Knowing the Right Questions

Remarks As Prepared For Delivery

Thanks, David.  I’m glad to be here.  Around 70 years ago, the great American writer James Thurber was just making his mark in the New Yorker magazine.  He was known for writing short stories and drawing cartoons.  He said something that really has passed the test of time: “It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.”

I think he was onto something.  There’s a satisfaction that comes from the process of inquiry.  Certainly, the scholars in the room know this very well.     

If the world had all of the answers, then we would have nothing to strive for.  And if we kid ourselves into thinking we have all the answers, then we’re just being complacent—something we can’t afford in aviation. 

For nearly 20 years, NEXTOR universities have helped us answer key research questions in aviation.  It started out as a group of four universities and now it’s doubled to eight. 

Today, scholars will present work on aviation safety, ADS-B, performance modeling and analysis, and traffic flow management.  

NEXTOR research brings a level of objectivity and proof that helps guide the FAA’s investment decisions and strategic efforts.  This work is especially important as we work on four strategic initiatives that require us to rely on data more than ever before to target and prioritize our efforts.    

Let me briefly touch on these initiatives.

We’re making aviation safer and smarter by developing a risk-based decision making system.  We collect data, identify areas that pose higher risk, and then direct resources to those areas.   

We’re delivering benefits to the aviation community through technology and infrastructure.

We’re committed to enhancing our global leadership by using data to determine where we should focus our international efforts.

And we’re recruiting and developing a highly-skilled workforce to meet the demands of the future.

In developing these four initiatives, we recognized that aviation is becoming increasingly complex and globalized.  We have to be more nimble in addressing challenges while still meeting the industry’s rapidly changing needs in a budget-constrained environment.

This is where NEXTOR comes in.  I know we can lean on you to help us achieve these objectives.     

I’m confident of this because NEXTOR has a great track record.    

You provided us with safety analysis that demonstrated the need for the ASDE-X program—which has helped ensure runway safety at our busiest airports.  We’re now building off this deployment to provide surface visualization tools at some terminal approach facilities so controllers can get a better picture of what’s happening on the surface of ASDE-X equipped airports. This is helping them use airspace more efficiently.

NEXTOR provided important operational research for ADS-B, dating back to our early efforts with the Capstone program in Alaska.  These early studies gave us insight into the benefits of providing pilots with traffic and weather data in the cockpit. We are now well on our way toward meeting our goal of completing the transition to ADS-B by 2020.

NEXTOR conducts the Total Delay Impact study – a product that quantifies the total cost of delays in the airspace system for stakeholders and society in general.  The information from this study has been cited widely in other industry papers, as well as in congressional testimony.

In addition, NEXTOR is continuing its research on Wake Vortices.  These studies have the potential to expand capacity by helping us safely reduce wake separation standards around the country.

And lastly, let me note that NEXTOR recently completed a report that details how better predicting flight time could reduce airline operating costs.  They’ll be presenting this research today.

These are just a few examples of NEXTOR’s contributions.  Their efforts are helping us make aviation more efficient and greener, while still ensuring safety. 

We can all take pride in past accomplishments.  But as Thurber suggested, there’s a danger in thinking we have all of the answers. With progress comes a new set of questions. 

So what do we research next?

We can certainly benefit from continuing research to support our NextGen activities, particularly the priority areas we’ve identified for the near term.  These include: expanding the use of performance-based navigation, improving surface operations, making multiple runway operations more efficient, and implementing data communications. 

Perhaps NEXTOR can help us capture and better understand the benefits of NextGen.  In doing so, you can help us persuade airspace users about the value of investing in NextGen avionics.  And perhaps NEXTOR can help us see how the innovations we’re implementing today can be enhanced to provide even more benefits tomorrow. 

Earlier this year, the FAA proposed rules permitting the use of small unmanned aircraft—those that weigh less than 55 pounds—for non-recreational purposes.  The proposed rule would allow these aircraft to operate during daylight, as long as the operator maintains visual contact and meets a few other requirements.   

The FAA received more than 4,000 public comments on the proposal, and we’re working to address them before finalizing the rule. This, however, takes time—so we’re actively looking for other ways to expand the use of unmanned aircraft in the meantime. 

We’re receiving valuable information from our six national test sites, including our Virginia Tech test site—a NEXTOR university.  We’re also accommodating requests for some commercial operations.  And this month, we announced two additional steps – the Pathfinder program and UAS Center of Excellence (CoE).

With the Pathfinder program, we’re partnering with three leading U.S. companies—CNN, BNSF and PrecisionHawk—all who committed extensive resources to perform research that will help us determine if and how we can safely expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States. 

The CoE is a world-class, cost-sharing, public-private partnership between 15 of the nation’s leading unmanned aircraft and aviation universities that have already proven their commitment to this research.  The CoE will focus on research, education and training in areas critical to safely and successfully integrating these aircraft into the nation’s airspace.

We’re also working to safely integrate the growing commercial space industry.  We’re looking to reduce the amount of airspace that must be blocked to support the launch and reentry of space vehicles.  We’re also studying how to more efficiently release that airspace to reduce delays incurred by traditional airspace users that are otherwise rerouted miles out of their way.

Perhaps NEXTOR research can help us safely and efficiently address these issues. 

Let me close by saying that aviation has always moved forward because of American zeal and ingenuity.  All of that begins, as Thurber said, by asking the right questions: We’ve driven down safety risk to an exceedingly low level.  How can we drive it down even further?

We’re delivering benefits through NextGen.  How can we build on this progress and deliver even greater benefits?

The United States is a leader in global aviation.  How can we enhance our leadership role even more?

As we continue to answer these questions, others will pop up.  That’s just what we need.  Through this process, we’ll positively shape the future of aviation.

Data Communications at Newark Liberty International Airport

Thank you, Carmine [Gallo, FAA Regional Administrator].  Hello, everyone.  Thank you for joining us.

Memorial Day weekend is around the corner, and families across the country are getting ready for vacation.  With summer travel comes summer weather – including thunderstorms that can disrupt and delay flight plans.  While we can’t change the weather, the FAA is working to move air traffic more efficiently around it. 

We’re here at Newark Liberty International Airport today to highlight a NextGen technology that is delivering big benefits in the busy New York airspace – particularly in bad weather.  It has to do with how we clear flights for takeoff.  Let me explain.

