FAA Exemptions for Commercial UAS Movie and TV Production

Thank you, Secretary Foxx. 

We recognize the potential unmanned aircraft bring to business, such as surveying, movie making, farming, monitoring pipelines and electric lines, as well as countless other industries. Our challenge at the FAA is to integrate unmanned aircraft into the busiest, most complex airspace system in the world—and to do so while we maintain our mission—protecting the safety of the American people in the air and on the ground.  We are taking a reasonable and responsible approach. We are introducing unmanned aircraft into America’s airspace incrementally and with the interest of safety first. 

This process opens up a whole new avenue for companies and organizations wishing to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into their business.  In addition, it’s a major step forward in our plan for safe and staged integration.

So, how does it work? As part of their petition, these firms asked the FAA for exemptions from regulations that address general flight rules, pilot certificate requirements, manuals, maintenance and equipment mandates.

To receive the exemptions, the firms had to show that their UAS operations would provide an equivalent level of safety to the rules and that the operations would be in the public interest. 

In their applications, these aerial photo and video firms said the operators of the unmanned aircraft will hold private pilot certificates, and keep the unmanned aircraft within line of sight at all times. They’ll also restrict flights to the "sterile area" on the set. 

We accepted their safety conditions as outlined and added a requirement for an inspection of the aircraft before each flight.  We also prohibited operations at night. But we have informed the operators that we are willing to revisit the night operations when they can provide information about additional safety controls they plan to put in place.  

We are also going to issue Certificates of Waiver or Authorization to these companies to address Air Traffic operational issues.  And to comply with those waivers, operators must report to the FAA any accidents or incidents that occur.

I should note, seven aerial video companies filed identical petitions at the same time.  We are granting exemptions to six today.  One petition is still under review—we are working with the company to obtain additional, required information.

These are just the first of about 40 petitions that have been filed ranging from pipeline patrolling to crop surveys.  We will continue to review those requests on an ongoing basis and we expect they will be addressed in the coming weeks and months.

We were able to take this important step through collaboration with the Motion Picture Association of America. The Association facilitated the exemption requests on behalf of these seven members—helping to develop a standard safety manual and operating procedures that could be used by any television or motion picture member. We are encouraging other industry associations to develop similar procedures for their membership and help facilitate petitions.

I’d like to turn it over to Senator Christopher Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America.

InfoShare Works

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Warren [Randolph, FAA’s Manager of Accident Prevention’s Integrated Safety Teams and Program Management Branch].  I’ve been looking forward to joining all of you at InfoShare this year.  This is my first time here, and I’ll be sitting in on some of the sessions this afternoon to get a feel for how the process works, and to see firsthand the benefit that comes from brainstorming together about potential problems.

Risk-based decision making is the way of the future. And it is one of our strategic initiatives at the FAA, which will guide our work for years to come. To make good decisions, you need good information. You need good data that points to the risks. That is why what you’re doing here today is so important. 

As you know, we’ve reached a point in aviation safety where commercial operations are safer than ever. This is in great part thanks to the work of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team and to carriers, manufacturers, labor, and the FAA working together to reduce hazards and risks. That teamwork, along with advances in aircraft safety and new regulations, reduced the commercial fatality risk in the United States by more than 80 percent over a 10 year period. 

We are building on that success through our expanding government-industry partnership with CAST and the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing program. CAST and ASIAS, and the work you’re doing at InfoShare, are vital to changing the culture of how we approach safety. It’s vital to transforming us from an aviation safety culture based on forensic analysis of accidents, to a culture that identifies risk and concentrates efforts on eradicating those risks from the system.

In order to determine risk, we need to identify problem areas, and to do that, we need information. We need to see patterns in the vast array of data. The type of information you feed into the various voluntary self-reporting programs is vital—the Aviation Safety Action Program for employees, and the Flight Operational Quality Assurance program for flight data.  Together with the info we provide through the FAA’s programs for controllers and Tech Ops, these efforts are essential and foundational to a new safety culture. I’m heartened to see the support for this kind of info sharing from operations folks, from the dozens of carriers here today, including carriers from overseas, and from our partners in labor and industry.

InfoShare means a willingness to give the FAA a look into your operations.  For my part, the push for increased data sharing is a pledge by the FAA that what you divulge will be de-identified and not be used against you.  I want you to know that I’m a firm believer in this process.  We need to create and sustain a safety culture where the continual pursuit of enhanced safety is more important than assigning blame. People need to share what they know without concern of reprisal or loss of competitive edge. Employees need to feel that they can raise their hand and talk about things that are troubling them. Safety is essential to what we do, and it’s also good business. If we’re not safe, nothing else matters. 

