Remarks as Prepared for Delivery
It’s always a pleasure to address ALPA, and I want to commend you for hosting a symposium on such an important topic.
Freight movement is essential to the health of the American economy, and aviation plays an essential role. U.S. airlines moved more than 23 million tons of freight around the world last year.
Today’s conference is tackling a number of pressing issues for the air cargo industry – from mitigating operational risks and human performance factors, to assessing infrastructure needs and safely transporting hazardous materials.
These are issues we obviously spend a lot of time thinking about at the Federal Aviation Administration as well. So today, I’d like to update you on some of the work we’re doing, and then I’ll be happy to answer a few questions.
First, I’d like to provide a brief update on NextGen.
As you know, NextGen is using innovative technologies and procedures to make flying safer, greener, and more efficient.
The air cargo industry has always been an important partner to the FAA as we’ve introduced NextGen capabilities, which makes sense –in businesses like yours, minutes count when customers are relying on your service.
I’m happy to report that the FAA has made tremendous progress in building the infrastructure that supports NextGen this year. NextGen is now delivering measurable benefits to consumers and aviation stakeholders across the country.
En Route Automation Modernization, or ERAM, is now installed and operational at all 20 of our planned en route control centers. ERAM is a faster computer platform that replaces our legacy system, which had its roots in the 1960s. It gives us a much bigger, richer picture of our nation’s air traffic –and allows controllers to better manage flights from gate to gate.
ERAM is also extremely reliable. It has been available more than 99.99 percent of the time since we completed the nationwide installation. On the very rare occasion equipment is unexpectedly out of service, we're able to quickly respond using backup systems and procedures.
The benefits of ERAM can’t be understated – particularly since it enables many other critical NextGen systems. ERAM links seamlessly with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B, to provide more accurate, satellite-based aircraft positions.
Last year, we finished the coast-to-coast installation of ADS-B, and ADS-B is now integrated at all of our en route centers.
ADS-B provides real safety benefits for pilots. It allows air traffic controllers to pinpoint aircraft with far greater accuracy – which is especially important in areas where radar coverage is limited. ADS-B also provides free weather and traffic updates that help pilots make better-informed decisions in the cockpit.
The full benefits of ADS-B require 100 percent equipage for aircraft flying in the designated airspace, and the FAA is committed to working with our stakeholders to ensure all aircraft are equipped with ADS-B out the January 1, 2020 deadline. Since our Call to Action last year, the number of equipped aircraft has more than doubled. Thanks to falling equipment costs, we expect to see equipage rates continue to rise.
Data Communications is another technology the FAA is using to modernize our airspace and make every phase of flight more efficient. It gives air traffic controllers and pilots the ability to transmit flight plans and other essential messages more efficiently than with today’s voice communications capabilities.
This switch from voice to text increases safety by reducing the chance of a read-back error while relaying information. It also allows controllers to send text instructions to several aircraft at once – a much more accurate and efficient process than having a number of serial conversations.
It’s not hard to see the benefits of this technology and in many aspects it sells itself. Carriers stay on schedule, planes get into the air and to their destinations more quickly, and packages get delivered on time.
In September, we started using Data Comm at three key site towers: Salt Lake City, and the major airports located in Houston. These sites are in addition to the highly successful trials we rolled out in Newark and Memphis. These trials wouldn’t have been possible without our partners in the cargo industry, including UPS and FedEx, and we are grateful for their support because we learned a lot pre-departure capabilities to save time and learn whether the system was doing what it was designed to do.
In 2016, we’re aiming to build on this momentum with an accelerated schedule that will deliver Data Comm services to more than 50 additional air traffic control towers.
Data Comm is just one example of the FAA’s larger shift toward reducing risk in our national aviation system.
Aviation has long been on the forefront of this kind of thinking in transportation – how we identify and mitigate risk –it’s unquestionably the future of our industry.
The FAA is embedding risk-based decision-making into every level of our business. When I became Administrator, I made this one of our top priorities. Risk management is critical to our mission of providing the safest and the most efficient aerospace system in the world.