Before a plane can depart, the air traffic control tower has to send the pilot a clearance on his or her filed flight plan.  The tower sometimes has to amend these plans, for a variety of reasons – like re-routing around congestion, or issuing a new cruising altitude to avoid bad weather. 

Communicating these amendments has traditionally been a time-consuming process.  The air traffic controller has to call the cockpit and verbally relay new instructions, which the pilot has to confirm and manually enter into the aircraft computer system.

It’s a bit like calling your friend for directions to his house and writing down what he tells you.  There’s a lot of back and forth – making sure you have the street names right, and that you know which way to turn at intersections.  Suddenly, 15 minutes have gone by, and you still haven’t left the house.

With Data Communications, the NextGen technology we’re demonstrating today, you don’t have to call your friend for directions.  His address is pre-programmed into your car’s GPS system – and all you have to do is press “GO.”

Data Comm is being used here at Newark to give air traffic controllers and pilots the ability to transmit flight plans and other essential messages with the touch of a button instead of multiple verbal communications. 

This switch from voice to text doesn’t just speed things up.  It also increases safety – reducing the chance of a read-back error while relaying information. 

Additionally, it allows controllers to send text instructions to several aircraft at once – a much more accurate and efficient process than having numerous conversations.

Data Comm also cuts down on travel delays.  Let me give you an example.

Two planes are in line for takeoff when an incoming storm requires air traffic controllers to re-route them.  The plane using voice communications has to get out of line so the pilot can manually input the new instructions – a process that can take up to 15 minutes.  It then has to get in the back of the takeoff line again – ultimately putting the flight 30 minutes behind schedule.

The plane using Data Comm, on the other hand, has its new flight plan sent via text directly to the cockpit.  The pilot accepts the updated instructions with the push of a button.  The plane keeps its spot in the takeoff line and departs on time.

It’s not hard to see the benefits of this technology.  Airlines stay on schedule, packages get delivered on time, and passengers get off the tarmac, into the air, and to their destinations more quickly.

This is particularly important here at Newark International.  On any given day, a third of all U.S. flights connect with New York airports.  Making departures more efficient here can improve air travel nationwide.

In addition to Newark, Data Comm is currently being used at Memphis International Airport, where it’s delivering great results.  Later this summer, it will expand to Houston and Salt Lake City.  In 2016, we’re aiming to have Data Comm in more than 50 air traffic control towers – three years ahead of schedule.

Data Comm is the latest tool the FAA is using to modernize our national airspace system and make every phase of flight more efficient.

Earlier this spring, we finished upgrading our air traffic control computer systems to ERAM, or En Route Automation Modernization.  This was one of the largest technology change-overs in the history of the FAA.  It lets us see a much bigger and richer picture of our nation’s air traffic – and enables other important NextGen technologies like Data Communications.

The implementation of Data Comm here at Newark has been a big success – and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of our partners.  I’d like to invite them to share a few words about their experiences.

• Thomas Bosco, the Director of the Aviation Department for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, will discuss how Data Comm is improving performance here at one of the New York metro region’s major transportation hubs.
• Captain Chris Williams, Director of Operations for UPS, will discuss how important Data Comm is in a business where minutes matter.
• Paul Rinaldi, President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, will talk about how Data Comm is improving processes for air traffic controllers.
• Mike Perrone, National President of the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, will discuss the importance of the aviation workforce in integrating Data Comm into our airspace.
• Jim Compton, Vice Chairman and Chief Revenue Officer from United Airlines, is going to talk about the benefits Data Comm is providing for air travelers.
• Paul Cassel, Senior Vice President of Flight Operations for FedEx Express, will talk about how Data Comm is helping the company meet customer expectations and deliver packages on time.

Before the Senate Commerce Committee concerning FAA Reauthorization: Air Traffic Control Modernization and Reform

As prepared for delivery

Chairman Thune, Ranking Member Nelson and Members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me to speak today about the reauthorization of the FAA.

The upcoming FAA reauthorization provides us with the opportunity to propel our system to the next level of safety and foster the kind of innovative climate that has long been the hallmark of our proud aviation heritage.

This reauthorization has provided a forum for many in industry and government to openly discuss possible changes to the governance structure of the FAA to help us create the aviation system that will sustain our nation’s economic growth well into the future. We are open to having this discussion. But we must all agree on the most important problems reauthorization should fix. In our view those are budget instability and the lack of flexibility to execute our priorities. These challenges exist for the entire agency – not just for the air traffic control and NextGen organizations, as some have suggested.

In addition to finding agreement on the problem we’re trying to solve, we should agree on finding ways to avoid unintended consequences. Our ability to deploy NextGen technologies and capabilities hinges on interdependencies and relationships within the agency. NextGen is more than installing technology in our air traffic facilities and on aircraft – it involves the close participation of our safety organization to ensure that the technology is safe and that controllers and pilots know how to use it safely. We believe that any decision about governance must take into account these issues so that we may best serve our nation and the flying public.

Some have argued for change saying the FAA has not delivered on air traffic modernization. I would argue that the FAA has already made major progress in modernizing our airspace system through NextGen. We completed installation of a more powerful technology platform with our new high altitude air traffic control system – known as ERAM. This system will accommodate the applications of NextGen and allow controllers to handle the expected increase in air traffic more efficiently. And last year we finished the coast-to-coast installation of the ADS-B network that will enable satellite-based air traffic control.

On a parallel track, through our collaboration with industry, we identified key priorities in implementing NextGen air traffic procedures. We now have more satellite-based procedures in our skies than radar-based procedures. We have created new NextGen routes above some of our busiest metropolitan areas, saving millions of dollars in fuel, decreasing carbon emissions and cutting down on delays in each city.

In addition to these improvements, we have set clear priorities on delivering more benefits in the next three years. These range from improved separation standards for heavy aircraft; better coordination of traffic on the airport surface; and streamlined departure clearances using data communications.

NextGen has already yielded $1.6 billion in benefits to airlines and the traveling public. In the next 15 years the changes we have already made will produce $11.4 billion in benefits.

We recognize it is not enough to rely on projected benefits. That is why we go back and study the benefits that certain improvements have provided to users. For example, in Atlanta, we safely reduced wake separation standards to improve the efficiency of the airport. Because of this change, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport has increased the number of planes that can land by up to 5 percent, which translates into about five more planes per hour. Delta Air Lines is also saving up to two minutes of taxi time per flight. These improvements are saving Delta between $13 million to $18 million in operating costs annually.