The entire goal of this conference is to find precursors to risk, to examine those hazards, and to get rid of them.  Certainly, training and professionalism are part of the equation.  But the information we get from data sharing is the foundation. And we are improving participation all the time.  Since 2007, airline pilots alone have submitted 150,000 voluntary safety reports.  The number of operators participating in ASIAS is currently 44, up from just four carriers seven year ago. The model to improve safety is the success that we’ve seen with InfoShare, ASIAS and CAST working in partnership. 

Last year, we took the logical next step and decided to apply the model to GA.  In March, we launched a one-year program to demonstrate what ASIAS could do to help the GA community.  This project will build on the process established by all of you for commercial aviation.  To do this, we’re working with local pilot groups in Arizona, and national pilot groups, manufacturers and NATCA.   We’re giving pilots a new set of tools to look at flight data. These tools will use applications for tablets or mobile phones to record real-time flight data.  GA pilots will be able to upload and analyze their own data and critique their own flight. Data submitted through these tools is confidential and de-identified. It will not be used for enforcement purposes; but instead, to improve GA safety.

The General Aviation Joint Steering Committee was essential to this work.  Although we have reduced the GA accident over the last 20 years, that rate has leveled off in the last few years. We need to redouble our efforts to keep it moving down and reduce the number of fatal GA accidents.  I’m pleased to see that GA is also establishing InfoShare for their communities.  On Thursday, the corporate members of the GA community are getting together right here to do just that to share safety information.

There are other examples as well.  As those of you from the Regional Airline Association already know, your pilots alerted us to a potential risk involving the way RNAV departures were programmed into flight management systems.  Through ASIAS, we were able to conduct an analysis that led to CAST adopting safety enhancements last year.  This includes improving the way that these departures are designed.  It includes improving the training of pilots and air traffic controllers when using these procedures. 

This reinforces something that intrinsically each of us already knows:  When all of us are willing to place our knowledge and experience on the table, we can significantly advance safety.

You’re also well aware of the work with Airplane State Awareness that’s come out of information sharing.  As aviation advances, so does technology. As we know, technology can change the equation.  It’s not unlike when I learned how to drive a car, which was a manual transmission… a Ford Pinto to be exact.  While learning, I was constantly paying attention to the speed, the tachometer, the sound of the engine and whether there was enough distance to stop.  Today automatic transmissions are mainstream, and we drive without concentrating nearly as much on these basics. Instead, drivers now benefit from newer safety features that remove blind spots, such as the live view on the dashboard that shows what is behind the car when backing up, and other features that can detect if the car is veering towards the road shoulder and correct the steering. Suddenly, driving has become a very different experience. 

To understand the effects of technology is not easy.  Better than two-thirds of recent loss of control events stem from attitude awareness or energy state awareness.  Were it not for the precursors we uncovered through the information you shared, we wouldn’t have realized this as quickly. The kind of information you are sharing is helping us prioritize our efforts to enhance safety in a targeted way.   

In fact as the FAA moves toward Safety Management Systems, we need to ensure all of us in the aviation community work together. In the future, there will be opportunities for both commercial aviation and GA to work together on problems that are common to both communities.

In closing, let me say how pleased I am to see such a full room.  I’m especially glad to see corporate and international participation.  There’s an increased involvement and awareness with the Directors of Safety, who are having their third meeting this week.  And the Directors of Maintenance are meeting for the first time here at the conference. 

Meetings like this give us all a chance to talk about best practices and continuously refine the top issues.  I appreciate the work all of you are doing and more importantly, I appreciate very much that we are doing it together.  I’m looking forward to joining you this afternoon.

NextGen

Thank you for that fine introduction.

I thought this morning it would be a good time to reflect a bit on what’s happened in the last year with NextGen – what we’ve accomplished and where we see it going at this point.

Our focus the last year has been on three distinct areas.

One has been completing the foundational work of NextGen. Completing it on time. Completing it on budget. And communicating about it with stakeholders better than ever.  

The ADS-B ground installation was completed this year on time. This spring, we will have completed ERAM – putting the foundational technologies in our centers.

