safety inspectors needed to fulfill the FAA’s safety oversight mission.  The staffing model has been updated and new staffing forecasts have been developed.  The FAA’s Aviation Safety Workforce Plan was delivered to Congress in March 2019.[9]

Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)

The 2018 Act devoted considerable attention to the FAA’s continued work on the integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS).  The points below highlight some of the Agency’s important work in this area.  

• Remote ID.  To further the overall objective of integrating UAS into the NAS, Congress recognized the importance of remote identification when it enacted the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016.  That Act laid the foundation for the FAA’s work with operators and security partners to realize the importance of remote identification and reach a consensus on how to address it.  More recently, the 2018 Act provided the FAA with the authority to continue its work on this important issue.   In May 2019, the FAA published a notice implementing the 2018 Act’s legislative exception for limited recreational operations of unmanned aircraft.[10]  Additionally, in July 2019, the FAA expanded the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) system to include recreational flyers.[11]  This action increased the safety of the NAS and the ability of recreational UAS operators to gain rapid authorization for access to controlled airspace nationwide.  Further, the 2018 Act provided clarity on the requirements for recreational UAS operations and has allowed the FAA to move ahead with work on UAS registration and remote identification—both of which are critical to the success of commercial UAS operations and UAS integration more broadly. 
  
  Remote identification is fundamental to both safety and security of UAS operations.  Remote identification will be necessary for routine beyond visual line-of-sight operations, operations over people, package deliveries, operations in congested areas, and the continued safe operation of all aircraft in shared airspace.  It will also be foundational for the advancement of automated passenger or cargo-carrying air transportation, which is often referred to as Urban Air Mobility.  With remote identification, the FAA and our national security and public safety partners will be better able to identify a UAS and its operator, assess if a UAS is being operated in a clueless, careless, or criminal manner, and take appropriate action if necessary.  Remote identification is the FAA’s highest priority UAS-related rulemaking effort.  A draft Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on this subject is presently in Executive Branch clearance.

• Carriage of Property by Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems.  Congress also recognized, in the 2018 Act, the growing potential of UAS to deliver cargo.  In particular, the Act requires the FAA to update existing regulations to authorize the carriage of property by operators of UAS for compensation or hire in the United States.  The FAA has been working closely with the participants in the UAS Integration Pilot Program (IPP) to accelerate safe UAS operations.  The IPP has evaluated a host of operational concepts including operations at night, over people, beyond the pilot’s line of sight, and package delivery.  This work is ongoing, and the FAA is currently meeting the intent of the mandate through an exemption process.  Earlier this year, the FAA granted the first air carrier certification to a commercial UAS operator for package deliveries in rural Blacksburg, Virginia.  Although the regulatory framework for broader UAS operations is not complete, the IPP has helped to inform the FAA and UAS operators of the extent to which operations can begin under existing rules.

• Local Public Safety Engagement on UAS Operations.  The 2018 Act directed the FAA to develop a comprehensive strategy to support and provide guidance for state and local public safety partners to identify and respond to threats posed by UAS as well as opportunities to use UAS to enhance the effectiveness of first responders.  The FAA has made a substantial and continuing effort to make the information needed by Federal, state and local entities readily available.  The FAA has assembled a great amount of useful and easily accessible information on its web page dedicated to public safety and government UAS issues.[12]  Here, government stakeholders can find information on how to operate UAS, how to start a UAS public safety program, and information on waivers and authorizations supporting emergency UAS operations.  The website also provides guidance on understanding local authority and the handling of UAS sightings and reports of non-compliant UAS operations.  The FAA’s informational toolkit consists of videos, guidance, and other resources that can assist local law enforcement agencies in their handling of situations involving UAS, including a public safety engagement plan.[13]   Throughout this information, the FAA has sought to emphasize that: (1) flying UAS is a regulated activity and there are Federal rules for flying UAS legally and safely; (2) flying at night, too close to people, or in restricted or controlled airspace is generally prohibited without FAA authorization; (3) the small UAS rule—part 107 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations—provides the framework for routine, low-altitude small UAS operations; and (4) FAA’s Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) can help local public safety partners distinguish between what is and is not allowed under Federal rules. 

Airports

In keeping with this Administration’s goal of improving our Nation’s airport infrastructure, the 2018 Act prioritized efforts to improve airport infrastructure planning and development.  The FAA is making continuous progress in carrying out the congressional mandates contained in the Act.  Some of the more important initiatives that the FAA is working on include the following:

• Passenger Facility Charge (PFC) Streamlining.  In the 2018 Act, Congress directed the FAA to expand the streamlining concept for PFC applications to all eligible airports (no longer limiting it to just non-hub primary airports).  The FAA is making excellent progress in developing a proposed approach to a new pilot program, while also identifying opportunities to improve the existing process in the interim.  This potential approach would yield near-term benefits for the Nation’s airports, while also providing the necessary data to support the regulatory changes that are still required under the statute.  It will also help the FAA address concerns expressed by the airline community.