We are aware of the criticisms of the FAA’s implementation of NextGen, and I would like to explain our approach. There are different theories about how to deploy technology in a complex operating environment. Some take the position that you should start from a wide ranging vision and work back from there on developing a range of scenarios. Others suggest mapping out the entire picture and only proceeding when you are sure of the end game. Others say to take a more pragmatic approach, and this is the path the FAA has chosen – based on close consultation with industry. This approach, used by the Office of Management and Budget, closely matches investments with tangible benefits to airlines and passengers. We acknowledge that it requires upfront investment, and we are careful not to strand programs in the middle of implementation.

When dealing with wide-spread change in a dynamic airspace system there is no margin of error. This system must transport 750 million passengers every year with the highest level of safety. Any technology we implement must be reliable and safe from the outset. To achieve this high standard, we must remain nimble and have flexibility.

Our aviation system is a valuable asset for the American public. We should use the upcoming reauthorization to provide the FAA with the tools necessary to meet the demands of the future and minimize disruption to the progress we’ve already made with NextGen and our work to integrate new users into our airspace system.

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today. I am happy to take any questions you may have.

40 Years of Progress

As Prepared for Delivery

Thanks Chip. I'm glad to be here.

• I want to congratulate SkyWest for being named by Forbes as one of “America’s Best Employers.”
• I also want to thank you for serving on the FAA’s NextGen Advisory Committee and Equip 2020.  You’re bringing the perspective of the regional carriers to this important work. 
• I’m glad to be here as RAA celebrates its 40^th anniversary.

Today, I’d like to talk about:

• The last 40 years
• How industry has changed
• How safety has changed
• I’d like to talk about NextGen
• Then I’ll take questions.

Deregulation / Mergers / 9-11

• RAA’s existence as an organization traces the path of the industry since deregulation.
• It’s been a tumultuous 40 years.
• We’ve seen the advent of the hub-and-spoke system – of which regionals are such an important part.
  - Regional carriers now make up more than 50 percent of all airline flights.
  - Your service is essential – especially to small communities.
• Since deregulation we’ve seen the invention – and rapid growth – of the low-cost airline, which have led to a dramatic growth in air travel, but also significant disruption in the industry.
• We’ve seen mergers, failures, reorganizations in bankruptcy, more mergers.
• For employees, it’s been 40 years of turmoil.
  - I started at TWA, went through 1.5 bankruptcies.
  - Then I joined United Airlines at the height of profitability – and the beginning of the ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan) – an innovative new ownership structure ….until it too filed Chapter 11 after 9/11.
• We’ve seen hubs come and go – St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Cleveland – all a challenge for an agency that funds much of that airport construction. 

Safety Advancements

• But the last four decades have also seen extraordinary safety advancements thanks to the FAA and industry working together.
• After a series of accidents in the 1990’s, we drovedown commercial fatal accident risk by 83% between 1998-2008, largely through CAST (the Commercial Aviation Safety Team).
• When you hear numbers like that, it’s hard to get your head around it. 
• But to say it more simply – last year there were no fatalities.  The year before, there were no fatalities.  During this time, 1.4 billion passengers flew in the United States.
• In fact, there hasn’t been a fatal accident on a U.S. commercial passenger carrier in over six years now. 

New Safety Approach

• The success has also meant we’ve had to change the way we mitigate safety risk.
• The old system was forensic – investigate accidents, find what went wrong, change procedures.
• The new system is proactive – we have developed a risk-based decision making approach.
  - We collect safety data.
  - We analyze the data to determine high risk areas.
  - Then we direct resources toward mitigating the identified risk.
• Our data comes from many sources – air traffic controllers, airway technicians, the airlines, commercial pilots, GA pilots, mechanics, dispatchers and other sources.
• Through the FAA’s ASIAS program, we’ve collected more than 160,000 voluntary safety reports by commercial airline pilots, including pilots that fly for 19 RAA members.  We’d like to see all 29 RAA members submit safety reports as part of this process.
• Your data has supported our ability to identify the underlying contributing factors that can give rise to accidents.  For example:
• We’re learning more about the factors that contribute to runway excursions, and also loss of control in flight due to a loss of airplane state awareness. 
• To mitigate these factors, the FAA and industry have collectively developed several safety enhancements including in the areas of flight crew training, aircraft equipment, and aviation operational procedures.     
• We can’t make these improvements without your data.
• I ask you to continue to submit your data – and encourage your pilots, dispatchers, maintenance crews and cabin crews to submit reports.  Those of you who don’t participate in ASIAS, I encourage you to do so.
• Through the Air Carrier Training ARC – we’re looking at voluntary initiatives to improve training.  The ARC has recommended ways to improve pilot knowledge and skills to manage the flight path of the airplane.  This work is also helping us to address the risk of pilot skill atrophy as the reliance on flight deck automation grows.

Lessons from Colgan: 1500 hour rule

• But even as we take a proactive approach, we’re still applying lessons from accidents.
• As I mentioned, the last accident by a U.S. passenger carrier in the U.S. was over six years ago – that was of course Colgan Air in Buffalo in 2009.
• Because it was a regional carrier it brought a bright spotlight on your segment of the industry.
• Following that accident, Congress enacted the Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 to enhance flight safety. 
• One provision in the law requires that all first officers have an Airline Transport Pilot certificate, or ATP. 
• It takes 1,500 flight hours to obtain an ATP. 
• Let me be clear – The FAA did not enact this rule.  We simply codified what Congress put into law.  This was not the normal rule making process. 
• The FAA was given authority to make some adjustments to the law, and we issued a rule giving pilots credit for structured academic and military training, so they can meet the standard with fewer than 1,500 hours.   
• I know this is an important issue for RAA, and the FAA is open to discussing ways to strengthen the pilot pipeline, but this will require cooperation from across the industry.
• I mentioned the ACT ARC earlier – they have a working group focused on ways to develop alternative education, training and experience pathways to qualify for an ATP certificate.  We look forward to their recommendations.  

Pilot Fatigue

• In response to another Congressional direction, the FAA also enacted a rule to address pilot fatigue.
• We used fatigue studies to help us update the flight and duty rules in a way that helps ensure a flight crew member arrives at work rested and ready to fly.
• In this regard, I want to note the work of RAA, along with Air Wisconsin and Washington State University, on completing a flight simulator study on pilot fatigue in multi-segment operations. 
  - The study compared the alertness of pilots completing duty days with multiple take-offs and landings versus duty days of equal duration with a single takeoff and landing. 
  - This research will further our understanding of the science of fatigue in flight operations. 