And as importantly, Ed Bolton, Assistant Administrator for NextGen, and I have been very focused on communicating our progress on foundational projects. I think there’s been a lot of misunderstanding about where NextGen is. The lifecycle was designed as a 20-year, $20 billion endeavor. We’re about $5 billion into that, so, it’s still relatively early in the long haul, if you will. But we are on track to complete the foundational piece.

The second thing that we’re focusing on is delivering benefits to users that have already been in the pipeline. And again we are getting better at articulating what those benefits are.

This year we completed the new Houston Metroplex project. We completed 61 new satellite-based procedures in the metro area. Almost 650,000 fewer nautical miles each year will be flown in that metro area because of the optimization. That saves gas and cuts down on emissions. It’s like taking the equivalent of 6,000 cars off the streets of Houston. Some very significant undertakings that have been in the pipeline for some time are now being delivered.

In addition, there have been new runway procedures in Atlanta that have significantly increased capacity. And wake recategorization has been a major initiative that we’re rolling out that has been hugely popular with carriers. It’s really a very low cost way to increase runway capacity in congested airspace.

And then finally, the third thing we’ve been focusing on is engaging with our stakeholders to make sure that we are aligned with what their interests are. And the major forum for this has been through the NextGen Advisory Committee taskings that Ed will talk about in some detail.

I think I had been here for about a month, when we sent a request to the NextGen Advisory Committee to let us know what industry values as far as these technologies. And that has been hugely meaningful work that has allowed us to be much more aligned with industry and much more focused on delivering benefits to industry.

In some ways, these were confidence building measures, to keep NextGen on track. But they also caused some very real process changes to happen, not only within the FAA but also working with industry. And this has given us some success. That brings us to where we are now. We will continue along the path that we’ve been on for the last year. We will continue to execute on the on the basis of completing the foundation and reporting the metrics. We will continue to execute on the benefits that are in the pipeline.

The North Texas Metroplex is rolled out this week. These are very significant programs that have been underway for years in some cases. And we will continue to execute well and deliver those benefits.

And with respect to the NextGen priorities that we’re working on with the NAC, we will report to Congress in the middle of next month with very definitive milestones and targets and plans. And we will continue to work and execute and meet those targets and plans. So there’s a very significant amount of work underway.

As we look to the future, as we look at how to keep NextGen on track, I think now our focus is turning to another milestone that’s out in front of us, which is the 2020 mandate for ADS-B equipage. And I would say that there is not a more important milestone in NextGen than ADS-B equipage. It is the technology that will be used in NextGen. It is what allows us to replace the radar-based system with a GPS-based system.

As you all undoubtedly know, the rule was put in place in 2010. It was put in place with a 10-year runway to allow equipage to occur. That runway was there to allow the carriers to have a normal cycle of aircraft replacement and maintenance. It was there to give GA an opportunity to equip, and for the cost of equipage to come down. And there was also a 10 year period to allow some certainty that the FAA would be able to execute on its part of the bargain with the installation of ADS-B.

So we’re now half-way to that point. We’re almost five years from the day of the mandate. I think there have been some very good trends that we’ve seen with ADS-B equipage. We have seen the price of equipage for GA come down. It seems like every time there’s an airshow at Oshkosh, the price has come down another thousand dollars. We’re seeing positive trends in that direction.

As I mentioned, the ADS-B infrastructure has been completed, so we have done our part of the bargain. The installations are there, and ERAM, which will operate ADS-B, will be up and running. Now we come to the point where we’re looking at how we are going to go operational. We have only so much visibility into the plans of the carriers. These plans for equipage are sensitive plans. But these are the kinds of issues that we need to start looking at and how we’re going to stay on track with that date.

We’re doing two things in this regard. The first is that we are communicating clearly and unequivocally that the 2020 mandate will not change. That date is not going to change. If I could think of another way of saying that, I would. But the date is not going to change. And we have to make sure that that has been understood.

The second thing is that we’re announcing an industry Call to Action, which the FAA will host on October 28 in our offices. The invitations are going out today. We are going to bring together industry leaders and associations to have a day where we look at where we are with ADS-B and where we are with equipage. We want to form working groups and try to identify what the issues are, or what the barriers are. What can industry do to move forward and what can we do to move forward. And then in four months regroup to guide that work.

If you look at the work that’s gone on at the NAC with the NextGen priorities, if you look at the intensity of the work that’s gone on, with over 100 companies involved, working with the FAA. We need to bring that same kind of intensity to looking at the ADS-B issue. If we don’t equip by 2020, it’s not possible to keep NextGen on track. Right now NextGen is on track. And we will keep it on track, but we’ve got to meet that mandate.  

