FAA Office of Aerospace Medicine 
Civil Aerospace Medical Institute 

Report No: DOT/FAA/AM-23/39

Title and Subtitle: Safety Culture Assessment by FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors

Report Date: December 2023

Authors: Worthington, K. K., Gay, R., Hu, P. T.,Choi, I., Schroeder, D. J.

Abstract: The recent Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report identified concerns regarding the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) safety oversight of an air carrier, including a lack of guidance for how inspectors should evaluate and oversee safety culture (OIG, 2020). To help address these concerns, FAA conducted a three-phase program of research designed to support assessment of safety culture by the FAA’s Aviation Safety Inspector (ASI) workforce. In Phase 1, researchers reviewed current practices, identified opportunities for improving safety culture oversight, and provided recommendations for safety culture assessment. In Phase 2, researchers developed and tested a new safety culture assessment approach that is poised for future integration into the Safety Assurance System (SAS). Notably, Response Details for all seven Safety Attributes in SAS were revised and expanded to help better-document potential safety culture concerns that may arise during ASI surveillance. In Phase 3, researchers aligned the Proposed Response Details to help ensure that certificate holders (CHs) would be assessed against the same standard used in its other safety culture efforts. In particular, the Proposed Response Details were mapped to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Harmonized Safety Culture Model (IAEA, 2020).

Key Words: safety culture, culture assessment, Data Collection Tool, Response Details, Aviation Safety Inspector, Safety Assurance System

No. of Pages: 72