• Airfield Pavement for Non-Primary Airports.  The 2018 Act authorized states to request the use of highway specifications for airfield paving and construction if aircraft serving the airport do not exceed 60,000 pounds and safety would not be affected.  The FAA’s draft guidance on this provision is nearing completion and we anticipate that this authority will create some opportunities for capital cost reductions without eroding safety.  Additionally, as required by the Act, the FAA stands ready to provide technical assistance to any state that may want to develop alternative airport pavement standards where local conditions and locally available materials may make this desirable.

• Contract Towers.  The FAA is making significant progress in implementing the 2018 Act concerning the processing of new applications to the Contract Tower program and benefit-cost analysis of contract towers. In June 2019, the FAA re-opened the applications for new towers to the program.  To date, we have received nine applications for entry into the program.  In accordance with congressional direction, the FAA has conducted updated benefit-cost analyses for existing cost-share participants and will notify sponsor airports of the results by the end of September. 

  In addition, the FAA is making significant progress on implementing the 2018 Act’s elimination of the $2 million cumulative Airport Improvement Program (AIP) cap, and authorization for the FAA to use resources from the Small Airport Fund (a key component of the AIP) for eligible contract tower projects.  The FAA has moved swiftly to implement these changes with updated guidance, and is working with potential recipients of these funds for high-priority tower projects.

• Limited Land Use Regulation for Airports.  As part of the 2018 Act, Congress imposed limitations, with certain exceptions, on the FAA’s authority to regulate an airport’s acquisition, use, lease, encumbrance, transfer, or disposal of land and facilities.  Implementation of this section is a high priority for the FAA.  We have already identified more than 25 projects where airports have been able to move forward with minimal FAA involvement.  These early examples have provided valuable information that is helping the FAA to develop guidance to ensure that the provision is consistently implemented.   

• Airport Firefighting.  The 2018 Act enacted limitations on the FAA’s authority to require the use of certain firefighting chemicals.  In particular, starting three years after the date of enactment, the FAA is prohibited from requiring the use of fluorinated chemicals to meet performance standards for firefighting agents.  The FAA is making great progress in both the development of a facility to conduct live firefighting agent testing and, in its collaboration with other agencies, to advance identification and evaluation of alternative firefighting agents.[A2]   In the meantime, we have also implemented short-term changes to reduce the release of fluorinated chemicals into the environment by airports, including the approval of three testing systems that do not result in the external discharge of fluorinated chemicals.  We also issued guidance to airports alerting them to their ability to use Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funds to purchase these testing systems. 

Hazardous Materials in Air Transportation

Within the Department of Transportation, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has the primary responsibility for establishing multi-modal regulations for the safe transportation of hazardous materials, to include establishing rules for the classification, containment, and communication of the presence of hazardous materials.  PHMSA is leading critical lithium battery regulatory initiatives prescribed by the 2018 Act and the FAA is working to ensure compliance with air transport safety regulations as well as conducting a public awareness campaign.

• Lithium Battery Safety Working Group and Safety Advisory Committee.  PHMSA is establishing a working group to promote and coordinate efforts related to the safe manufacture, use, and transportation of lithium batteries and cells. PHMSA is also establishing a lithium ion and lithium metal battery air safety advisory committee to facilitate communication between manufacturers, air carriers, and the Federal Government regarding the safe air transportation of lithium ion and lithium metal cells and batteries and the effectiveness and economic and social impacts of the regulation of such transportation.

• FAA Cooperative Efforts to Ensure Compliance with Safety Regulations.  In support of the broader hazardous materials safety effort, the FAA focuses on conducting oversight of the integration of hazardous materials safety measures into the aviation transportation system.  Accordingly, the FAA is leading efforts, consistent with the 2018 Act requirements, to improve interagency and international cooperative efforts to ensure compliance with safety regulations for air transport of lithium batteries. 

• Undeclared Hazardous Materials Public Awareness Campaign.  The FAA launched a new website that provides stakeholders— including shippers, air carriers, and the traveling public—with a one-stop shop they can easily access to find information and answers to their questions.[14]  The FAA recently provided Congress with an update of our public awareness campaign to reduce undeclared dangerous goods in air commerce.  The FAA is also participating in an industry/government/labor coalition that meets regularly to strategize on improvements to the messaging and other tools that industry uses to educate their customers on the proper procedures for transporting hazardous materials by aircraft.  Additionally, the FAA is supporting a PHMSA-led public education campaign known as “Check the Box” to increase public awareness of the risks associated with undeclared shipments of hazardous materials.[15]

Innovation

This Administration has made it a priority to engage with new and emerging technologies and enable innovation wherever possible.  Innovations in aviation and aerospace have benefitted our economy, transformed the way we travel, helped the environment, and saved lives. In the 2018 Act, Congress recognized the importance of innovation and the FAA is working to foster it while maintaining the safety of the NAS. 