One of the reasons we want to do this is because we’ve had a series of private conversations on the issues around this, and we get a lot of myths. We get a lot of stakeholders who point to other stakeholders and say, well, we would really like to equip, but the manufacturers are doing this, or the avionics manufacturers are doing that and the carriers are doing that. So we want to get everyone in the room so that we can start to hash that out.

I can’t think of a more appropriate place to initiate this effort than here at the NextGen Institute. The NextGen Institute is a perfect partner for us to do this work.

We want to use the Institute’s experience to help us stay on track and bring it together for 2020. We’re looking forward to working with all of you and your cooperation.

Let me stop there, and I’m happy to answer any questions.

Airports: The Link Within the Western Hemisphere and Beyond

Bom dia a todos. Thank you for the warm introduction.  It is a pleasure to be here in Brazil.  This is my first time in your lovely country and my first time flying into Guarulhos. It’s very impressive, and I congratulate you on all of the recent improvements you’ve made, especially the opening of Terminal 3, the new passenger terminal.  

The United States and Brazil have long been leaders in civil aviation.  We honor the vision, passion, and perseverance of our aviation pioneers, Wilbur and Orville Wright, and Alberto Santos Dumont.  These talented men contributed greatly to our early knowledge of flight. 

Brazil and the United States have strong ties, including an agreement for cooperation in aviation that has been a highlight of our bilateral relationship and an example for other sectors of the economy.  This helps us maintain a productive relationship between our nations and provide aviation leadership jointly within the Western Hemisphere.  There’s good reason to do this.  We both have strong aviation manufacturing programs, large aviation sectors, and complex airspace systems. 

The increase in air traffic between the United States and Brazil is expected to grow at 6.5 percent per year between now and 2025.  And, it is no longer only tourist travel –it is also now business travelers.  This is a reflection of the growing interconnectedness of our economies.  The growth of traffic overall between the U.S. and Latin America will likely outpace the growth between the United States and other regions, even the fast-growing Asia Pacific region. 

Our Aviation Partnership gives us an opportunity to capitalize on this expansion, and to embrace the inherent link and the common heritage in our hemisphere.  In addition, we have a joint commitment to share safety data proactively through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing program, and other mechanisms, and to the legal protection of such data. 

I have listened this morning with great interest to the discussion on Brazil’s airport study.  And, I applaud the forward thinking that you are doing here in Brazil on airport development.  Airports are the gateways to locations near and far.  It is in the airport where we experience all facets of our global village: vacationers, business travelers, students departing to study abroad, or people traveling to far off lands to visit family.  And airports are the place where all parts of aviation converge.  You saw this with the successful World Cup Games this June and July, and you will have the same experience when you host the Olympics here in 2016. 

My experience with the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City was similar.  Effective airport infrastructure was vital to the success of the Games.  Utah airports were the face of the Olympics.  Your airports will be the first and last impression that travelers will have when entering and leaving Brazil in 2016.  

And, it’s not just applicable to special events.  We all know the importance of aviation and airports to the global economy.  Airports big and small are part of this economic engine – they contribute to local, national, and global economies alike.  Aviation and airports fuel jobs and trade for millions of people. 

In the United States, airports are owned and operated by various sponsors – cities, states and regions.  My agency supports airports by providing grants to a variety of airports for development and improvement projects through the Airport Improvement Program.  This program, which is funded through ticket and fuel taxes, has allowed us to issue billions of dollars of grants to ensure that airport infrastructure in the United States remains state-of-the-art.  Because of these grants, airports throughout the country have successfully completed many development projects.  This has included refurbishing or extending runways, taxiways and aprons.   

Some U.S. airports have also received grants to enhance runway safety areas, to build and improve airport terminals, and to reduce environmental impacts.  These improvements are crucial to the enhanced safety and efficiency of U.S. airspace, and to meet the demands of a growing and changing airspace.  They are critical to preserving our airport infrastructure, and for helping expand the benefits of aviation modernization. 

Just as infrastructure on the ground is important, we cannot overlook investment in infrastructure in the air. A modernized air traffic system also creates more efficient and safer operations in and around airports.  For example, in the United States, we have improved infrastructure and built new capabilities at airports throughout the country to move more aircraft efficiently. 