Full Stall Training/Simulators

• The Colgan accident, along with other accidents and incidents, also highlighted that pilots should have more experience in recognizing the cues of an actual stall, and to reinforce their ability to recover from that stall. 
• New rules require that air carriers implement training programs by 2018 to address the recognition, prevention, and recovery from full stalls. 
• To complement this requirement, we’re looking at what rule changes should be made with regard to flight simulators.  Current rules for simulators required that pilots be trained and evaluated up to the stall warning, but not up to the full stall.  So we’re proposing improvements to simulator models so they can be used to train pilots to recover from a full stall.   
• These changes will enable us to mitigate many of the factors that contributed to loss of control accidents.       

NextGen progress

• Safety is always our first priority, but as Deputy Administrator, one of my statutory roles is to serve as the agency’s Chief NextGen Officer.
• I’m proud to say that we’ve made significant progress in the last year.  We finalized the deployment of automation upgrades at 20 high altitude air traffic control centers across the continental United States.   
  - With ERAM in place, we’re able to process more air traffic data, more efficiently, from more sensors. 
  - En route controllers using ERAM can now track 1,900 aircraft at a time, instead of the previous 1,100. 
  - And ERAM provides all 20 control centers with the same access to all flight plans filed in the system.  Transitions between sectors and centers will be automatic, even when planes divert from their planned course.  All of this means increased capacity and improved efficiency for the U.S. airspace system. 
• We’re also in full production mode with similar automation upgrades in our terminal air traffic control facilities – TRACONs.
• These upgrades set us up to deliver greater NextGen benefits including through ADS-B – the core technology that moves us from a radar-based system to a satellite-based system.  This technology enables more efficient separation of aircraft and provides coverage where radar is lacking, like in the mountains and over water.  Last year, we completed the installation of 634 ground transceivers that make up the infrastructure for ADS-B – another major milestone. 
• Completing this foundation will enable us to deliver more advanced NextGen capabilities to users of the system.
• We’re working to deliver benefits in four priority areas in the next 1-3 years.  These four areas are:
  - Increasing the availability and use of Performance Based Navigation
  - Improving surface operations
  - Implementing Data Communications, and 
  - Making multiple runway operations more efficient.
• We agreed on these priorities in collaboration with the aviation industry through our NextGen Advisory Committee, or NAC, as we call it.
• We believe, and industry agrees, that progress in these areas can benefit all of us in the near term.
• The FAA’s Metroplex initiative is a good example of our efforts to implement Performance-based Navigation.
  - This past year, we implemented scores of new performance-based procedures in the Houston, North Texas and Washington D.C. metro areas. 
  - For example, in Houston, we put in place 60 new performance-based procedures, and results show an annual savings of $6 million from reduced fuel consumption.  
• In support of making multiple runway operations more efficient, we safely reduced wake separation standards at many airports including in Atlanta … Louisville … Cincinnati … Houston … Charlotte … and New York. 
  - Because of this change, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airport has increased the number of planes that can land by up to 5 percent, which translates into about five more planes per hour.
  - And Delta Air Lines is saving up to two minutes of outbound taxi time per flight, and saving between $13 million to $18 million dollars in operating costs annually.   
• One technology that especially applies to regional carriers is the Wide Area Augmentation System, or WAAS, which is a process of fine tuning the GPS signal over a wide area. 
  - WAAS enables pilots to conduct precise approaches at airports when visibility to the runway is reduced due to bad weather or other conditions. 
  - It’s beneficial for aircraft that need access to smaller and medium-sized airports that can’t afford expensive ground-based landing equipment. 
  - NextGen procedures are dramatically less expensive to implement than traditional procedures that require costly ground equipment.
  - Nationwide, we’ve already published about 4,000 of these WAAS procedures at about 1,700 airports.
  - I know Horizon Air’s fleet is equipped with WAAS, and they’re realizing fuel-saving benefits through the use of these approaches.    

Equipage

• With the ADS-B ground stations installed, and ERAM complete, we’re looking forward to the next major milestone, which is ADS-B Out equipage by 2020. 
• The FAA issued a rule in 2010 requiring the fleet to equip with ADS-B avionics by January 1, 2020.  This deadline is certain.  It will not change.  It’s an important milestone to keep NextGen on track.    
• Last October, the FAA held an industry call to action on ADS-B equipage.  From that event, the FAA stood up the Equip 2020 working group – a public-private group that is working to identify barriers to equipage and provide solutions for airspace users.  SkyWest is a participant in this group.
• Since Equip 2020 started, we’re seeing a lot of momentum.  The four major airlines that sit on the NAC have publicly declared they will meet the 2020 deadline – Delta, American, Jet Blue, and FedEx.  Each of these major airlines has a plan for equipage.
• The cost of equipage for General Aviation has also dropped significantly, and we’ve seen a sharp uptick in equipage here. 

Call to Action: Be Part of the Solution 

• We know that regional carriers face particular equipage challenges – (e.g. whether you should retrofit older aircraft or phase them out in favor of buying new rule-compliant aircraft by the deadline.)      
• I encourage you to ensure your airline has a plan.
• Through Equip 2020, you can help influence what solutions are coming out. 
  - You can work in collaboration with major carriers, as well as manufacturers and suppliers, to address these issues together.
  - In fact, Equip 2020 is forming a working group to provide equipage solutions for legacy aircraft like the regional’s CRJ-200 and ERJ-145.
  - We stand ready to work with you.

In closing

• The RAA is a key part of the aviation industry.  You’ve persevered through a lot of change in the past 40 years.
• I want to thank RAA for:
  - working with us on the Commercial Aviation Safety Team …
  - for working with us in various rulemaking committees …  
  - for submitting safety data through ASIAS, and all of your efforts to ensure safety.
  - And for working with us on the NAC.
• The FAA is also committed to expanding our delivery of benefits through NextGen.  To do it, we’d like to see industry equip sooner rather than later.  We’re working with industry to spur more rapid equipage.
• Thank you for your participation at this conference.  
• I’m happy to take questions.

Wichita Aero Club Luncheon

Thank you for that warm welcome, Jack [Pelton, EAA Board Chairman]– I’m always happy to see a fellow California native. Jack was an important member of the FAA Management Advisory Council a few years back, and he’s a valuable partner to us now that he’s at the Experimental Aircraft Association.