• Supersonics.  In the 2018 Act, Congress supported FAA leadership on the creation of policies, regulations, and standards to enable the safe and efficient operation of civil supersonic aircraft. As part of the FAA’s efforts to implement this authority, the FAA in June 2019 published an NPRM intended to clarify and streamline the procedures for special flight authorizations for supersonic aircraft.[16]  The FAA is currently reviewing the comments we received on the NPRM and consider this rulemaking to be one of the FAA’s first actions in a continued and concerted effort to advance the operation of civil supersonic aircraft consistent with our other statutory and international obligations concerning noise and emissions. 

• Noise.  Over the decades, the aviation industry has made significant progress in the development of technology to reduce noise from aircraft.  Congress and the FAA have worked closely on this continued effort and the FAA is currently working to complete the noise-related requirements contained in the 2018 Act.  One provision directs the FAA to complete a study on the potential health and economic impacts of overflight noise.  The FAA recently awarded a $1.7 million grant to university members from the FAA’s Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels and the Environment in order to carry out the study.  The Act also required the FAA to designate a regional ombudsman for each of the FAA’s regions to act as a liaison with the public on issues of noise, pollution, and safety.  The FAA elected to designate our community engagement officers as the regional ombudsman.  They are in the process of being on-boarded and trained.  The FAA will announce the individuals as soon as training is completed, which we anticipate will be in October of this year.  The FAA is constantly working to foster better communication between the Agency and affected communities.

• Commercial Space.  The commercial space transportation industry in the United States is innovative, dynamic, and growing.  In Fiscal Year 2018, there were 32 launches and 3 reentries of commercial space vehicles for a total of 35 licensed activities—a record.  For Fiscal Year 2019, we had 32 licensed and permitted operations.  We are forecasting 35 to 54 licensed or permitted operations in Fiscal Year 2020, and between 33 and 56 licensed or permitted operations in Fiscal Year 2021.  In anticipation of this expected growth, the FAA has intensified its efforts to fulfill its commercial space transportation mission, maintaining the highest level of safety without stifling industry expansion and innovation.  Congress has recognized the importance of this growing industry and the 2018 Act called for the FAA to stand up an Office of Spaceports within the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation.  That Office of Spaceports is up and running and we are actively working with Spaceport licensees and stakeholders.  Additionally, although not mandated in the 2018 Act, the FAA is engaged in an important rulemaking to streamline existing launch/reentry regulations to create an environment that promotes economic growth, minimizes uncertainty, protects safety, fosters security, aligns with foreign policy interests, and encourages American leadership in space commerce.[17]The commercial space transportation market is changing rapidly and our regulatory process needs to keep up in order to protect public safety while enabling U.S. industry to innovate. We are currently analyzing industry comments to determine the best path forward to complete the rule.[A3] 

• Cyber Testbed.  Cybersecurity has become a significant component of nearly every modern aviation technological development.  The 2018 Act required the FAA to develop a cyber testbed for research, development, evaluation, and validation of air traffic control modernization technologies to ensure that they are compliant with FAA data security regulations before they become operational.  The FAA completed this action and the Cybersecurity Test Facility (CyTF) is now operational at the William J. Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.  The CyTF provides the FAA with an adaptable cybersecurity test environment to evaluate technologies prior to their integration into the National Airspace environment.  The facility is also used for the cybersecurity training of the FAA workforce.  Also, as part of an additional cybersecurity requirement under the Act, the FAA is updating its overall Strategic Cybersecurity Plan.  The Agency’s Cybersecurity Steering Committee has completed the yearly update, and we expect to publish the FAA’s 2020 - 2025 cybersecurity strategy in the coming weeks.

Conclusion

Chairman Larsen, I want to assure you, and each member of the Subcommittee, that the FAA is fully committed to carrying out the provisions of the 2018 Act as quickly as possible.  The FAA takes the congressional direction we receive very seriously and our employees work hard to achieve the mandated goals and directives.  We have to ensure, however, that the substance behind each requirement is not sacrificed in a rush to declare completion.  We are confident that we are making substantial and meaningful progress and we fully intend to keep Congress apprised of that progress on a regular basis.  This concludes my statement and I will be glad to answer your questions.   

###