The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, is our program for modernization, and it is about creating a more efficient, environmentally sound, and ultimately safer aviation system.  It is helping us evolve from the ground-based radar system of today to a satellite-based system of tomorrow.  So, while in certain areas where airport infrastructure expansion may be limited, we can continue to utilize more effective and efficient arrival and departure procedures to more precisely utilize the existing airspace, especially in busy metropolitan areas. 

Many technologies are making NextGen a reality.  Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast —or ADS-B – is one of the foundations of NextGen.  We have completed the installation of more than 630 ADS-B ground stations across the United States.  This surveillance capability is now available everywhere that radar is available, and in some places where radar cannot function, such as over the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and in mountainous regions. 

ADS-B transmits the location of aircraft to controllers and other ADS-B equipped aircraft with a faster update rate than radar.  This infrastructure will improve the efficiency of our airports through better approaches and departures, and better routes in busy metropolitan areas.  Newer technologies are also used by air traffic controllers at airports to track surface movement of aircraft and vehicles.  These allow better and more efficient operations between aircraft and other vehicles on airport grounds, and help reduce the possibility of runway incursions. 

With NextGen, more precise departure and arrival paths will optimize routing and operations, especially for congested metropolitan areas, and improve access to locations previously challenged by land-based navigation.  My agency works with airports, airlines, air traffic controllers, and other federal agencies to improve air traffic flow around all of the airports in busy metropolitan areas with multiple airports.

These more efficient routes in turn lessen the environmental impact of aviation.  A more direct approach or departure will reduce emissions, a benefit to us all.  We must focus on aviation’s impact on the environment.  And, as we do this, we must ensure that our approach is balanced.  The agreement reached last year at the ICAO Assembly to pass a resolution to address environmental impact with market-based measures is a sound approach.  Our governments worked together closely on this solution, and it is one that we can be proud of as we move forward on a global level. 

We also see the need for alternative fuel solutions to address environmental and economic issues.  The FAA is actively involved with industry under the Continuous Lower Energy Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program, to conduct tests to demonstrate the use of alternative fuels.  Brazil is a pioneer in alternative fuels for cars and increasingly for aircraft, and our governments have signed an agreement under which we cooperate in the development and certification of alternative fuels for aviation.  We must encourage other governments to take similar steps to ensure a solid, proactive way to address the need for more efficient fuel sources.  The steps you have taken with alternative fuels, not only in aviation, but in transportation in general, are to be commended.    

As aviation brings the far reaches of the globe closer and closer together, we have much to celebrate.  This is especially true within our own hemisphere.  We have experienced phenomenal growth over the decades, and airports continue to play a key role in this development.  As the famous saying goes, a mile of road takes you one mile.  A mile of runway can take you anywhere in the world.  We must never underestimate the value that airports bring to communities, nations, and to the global economy. 

Thank you, again, for your kind invitation.  Muito Obrigado.

Safety Through Partnership

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Thank you, Oscar [Derby], for that kind introduction, and thank you for doing an outstanding job as well.  And let me offer a special thank you as well to the professionals who are attending the series of meetings that bring us to Curacao.  The list is impressive.  The Pan American Aviation Safety Summit.  Your fifth summit.  The Regional Aviation Safety Group-Pan America.  Your seventh meeting.   

When you see groups like these coming together, it is a very, very good sign.  It’s a sign that we share common goals.  We believe that safety is the foundation for moving forward in this industry.  We believe that partnership is not only the best way to get there, but that it is the smartest business decision anyone of us can make.

But most of all, an audience of this size is a very clear indication that we plan to move forward together.  As I looked at the agenda for this week, I saw more than a dozen organizational and company logos from all over the world.  That is outstanding.  Aviation is an international business that by its very nature brings people together.  The success of this industry and this conference are rooted in partnership.  From what I have seen and heard so far, I can say with certainty that we are perfectly positioned to get there. 

Let me start out by congratulating the Regional Aviation Safety Group-Pan America—RASG-PA.  I know that there are many RASG-PA member states here right now.  I am excited by your work.  You are without question working hard at becoming world leaders in aviation safety.  And you are very committed to carrying this out at a regional level.  That’s a model for the rest of us to follow. 

I’m particularly impressed by the partnership you’ve established between the industry and the State regulators.  This is not happening in all parts of the world, but I think we all agree that it needs to.  In our experience, we have seen that it is key to have everyone at the table who has a role to play in the solution. 