Last week, one of the most diverse collections of World War II aircraft ever assembled flew over Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 70^th anniversary of the Allied victory in Europe. Thousands of people lined the National Mall and crowded onto balconies and rooftops across the city to see these historic planes take flight. It was a special moment to witness, deeply rooted in a love for aviation and its rich history.

Being back in the “Air Capital of the World,” I’m once again reminded of that history. So much of it happened here in Wichita. Let me give you an example.

Seventy years ago, a B-29 bomber rolled off the assembly line at the Wichita Boeing plant. It was called “Doc” – part of a squadron of eight airplanes named after Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. After serving in the Korean War, Doc was decommissioned and sent to the Mojave Desert in California. There it stayed for more than 40 years, baking in the sun and occasionally being used for military target practice.

Doc got a reprieve in 2000, when a group of historians rescued it and shipped it back home to Wichita. They dreamed of restoring the old B-29 to its former glory – and eventually getting it back in the air.

Hundreds of volunteers came out to work on Doc – including people who had built the plane in 1944. They painted and installed new skin panels. They replaced every piece of wire and cable. They put in new engines and a modern avionics system.

Thanks to these efforts, Doc is on track to fly again this summer – for the first time since the Korean War.

This is a story that embodies the spirit of Wichita. Aviation pioneers like Clyde Cessna and Bill Lear made their marks here. Planes that fly across the world were built here, by generations of Wichita families.

As much as aviation is a part of Wichita’s past, it’s also an important part of its future. In a factory adjacent to the one where Doc was built 70 years ago, Spirit Aerosystems is using the latest in robotics technology to create fuselage and cockpits for the 787 Dreamliner out of black carbon composite tape – the most advanced aircraft manufacturing technique in existence today.

This type of innovation is essential to keeping up with our evolving industry – not only here in Wichita, but also at the FAA.

Today, I’m going to tell you about how our agency is working to create America’s 21^st century aviation system. Then, I look forward to answering your questions and hearing about the successes and challenges you’re experiencing here in Wichita.

As you know, the FAA is focused on putting the Next Generation Air Transportation System in place. NextGen is using innovative technologies and procedures to make flying safer, greener, and more efficient – and it’s already delivering benefits across the country.

One of the most important developments we’re working on is the shift from radar-based aircraft tracking to satellite-based tracking.

The FAA installed the baseline ground infrastructure for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system last year. This is exciting technology – especially for the general aviation community.

ADS-B helps controllers determine your aircraft’s location with far greater accuracy. If you operate in remote areas where radar coverage is limited, ADS-B will make flying safer. It helps us take the “search” out of search-and-rescue if you run into trouble – a potentially life-saving benefit.

ADS-B also brings free weather and traffic updates from coast to coast directly to the cockpit. This means you’re getting the most up-to-date information on hazardous weather, temporary flight restrictions, and notices to airmen when you need it most.

The full benefits of ADS-B require 100 percent equipage for aircraft flying in controlled air space. The FAA has set a January 1, 2020, deadline to equip for ADS-B Out in controlled airspace. Many of you have asked about that deadline, and if it might be extended. The answer is no – the date is set – so I want to strongly encourage you to make plans to get equipped as soon as possible. You don’t want to end up grounded in the early months of 2020 because of a parts or installation delay.

I want to thank the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and all of the other industry groups who have encouraged owners to get equipped and helped raise awareness about the 2020 deadline. This support has been invaluable.

The FAA is collaborating closely with these organizations through our Equip 2020 working group. We’re seeking to smooth the transition to ADS-B by identifying and resolving the barriers delaying operators from getting equipped.

I know cost has been a major concern. I’m pleased to report that a number of avionics manufacturers are stepping up to produce equipment that complies with the ADS-B Out mandate. This increased competition has driven costs down considerably. Some units are now available for less than $2,000.

Since our ADS-B Call to Action last October, more than 8,000 general aviation aircraft have equipped – a really promising start. We want to see those equipage rates continue to rise.

So if you haven’t researched getting ADS-B equipment for a while, now is a great time to take a second look.

ADS-B is just one example of how we’re modernizing our national airspace system.

This spring, we delivered on another important foundational element of NextGen. En Route Automation Modernization, or ERAM, is one of the largest technology changeovers in the history of the FAA. 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.

Eisenhower National is the key site for another program we are using to improve air traffic control displays called STARS FUSION. This upgraded software is making it easier for controllers to do their jobs, creating a clearer and more accurate display that pulls in data from multiple radar and ADS-B sites. As more aircraft in the region equip with ADS-B, the full benefits of these upgrades will be experienced.

The FAA isn’t only using new technologies to prepare for the future. We’re also evolving in the way we think and approach our processes – especially when it comes to certification.

When we first started certifying aircraft, it was a pretty simple process. We laid out airworthiness standards for small airplanes, and manufacturers met them. Over the years, this process became much more complicated.

Wichita’s history proves that the aviation industry tends to attract innovative thinkers. As they created new and better aircraft designs, the certification process struggled to keep up.

We knew we needed to find a better way to increase safety, certify more efficiently, and help bring more products to market. We quickly realized that the answer was to change our mindset. Instead of being prescriptive, we needed to be performance-based.

Instead of requiring certain design elements on specific technologies, we knew we needed to define the safety outcomes we wanted to achieve. This approach recognizes that there’s more than one way to deliver on safety – and it provides room for flexibility and innovation in the marketplace.

The FAA is in the process of codifying this change into a rewrite of Part 23 of our aviation regulations. Congress recognized this was a priority when it required a Part 23 rulemaking in the Small Airplane Revitalization Act of 2013, and I’ve asked my team to shorten timeframes wherever possible so we can get this rule done quickly.

It’s a big undertaking. The new rule will touch many different aspects of aviation, so we have to make sure it’s fair, can be enforced, and doesn’t have an adverse impact on safety or airworthiness.

I know you’re eager for this rule to get done – but it’s imperative that we do it right. Your businesses are counting on it, and the competitiveness of the entire U.S. aviation industry is counting on it.

Your contributions as part of the ASTM International Committee and the Aviation Rulemaking Committee on this subject have already been invaluable. The feedback we received from industry and international stakeholders has helped shape the rulemaking we’re currently drafting. We plan to publish it for public comment by the end of this year. We’ll also continue to collaborate as industry develops compliance measures that will meet our new performance-based standards.