Twenty years ago, we and the industry operated under the philosophy that 100 percent compliance with safety regulations equaled 100 percent safety. What we all realized, however, this didn’t go far enough. Not all safety issues are regulated, and several incidents in the 1990s led us as in industry to rethink this approach.
We knew that, as aviation became safer, we’d have less accident data to guide our efforts. We needed to focus in a forward thinking way of identifying areas of risk – and mitigating them before an incident occurred.
Thanks to our collaboration with airlines, manufacturers, labor, and others under the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, we reduced the risk of fatal commercial accidents by 83 percent between 1998 and 2008 –a stunning success – and since then we’ve continued to build on that accomplishment.
An important factor contributing to our ongoing improvement is the widespread adoption of Safety Management Systems.
The FAA finalized a rule this year requiring most U.S. commercial carriers to have Safety Management Systems in place by 2018. What this does is codifies the risk-based decision-making process that we’ve developed cooperatively with industry over the last decade-and-a half. It also puts us in line with internationally recognized safety best practices to ensure the highest levels of safety.
Additionally, this rule strengthens the safety partnership between industry and the FAA. We wanted to formalize what many carriers are already doing voluntarily basis, and bring those who aren’t already involved on board.
When I talk about this evolution to using Safety Management Systems, what I want to emphasize is: this isn’t about the FAA stepping back from its regulatory role. It’s about creating a stronger, voluntary safety culture across the industry that will help us get us collectively to the next level of safety.
This is particularly important for cargo carriers, which have to contend with unique risks that aren’t as prevalent in passenger operations. Cargo operators are often flying at night, and may be transporting hazardous materials.
These types of operations require greater risk mitigations that sometimes go above and beyond what may be required in regulation.
For example, ALPA has joined the FAA in encouraging cargo operators to voluntarily adopt our Part 117 regulations for flight and duty rules. We hope to see carriers voluntarily put these standards in place to ensure pilots are well-rested for flight.
Partnership between government and industry is also important as we look to tackle emerging safety risks, like the transportation of lithium batteries.
We know what an incredibly complicated issue this is. Battery manufacturers around the world have products they need to get to market. It’s our job to work together and find ways to make sure that happens safely.
At the FAA, our actions are always grounded in data. Our Technical Center, under the leadership of Gus Sarkos, has done extensive research and testing that’s demonstrated the dangers associated with transporting lithium batteries.
Based on these findings, we recently recommended that ICAO adopt international standards that would ban the shipment of lithium ion batteries as cargo on passenger airliners until safe transport conditions can be developed and implemented.
While we were unable to come to an agreement on a ban in this round of talks, we continue to look for ways to mitigate the risks of battery fires in both passenger and cargo operations.
The ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel was able to reach consensus on implementing several key measures that will improve safety, including shipping batteries with a reduced state of charge. We’re very committed to working with our global partners to set transport standards that could reduce the risk of fires, such as improving packaging standards for air transportation. We also support better hazard communication so that pilots know what they’re carrying on board and can make better decisions in case of an incident.
As part of this overall shift to risk-based decision-making, our approach to compliance is evolving as well.
I recently announced the FAA’s new Compliance Philosophy, which cements what much of the agency has been doing for quite some time.
The goal is to find problems before they result in an incident, use the most appropriate tools to fix those problems, and monitor the situation to ensure they stay fixed.
This approach is based on an open and transparent exchange of information and data between the FAA and industry. We want to have safe operators, not operators who make an inadvertent mistake and choose to hide it because they're afraid of some retaliation.
If there is a failing, whether human or mechanical, we want to know about it, learn from it, and we need to make the changes necessary to prevent it from happening again.
This doesn't mean we’re going to go easy on compliance with important safety standards, or ignore minor issues, or let anyone believe they have a free pass. We'll have to continue to have zero tolerance for intentionally reckless behavior, repeat failures, or deviation from regulatory standards. We will vigorously pursue enforcement action in these circumstances and others as required by law.