I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating:  Partnership is the heart of safety, but it does take a leader to help make it happen.  I want to recognize one of our key partners – the ICAO North American, Central American and Caribbean Regional Office and the Regional Director Loretta Martin for her leadership over the years in helping RASG-PA evolve.  Her commitment and professionalism at ICAO has enabled this regional safety group to become a model of improving safety around the world.  I’d be remiss not to acknowledge our other key regional partner, Franklin Hoyer from the ICAO  South America Regional office in Lima.  Your work makes a difference. 

What Loretta Martin will tell you firsthand – as will the successful operators – is that we must establish safety cultures.  That’s what safety management systems do for aviation.  When you instill a safety culture—a culture that’s based from top to bottom with safety as its focus—you get a safety record like the one we have in U.S. commercial aviation. 

By definition, a safety management system—SMS—is a process-oriented approach to managing safety throughout an organization.  That includes everything up to and including an organization-wide safety policy.  An SMS takes the guesswork out of safety assessments. 

An SMS has formal methods for identifying hazards, and then mitigating and controlling risk.  An SMS continually assesses risk and safety performance.  SMS is not just about compliance with technical standards.  An SMS emphasizes the overall safety performance of the organization. 

Through safety management systems, we can shape aviation’s future by continuing to drive down safety risk.  The frequency of commercial airline accidents is declining around the world.  Safety management feeds the safety culture of an organization, which in turn provides the safety information that gives us insight into precursors.  The information is based on data bases that are populated with input from operational information from flight data recorders, from radar and also from voluntary submissions made by safety professionals on the front line.

That type of safety record happens when everyone … everyone who touches the plane … everyone who touches something that touches the plane … when all the players have safety as their primary concern.  In aviation, we have very complex processes—manufacturing, maintenance and operations—things move very quickly.  With humans in the loop it’s easy to make a mistake.  We can’t afford that.  With safety, you must always be vigilant. 

In the U.S., we’ve achieved an 83 percent reduction in the commercial fatality -risk because we take a proactive approach to safety.  Safety management ensures that the outcomes of any activity incorporate safety considerations.  And it insists on a healthy safety culture. 

As we move forward in the safety information sharing that really gives these partnerships life, it’s important to remember that all of these efforts have been successful because this is not punitive.  FAA Administrator Michael Huerta has said on more than one occasion that secure data and information sharing among trusted professionals has the potential to be the single-greatest catalyst for aviation safety in the decades to come.  He is absolutely 100 percent right. 

He’s right because voluntary safety data adds a new dimension to what we can learn about what’s happening in the system.  I want to encourage everyone here to champion the implementation of these programs in the aviation community.

The simple fact of the matter is that providing protections for safety programs is vital.  That is the only way we can encourage members of the community to step forward with safety issues.  Data sharing is based entirely on trust, and all parties need to be able to trust one another. 

Information sharing needs to be part of any system that’s striving for safety.  Information sharing and international partnership go hand in hand.  Information sharing is pivotal if we as aviation safety professionals are to enhance safety worldwide. 

Our collaborative efforts in this region are well under way.  The Commercial Aviation Safety Team is an example that’s well known to you.  CAST signed an agreement with the RASG-PA to share U.S. operator experience at 22 Latin American and Caribbean airports.  This agreement lets CAST and RASG-PA share detailed safety information through systems like ASIAS to monitor risk and evaluate the effectiveness of deployed mitigations.  In addition to sharing CAST safety information based on U.S. experience flying into RASG-PA destinations, CAST has also shared its solutions to safety risks … and many of these have been adopted by RASG-PA.

In closing, it’s important that you know that your work makes a difference.  We look forward to building on our successes together to address safety risk in this region.  I know that regional aviation safety groups participate in the FAA’s Aviation Safety InfoShare meetings back in the United States.  That is one of our most important venues for safety.  I was delighted to hear CAST’s recent Airplane State Awareness study was already being evaluated by PA-RAST for its training-related safety enhancements.

When government and industry become partners, it’s not about the government telling everyone what to do.  It’s about individuals and their organizations and their businesses stepping up and sharing information.  Sharing best practices.  Making sure that all operators are safe.  That all maintenance facilities are safe.  That we all move forward with safety as our goal. 

This is where you’ll get the best results.  When we are looking at all of the available data together, it’s hard not to come to the same conclusion.  And that conclusion is that safety and partnership go hand in hand.  Safety and partnership must go hand-in-hand.  Thank you.

T.F. Green Runway

My background is in transportation, so obviously, I’m a huge fan of airports. And I have to tell you, this is a beautiful airport. We have a wonderful partnership here at T.F. Green Airport, and there is lots of potential to help Rhode Island grow economically.