In addition to re-thinking our certification process for aircraft, the FAA is also re-thinking our requirements for general aviation pilots.

I know one of the most important issues on everyone’s mind here today is the third-class medical certificate. The FAA is working to define how a person can fly without a third-class medical certificate while maintaining the highest level of safety.

We want to make this a lasting policy change that encourages more people to get their pilot certificates and invest in general aviation aircraft. We also have to acknowledge that a change to medical requirements could introduce risks into the system that we need to understand and mitigate.

Please know: we’re working diligently to get a proposal out so all interested stakeholders have an opportunity to weigh in.

All of these actions we’re taking are born out of a larger shift toward embracing risk-based decision-making. Aviation has long been on the forefront of this kind of thinking in transportation, and it’s unquestionably the future of our industry.

As a result, the FAA is embedding risk management into every level of our business. I even made it one of the agency’s four Strategic Initiatives when I became Administrator – because I knew it was essential to helping us achieve our mission of providing the safest, most efficient aerospace system in the world.

Twenty years ago, the FAA operated under the philosophy that 100 percent compliance with safety regulations equaled 100 percent safety. This, however, didn’t go far enough. Not all safety issues are regulated – and several incidents in the 1990s led us 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 on identifying areas of risk – and mitigating them before an incident occurred.

Here’s how it works: We collect safety data from air traffic controllers, airway technicians, pilots, other aviation professionals, and a variety of other sources. We then analyze this data to identify potential high-risk areas and target our resources to address them.

Using data and analysis to guide the way we make decisions is common sense – and the aviation industry has been an essential partner in our efforts. We’ve been working together for years to introduce more risk assessments into our decision-making processes.

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. Since 2008, we’ve continued to build on that accomplishment.

An important factor contributing to our ongoing improvement is the widespread adoption of Safety Management Systems, which have produced safer, more efficient outcomes for small and large carriers alike.

The FAA recently finalized a rule requiring most U.S. commercial carriers to have Safety Management Systems in place by 2018. It 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 best safety practices.

I’ve laid out a few of the ways that the FAA is preparing our national airspace system for the future. In order for us to continue making progress on these initiatives, we need the proper resources.

The current FAA reauthorization expires on September 30^th. We’re committed to working closely with Congress to pass a long-term bill. While we don’t know what that bill will exactly look like yet, we do know that it has to embrace a few key principles.

First, reauthorization must help us maintain our exceptional safety record by providing more opportunities to use risk-based decision-making.

Second, we must continue the modernization of our air traffic control system with stable funding for our core operations and NextGen investments.

Third, reauthorization should secure appropriate funding for our nation’s airports. The new Eisenhower National terminal that’s about to open is a fantastic example of the kind of project we need to support.

Finally, we must maintain and strengthen America’s global leadership on aviation.  In addition to shaping and harmonizing international aviation standards, this means strengthening the U.S. aviation industry in a competitive global marketplace.

The aviation products we make in America – right here in Wichita – are essential to the health of our national economy. Seeing your planes crisscross the globe are a sign that U.S. innovation is alive and well.

I hope we can count on you to help us call on Congress to take up a long-term reauthorization bill as soon as possible.

Before I wrap up, let me leave you with this. I often think about how lucky I am to be leading the FAA. It’s an organization that’s always done important work in an industry that was born out of American zeal and ingenuity. We are in the midst of a historic time in aviation – and the decisions we make now will define aviation for decades to come.

Look no further than Doc. Thanks to the dedication of the aviation community here, that old B-29 that spent four decades in the desert will soon take flight again. If that’s not a sign of what we can do when we work together, I don’t know what is.

Thank you for the opportunity to join you here in Wichita today. I look forward to answering your questions.

B4UFLY App Release Press Conference

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

Unmanned aircraft systems have become extremely popular in recent years. With that popularity has come growing concerns – about the safety of these aircraft, and their effect on our nation’s airspace. For example, you wouldn’t have to look far to find a recent headline about an airline pilot seeing an unmanned aircraft while flying.

Technology has made it so that almost anyone can operate an unmanned vehicle without any prior aviation experience. At the same time, technology also provides us with an opportunity – to give these users the tools and knowledge they need to operate safely before they fly.

I’m pleased to announce today that the FAA is unveiling a new smartphone app called “B4UFLY.” It’s a simple, easy-to-use app that answers a very basic safety question: is it safe and legal to fly my unmanned aircraft at a particular location?

Longtime members of the unmanned aircraft community may already know the answer to that question. Someone who got their first unmanned aircraft as a gift under the Christmas tree probably doesn’t.

That’s a knowledge gap we need to fill. The United States has the most complicated airspace in the world. We need to make sure hobbyists and modelers know where it’s okay to fly and where it isn’t okay to fly – because there can be very real consequences if you don’t. The incident on the White House lawn earlier this year is a good example.

We plan to make B4UFLY available to approximately 1,000 beta testers using Apple devices this summer, and we’ll be working on an Android app in the future.

The B4UFLY app is the latest action the FAA has taken to encourage the responsible use of unmanned aircraft. In December, we partnered with the Academy of Model Aeronautics, the Small UAV Coalition, and our friends here at AUVSI to launch the “Know Before You Fly” campaign. This was an important first step in educating operators about the rules of the sky.

The B4UFLY app takes a lot of that information and puts it right in your pocket – available to use anytime, anywhere. It only takes a few taps to find out if you’re cleared to fly. While other resources like this exist, we believe B4UFLY will have the most user-friendly interface with the most up-to-date information.

To tell you more about this, I’m going to turn things over to Jim Williams, the manager of the FAA’s Unmanned Aircraft Integration Office. He’ll walk you through some of the key features of the B4UFLY app.

Thank you.

UAS Pathfinder Program Announcement Press Conference

Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us today.

The unmanned aircraft industry is changing faster than any segment of the aviation industry. So many bright minds are focused on advancing this technology. People are finding new ways to use these devices on almost a daily basis. The energy here at AUVSI is proof of that.

Today, I’m pleased to announce a new project that will help the FAA harness some of this energy.

We’re calling it the Pathfinder Program. We’re partnering with three leading U.S. companies who have committed extensive resources to perform research that will help us determine if and how we can safely expand unmanned aircraft operations in the United States. These companies reached out to the FAA to work with us on exploring three key types of unmanned operations.

CNN will be researching how visual line-of-sight operations might be used for newsgathering in urban areas.

