Voluntary Safety Programs
Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP)
The objective of the ASAP is to encourage air carrier and repair station employees to voluntarily report safety information that may be critical to identifying potential precursors to accidents. Under ASAP, safety issues are resolved through corrective action rather than through punishment or discipline. An ASAP is based on a safety partnership that includes FAA and the certificate holder, and usually includes a third party, such as the employee's labor organization.
Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS)
ASRS collects safety reports from the entire aviation industry, analyzes them for trends and provides those trends and reports to the industry through (1) direct contact with organizations like FAA, NTSB, and Boeing, (2) alerts, newsletters and magazines, (3) research services, and (4) a public website. This is a national program funded by FAA and managed by NASA.
Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA)
FOQA collects and analyzes digital flight data generated during normal line operations. FOQA programs provide greater insight into the total flight operations environment. FOQA data is unique because it can provide objective information that is not available through other methods. The information and insights provided by FOQA can improve safety by significantly enhancing training effectiveness, operational procedures, maintenance and engineering procedures, and air traffic control procedures.
- 8900.1, Flight Standards Information Management System (FSIMS), Vol. 11, Chap.2, Sec. 2, Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) (PDF)
- FOQA Participants (PDF)
Internal Evaluation Program (IEP)
The IEP encourages airlines to establish and maintain self-auditing programs to regularly monitor the safety of their organizations. These programs are funded and managed by the airline, with no requirement to share any non-regulatory information with FAA. When the air carrier uncovers safety issues that represent violations of Federal Aviation Regulations, these may be submitted to FAA under the Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP) and will receive the regulatory incentives associated with that program.
Line Operational Safety Audit (LOSA)
The LOSA encourages airlines to conduct detailed inspections of cockpit operations using the data collection protocols provided by FAA, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), or by the LOSA Collaborative. LOSA is confined to jump-seat observations of cockpit operations and FAA recommends one every three years. There is no requirement to share LOSA data with the regulator, although this is routine practice.
Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP)
The Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program provides positive incentives for a certificate holder, an indirect air carrier, a foreign air carrier, or a production approval holder (PAM) operating under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) to voluntarily identify, report, and correct their own instances of regulatory noncompliance.
The FAA believes that aviation safety is well served by providing incentives for certificate holders to correct their own instances of noncompliance and to invest more resources in efforts to preclude their recurrence. The FAA's policy of forgoing civil penalty actions when a certificate holder meets the requirements of this program, is designed to encourage compliance FAA's regulations, foster safe operating practices, and promote the development of internal evaluation programs.
Last updated: Monday, August 26, 2024