As the Secretary will tell you, the airport grants that we’ve provided played a very, very significant role here. But all of that started here with a vision, a vision that the state of Rhode Island had, a plan for bigger and better, for growth for this airport. And we’re so proud to be partnering with you to leverage this airport and its role in this area. You’ve shown a strong commitment to the flying public as well as to the community.

The airfield improvement program here is going to make a big, big difference. Lengthening the airport’s primary runway will improve efficiency and will enhance safety for the airlines and the traveling public. It will also allow T.F. Green to handle longer haul flights. The new runway safety areas and arrestor beds on the other runways provide an extra margin of safety in the very unlikely event that a pilot needs to use them.

In fact, they’re called “EMAS” – Engineered Materials Arresting System – and what they do is actually slow an airplane to a complete stop if it overruns the main runway area – just as planned. And if you want to know what one looks like, there is an EMAS bed at the end of this runway right behind you. The EMAS at the end of Runway 34 will be done by the end of next year.

The sum total of all that brings us here today. Big things are in store for T.F. Green Airport. I am absolutely confident of that.

Now, it’s my pleasure to introduce the Secretary of Transportation. When the President nominated Anthony Foxx to be Secretary, he said, “He’s got the respect of his peers, mayors, and governors all across the country. He’s going to be extraordinarily effective.” That’s a nice thing to hear coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Secretary is an unfailing supporter of aviation, and that’s what brings him here today. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Secretary Anthony Foxx.

Bigger, Better, Safer

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good morning. Thank you for inviting me. I had the good fortune to be with Transportation Secretary Foxx, members of the Congressional delegation, Governor Chafee and Mayor Avedisian earlier today at T.F. Green. They’re putting the great state of Rhode Island into the position to do great things over at the airport – extending the runway, putting additional safety protections in place. T.F. Green already is a great airport, and now I think it’s going to be even better.

Let me say what a pleasure it is to be back here once again with my colleagues at NASAO’s annual convention. This is a group that connects the dots, and I can tell you that aviation needs more groups that do that. You’re the people who make sure that the federal, state and local governments are talking. I know firsthand that that kind of thing doesn’t happen on its own.

For many years, you were fortunate to have one of the real masters of collaboration running things here at NASAO. I think it’s fair to say that aviation owes a debt of gratitude to Henry Ogrodzinski, for the work he did to put NASAO into the place where it became known for bringing groups together. What I particularly liked about Henry O. is the way he did it. He was direct, firm, and smooth. But also cordial, deferential, and kind. Through it all, you learned pretty quickly that his approach was to get the job done. In this business, you can’t go it alone. Henry O. knew that, which is why NASAO has the reputation it does.

Here was a man committed to improving the business of aviation, the system of aviation and more importantly, the people of aviation. That’s quite a legacy. But that was Henry O. I’ll miss him, and I know aviation will as well.

Shifting gears, I note with interest that today is the 67^th anniversary of “Skyway One” – a coast-to-coast highway in the sky stretching from D.C. to L.A. It was a couple of 40-mile wide flight paths to encourage cross-country travel. Just a year later came “Skyway Two,” which stretched from Seattle to Boston. Efficiency was a big deal. Even in 1947.

We’re still pushing the envelope for technology and procedures, reaffirming to passengers and businesses that aviation is the best way to go.

With that said, the need to modernize has never been clearer. 65 billion passengers flew in the first 100 years of commercial aviation. We’ll hit 65 billion passengers again in just the next 15. Those aren’t the only big numbers. Aviation employs nearly 12 million people in the United States and makes up 5.4 percent of our GDP. Civil aviation contributes $1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy. At any given moment, 5,000 flights are in our skies. We are modernizing because we have to. Modernization means greater safety. Modernization means greater efficiency. Modernization means saving fuel, being green and saving money at the same time. It’s not just the smart thing to do: it’s the right thing to do.

When you hear “modernization,” think NextGen. NextGen is happening now. We are completing the final pieces of the key foundation of NextGen.

And it’s not just happening at large airports. We are upgrading and standardizing the computer systems at more than 150 terminal facilities throughout the country. It’s happening at T.F. Green. Right here, the Providence control tower and radar room that's responsible for this airport and the surrounding area has state-of-the art equipment that works with satellite technology in concert with ground based radar. That helps traffic flow. In addition, we are raising the ground based radar antenna serving Providence to improve coverage in the area. We’re installing an information display system for controllers this year. In the tower, controllers have access to the ASDE-X surface surveillance system that provides clear airfield detection of planes and vehicles during low visibility weather.