PrecisionHawk, a manufacturer, will be surveying crops in rural areas using unmanned aircraft flying outside of the pilot’s direct vision.

BNSF Railroad will explore the challenges of using these vehicles to inspect their rail infrastructure beyond visual line-of-sight in isolated areas.

We anticipate receiving valuable data from each of these trials that could result in FAA-approved operations in the next few years. They will also give insight into how unmanned aircraft can be used to transform the way certain industries do business – whether that means making sure trains run on time, checking on the health of crops, or reporting on a natural disaster.

Integrating unmanned aircraft into our airspace is a big job, and it’s one the FAA is determined to get right. Earlier this year, we took an important step forward by releasing a proposed rule that laid out a flexible framework for allowing the routine use of small unmanned aircraft. It included a number of common sense provisions, like not flying near airports, at night, or more than 500 feet off the ground. It also recommended requiring the operator to be able to see the unmanned vehicle at all times.

The FAA received more than 4,000 public comments on the proposal, and we’re working to address them before finalizing the rule.

This, however, takes time – so we’re actively looking for other ways to expand the use of unmanned aircraft in the meantime. We’re receiving valuable information from our six national test sites. We’re also accommodating requests for some commercial operations. The Pathfinder program is our latest step in the right direction – and I’m eager to see the results.

Now, I’d like to invite representatives from each of our Pathfinder partners to share a few words about how their organizations will be using unmanned aircraft during the program:

• David Vigilante, Senior Vice President, Legal for CNN
• Christopher Dean, CEO of PrecisionHawk
• Gary Grissum, Unmanned Aircraft Lead for BNSF Railroad

En Route Automation Modernization

As Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Mr. Secretary, and thank you to everyone for joining us today.

En Route Automation Modernization, or ERAM, is one of the largest technology changeovers in the history of the FAA. We completed it last month and – I’m pleased to report – that it’s functioning smoothly in the 20 high altitude air traffic control centers across the continental United States right now.

ERAM is not just a faster computer system – it’s a network that replaces our legacy system, which had its roots in the 1960s. We are now able to handle air traffic in a much more collaborative way. We can see a much bigger and richer picture of our nation’s high altitude air traffic.

ERAM gives us a big boost in technological horsepower over the system it replaces. This computer system enables each controller to handle more aircraft over a larger area, resulting in increased safety, capacity and efficiency.

ERAM processes data from nearly three times the number of sensors as the old system. It can track and display nearly double the number of high altitude flights, and enable controllers to handle additional traffic more efficiently. It’s going to make all air traffic flow more smoothly across the country.

As the Secretary said, this means that controllers will now be able to better manage flights from gate to gate. With tools that are now available through ERAM, our air traffic computers can generate specific trajectories and speeds that will allow controllers to make the most efficient use of the airspace and cut down on congestion. Previously, controllers would have to estimate the best speed for an aircraft to travel in order to maintain proper separation. With the more precise picture that ERAM gives us, there’s a greater opportunity for more efficient spacing of aircraft and to use NextGen procedures that save fuel and cut down on emissions.

Eventually, in conjunction with other new technology, ERAM will allow controllers to push a button and send a written message to a pilot in advance, allowing them to change course and steer around storms and congestion, once again improving on time arrival and decreasing delays.

Our new system now links seamlessly with another technology that processes satellite-based GPS information. This system is called Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast, or ADS-B. Last year we finished the coast-to-coast installation of the ADS-B network.

With its GPS technology, ADS-B provides a more precise and efficient alternative to radar including in places where there was no radar coverage before. For example, using their new ERAM computers, controllers today are providing radar-like separation over the Gulf of Mexico and large parts of Alaska with ADS-B. By 2020, it will become the FAA’s primary means of tracking and separating aircraft.

With ERAM in place, the FAA has fulfilled an important commitment in modernizing the nation’s NextGen air traffic control system. We did not make this progress alone. We did so by creating a close collaboration between management, labor and industry.

I’d like to acknowledge the Chief Operating Officer of the FAA’s Air Traffic Control Organization, Teri Bristol, whose leadership on ERAM was fundamental. Also, I’d like to acknowledge our labor representative from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Julio Henriques. Julio was instrumental in helping us implement ERAM and served as the NATCA lead representative. Finally, I would like to acknowledge our industry representative, Stephanie Hill, from Lockheed Martin. The teamwork between labor, management and industry is why ERAM is working today. Together, we are enhancing safety and increasing capacity in what is already the world’s safest aviation system.

I want to thank you again for joining us today, and I would like to turn it over to Julio for more insight into how we accomplished this major milestone.

Before the House Government Oversight and Reform Committee concerning “Flying Under the Radar: Securing Washington, D.C. Airspace”

Thank you, Chairman Chaffetz and Ranking Member Cummings, for the opportunity to appear before the Committee today.

I would like to address your questions about the recent gyrocopter incident by explaining the FAA’s role in airspace security and how we coordinate with other agencies.

First and foremost, the FAA’s mission is aircraft and airspace safety. We operate the nation’s air traffic control system to separate aircraft. Our primary focus is on getting aircraft safely to their destinations and managing the flow of thousands of aircraft and their passengers around the country every day.

In addition to the FAA’s safety mission, we also work very closely with the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security on a daily basis to support their aviation security missions, particularly here in the Capital Region. As part of that support, we provide them a raw air traffic radar feed so they have situational awareness of what is happening in our national airspace system.

To enable our controllers to safely control air traffic, the first thing we have to do is to distinguish the aircraft that are communicating with controllers from all of the other objects in the air that are not aircraft. These other objects that the radar detects could be things like vehicles on nearby roadways, flocks of birds, weather events, or occasional kites or balloons.

Air traffic controllers could not do their jobs if they had to work with an unfiltered radar feed. They would not be able to distinguish the aircraft they are charged with safely handling from the other elements on their radar scopes.

We require aircraft that fly in the airspace around Washington, D.C., and other large cities around the country, to use transponders that broadcast basic information such as the type of aircraft, speed, direction, and altitude. When the radar detects those aircraft, it picks up the transponder information and displays it on a controller’s radar screen. Controllers can then see all of the flights in a specific area, along with all of the identifying information for each aircraft.

Anything that doesn’t have a transponder shows up as an image resembling a simple small dot on the radar screen – and there are typically many of them across a controller’s radar screen.