In cases where we find flawed procedures, simple mistakes, a lack of understanding, or diminished skills, we will use tools like training or documented improvements to attain compliance.
There’s an important difference between accountability –which accepts responsibility and looks forward – and blame, which focuses on punishment for what’s already happened. The Compliance Philosophy is about accountability. It recognizes that all aviation stakeholders have a vested interest in the safety of our system.
I’d also like to briefly update you today on the actions the FAA is taking in one of the fastest changing areas of the aviation industry: unmanned aircraft.
The popularity of unmanned aircraft has increased dramatically in recent years. With this popularity has come, for all of us, growing concerns about the safe operations of these aircraft in our nation’s airspace.
In recent months, we’ve seen an increase in reports of unmanned aircraft coming too close to manned aircraft and airports. We've all read the stories about how they interfered with wildfire fighting in California, and one crashed into a stadium during a U.S. Open tennis match.
These incidents make it clear we must work harder to make sure a strong culture of safety and responsibility exists. There’s no single solution to how we do this. The integration of unmanned aircraft is multi-faceted, and our approach must be as nimble as the technology is itself.
One tool we’re using is registration. Transportation Secretary Foxx and I recently announced that the FAA is going to require operators to register their unmanned aircraft. The details are being worked out by a task force of government and industry stakeholders who will deliver their recommendations to us by November 20th.
Registration will give us an opportunity to educate operators about airspace rules so they can use their unmanned aircraft and use it safely. It will also help us more easily identify and take enforcement actions against people who don’t obey the rules or choose not to operate safely.
Registration is an important step forward, but it's not the whole solution. Education also plays an extremely important role. The FAA, with its government and industry partners, continues to conduct outreach through the Know Before You Fly and No Drone Zone campaigns, making users aware of where they can and cannot fly.
For those who don’t follow the rules, we need to continue our enforcement efforts.
Last month, the FAA proposed a $1.9 million civil penalty against a company that knowingly conducted dozens of unauthorized flights over Chicago and New York despite warnings that this was not permitted.
This sends a clear message to others who might pose a safety risk: Operate within the law or we will take action.
As registration, education, and enforcement focus on enhancing safety around commercial and recreational use of unmanned aircraft, we’re also working to put in place a regulatory framework that keeps pace with commercial uses.
Earlier this year, we proposed a rule that would allow small unmanned aircraft operations we know to be safe, and we plan to finalize it by late spring.
While that work is ongoing, we’re using our authority to accommodate requests for commercial operations. To date, we’ve approved more than 2,200 exemptions that allow unmanned aircraft to be used for a variety of purposes, from inspecting aging infrastructure to monitoring crops and wildlife.
Finally, I want to address a topic on everyone’s mind and that's reauthorization of the FAA.
As you all know, Congress passed a six-month extension of the FAA’s authority last month. This buys Congress some time to enact a longer-term bill.
Discussions are likely to continue about the structure of the FAA and our air traffic operations. We’re open to having those conversations, but we must ensure that any potential changes provide long-term, stable funding for our air traffic operations and help us to maintain the safest airspace system in the world.
I am hopeful we will avoid returning to the days before our 2012 reauthorization, when we had 23 short-term extensions. We need a long-term bill that will provide stable, reliable funding for the critical projects we’re supporting and help us maintain America’s role as a global aviation leader.
We are going to continue to push for a long-term reauthorization bill, and we hope you will join us.
Before I conclude my remarks, let me leave you with this.
Today's symposium is covering a lot of different topics. But one idea is at the heart of all of them: how do we ensure the highest levels of safety.
I believe there’s never going to be a day when our aviation system is safe “enough.” There’s always more we can do. In fact, the Commercial Aviation Safety Team has set another ambitious goal –to further reduce the risk of fatal accidents by an additional 50 percent by 2025.
If we’re going to accomplish this goal, government and industry must continue to work together.
That’s the value of meetings like this one. It gives the opportunity to come together so we can have spirited debates and find new and better ways to support the safest aviation system in the world.
Thank you for inviting me to be here today. I’m happy to take some of your questions.