To assist controllers in focusing on safely managing air traffic, we apply filters to the controllers’ radar to eliminate the vast majority of those small dots. Safely managing air traffic is a controller’s mission and they must be able to do that without distraction.

To support national and homeland security, the FAA shares a real-time, unfiltered radar feed with our partners in the Department of Defense and several other agencies. We do that so they have the same information we have – and, so they can apply the appropriate filters for their own mission to protect the airspace. We also embed technical air traffic staff at a number of North American Aerospace Defense Command facilities around the country to provide additional operational expertise and support.

On April 15, Mr. Hughes’ gyrocopter appeared on our radar as one of those small, unidentified elements, indistinguishable from all the other non-aircraft radar tracks. The National Capital Region Coordination Center called the FAA at 1:24 p.m. that afternoon, to alert us to the flight based on information they received from the Capitol Police.

After the incident, we conducted a forensic radar analysis and looked for an image that might match Mr. Hughes’ gyrocopter. We understood he had taken off from a small airport in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and we had an approximate time, so we looked at unfiltered radar data. A trained radar analyst identified a slow-moving image that traveled from Gettysburg toward the Capitol, and vanished from radar at about the time Mr. Hughes landed on the West Lawn. We now believe that unidentified radar element was Mr. Hughes’ gyrocopter. The dot appeared only intermittently throughout the flight.

When we got the call from the Capitol Police, we immediately notified our interagency partners on the Domestic Events Network, or DEN, a twenty-four hour, seven days a week communications line we operate to support a shared situational awareness among our interagency partners.

We initiated the DEN more than a decade ago to quickly share information about activity in the airspace with multiple agencies. The DEN now includes more than 130 federal and local agencies, as well as major FAA air traffic facilities around the country. The DEN has played a critical role in disseminating important operational information to other agencies as quickly as possible.

Each agency has a responsibility to announce an airspace incident on the DEN as soon as they know about it. Sharing information in real time is vital to ensure we’re all operating with the same basic facts and can respond according to our own specific mission requirements.

We are committed to our safety mission at the FAA, and we are dedicated to working closely with all of our airspace security partners to support protection of the airspace. We are assisting the Department of Homeland Security in its ongoing interagency review of this incident. This is in addition to our own internal review to ensure that FAA employees followed all the proper procedures and protocols during the event. If we need to make changes as a result of these efforts we will and I will keep the committee informed.

I would be happy to take your questions.

Before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation, Subcommittee on Aviation Operations concerning Safety and General Aviation

Oral Testimony

Thank you, Senator Ayotte, Senator Cantwell and members of the Subcommittee, not just for your commitment to aviation safety, but for holding this series of hearings and focusing on an issue of national importance. Your guidance has had a tangible result—the United States of America enjoys the world’s safest and most efficient aviation system.

We have been working steadily for years to build on the trust you have exhibited in our efforts. Indeed, the United States is doing much more than “holding steady” at historically low accident rates. Aviation safety cannot rest on the status quo, regardless of how well things are going. By establishing strong safety partnerships, we are accelerating the state of aviation safety at a pace that is perhaps unrivaled in any industry.

The Airline Safety and FAA Extension Act of 2010 has certainly contributed to our progress. At your direction, we issued a final rule to prevent pilot fatigue, which became effective more than a year ago. This sent a very clear and direct message to industry that every airline must provide pilots sufficient time to get the rest needed for safe flight, and it underscored the point that every pilot has a personal responsibility to arrive at work fit for duty.

The Act triggered other rules as well. With some very limited exceptions, we required airlines pilots to have 1,500 hours of flight time. We also strengthened the requirements for taking the Airline Transport Pilot test, requiring applicants to have completed additional training in high altitude operations and adverse weather. We also published a final rule that advances the way pilots are trained and added a requirement for training in the prevention and recovery from full stalls and upset conditions. That rule made air carriers put remedial programs in place to track pilots with performance deficiencies. 

In a system as safe as ours—with an industry as safety-conscious as ours is—it’s an extraordinary challenge to find a game changer — an approach that really has the potential to raise the safety bar even further.  The requirement in the 2010 Act to publish a rule requiring safety management systems does this. Safety Management Systems are the next great frontier for aviation safety. Until now, technology has driven safety improvements—from radar to the jet engine to collision avoidance and now satellite navigation. SMS changes that landscape.

SMS is a comprehensive approach to managing safety throughout an organization. It requires an organization-wide safety policy. It has formal methods for identifying hazards, mitigating and controlling risk, and continually assessing safety performance. SMS stresses not only compliance with technical standards. It puts an increased emphasis on the overall safety performance of the organization.

SMS is not a slogan. It’s a formal, top-down, organization-wide approach that uses a continuous loop to control risks. SMS creates a safety culture — a culture that assures hazards are identified, that actions are taken, and that results are measured. And then the process repeats itself. In the business of aviation, safety cannot be an “add-on.” It must be built in through SMS. The airlines have learned that and we thank the Committee for its support.

Safety Management Systems have become the foundation for risk-based decision making. Resources will be finite—FAA must put our resources where they’re needed most. Risk-based decision making allows us to make aviation safer and smarter. Because commercial accidents are rare, we’re focusing on mitigating risk that could lead to accidents. Risk-based decision making lets us tackle the highest risks first, using our resources to improve safety where they will be most effective.

The linchpin for risk-based decision making is the safety data shared throughout the industry. Safety data can come from any of the dozens of public and proprietary databases, such as the air traffic control system, the airplane itself, or the people who are involved in the operation. These data are fed into the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system. And it works: safety professionals recognize that there can be no secrets. It is a voluntary effort, and we and industry are working with data representing 99 percent of U.S. air carrier commercial operations.  

Before closing, I want to acknowledge our outstanding safety partnership with the general aviation community. GA pilots are known for their love of aviation, but they are equally committed to advancing safety. Their participation on the General Aviation Joint Steering Committee is of particular note. The Joint Steering Committee meets quarterly to review accident trends, establish areas for special emphasis and to share information. In the past year alone, this group developed 29 separate safety enhancements to address loss of control accidents, which are the most prevalent category facing this segment. The Joint Steering Committee also made it easier to install angle of attack indicators and allow pilots to better monitor stall margins. In short, they actively pursue ways to enhance safety, and that is what partnership is all about.  

This committee has given the FAA the authority to provide the level of safety we enjoy today. We look forward to working with you on the upcoming Reauthorization to build on America’s enviable aviation safety record. I would be pleased to answer any questions you might have at this time.