In addition to improvements at airports, we’re improving our computer and automation system for en route air traffic. These are the facilities that handle the high-altitude traffic. To date, 16 en route facilities have fully deployed ERAM, the computer system that is the backbone of our NextGen airspace system. It processes flight radar data, and generates display data to controllers. By next spring, all 20 en route centers will be using ERAM continuously.

The work at the centers and terminal locations leads to a greater capacity for controllers in terms of handling aircraft in their sectors more effectively and efficiently. That translates directly to improved efficiency for the entire airspace system.

Beyond new equipment, software and automation platforms, let me update you on NextGen satellite-based procedures. We now have more satellite-based procedures than traditional radar-based procedures. NextGen ensures greater access to many airports when visibility to the runway is reduced because of fog, clouds, heavy rain or other conditions. Places like North Central and Block Island State airports that don’t have an instrument landing system. As we’ve discussed before, we have what we call WAAS-LPV approaches – the full term is Wide Area Augmentation, “Localizer Performance with Vertical Guidance.” WAAS-LPV takes advantage of GPS signal enhancement technology and provides pilots with a landing path that they can see on their cockpit instrument panel. It’s beneficial for smaller aircraft—including biz jets, helicopters and rescue aircraft that need access to smaller and medium-sized airports that can’t afford expensive ground-based landing equipment. Nationwide, we’ve already published more than 3,400 WAAS-LPV procedures at more than 1,680 airports.

As you can see, we’re busy at advancing aviation. Just this morning, you heard that we’ve achieved another milestone toward finding an unleaded fuel for general aviation. We’re committed to finding a replacement fuel by 2018. That’s especially good news for your constituents.

As big and exciting as NextGen is, we’re also addressing another piece of technology that’s really captured the public eye: unmanned aircraft systems. This developing technology comes with great responsibility. That’s for the people who fly unmanned aircraft systems and for those who are charged with integrating them.

To say that this is uncharted territory may be the understatement of the year. Federal Air Regulations didn’t contemplate an empty cockpit. That’s about to change.

There is great potential for this technology. Agricultural, emergencies, surveying, environmental monitoring, traffic safety – the potential is tremendous, and new applications pop up all the time. Unmanned aircraft systems are the most dynamic growth sector in the aviation industry. One 10- year estimate says total spending worldwide will hit $90 billion. Any number followed by “billion” is a big number. Section 333 of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 allows for authorization of specific, limited, low-risk commercial unmanned aircraft systems flights. Interest in section 333 has been robust, and we are in the process of reviewing more than 30 requests for commercial operations. These special rules will enable the FAA to slowly expand authorized commercial operations for limited applications in very controlled environments, like filming for movies or television on a closed set.

The FAA has the exclusive authority to regulate the airspace, from the ground up. We have a mandate to protect the safety of the American people in the air and on the ground. The public expects us to carry out this mission.

Our challenge at the FAA is to integrate unmanned aircraft into the same airspace used by commercial aviation, general aviation and other new entrants – like commercial space vehicles traveling faster than the speed of sound. That’s also in addition to balloonists. And skydivers. And model aircraft enthusiasts.

There’s a lot going on up there. Considering the complex mix of uses, the introduction of unmanned aircraft into America’s national airspace system will take place incrementally and with the interest of safety first.

We’re writing a rule right now for small unmanned aircraft, the area where we expect the most growth. It addresses vehicles that weigh 55 pounds or less. The proposal will be published later this year. Obviously, we’re working to get it done as expeditiously as possible.

The context for that rule is fairly simple: If you want to operate in the National Airspace System, you have to ensure that your operation doesn’t create an unacceptable risk to users or people and property on the ground. That applies to everyone who is using the system now. Logically, the same must be true for unmanned aircraft, both big and small. If you want to fly, you have to fly by the rules. That’s what makes our aviation system as safe as it is. Safety does not happen on its own. We know that, and that is specifically why we are the gold standard for safety.

We have six test sites nationwide to develop and lead unmanned aircraft system research and development. They’re going to study UAS integration issues from just about every angle: system safety and data gathering; aircraft certification; command and control linkage; control station layout and certification standards; ground and airborne sense-and-avoid technology; and the impact of the unmanned aircraft systems on the environment. The information we gather from these test sites will be useful as we develop the regulations that govern the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems.

Just a few weeks ago, I was in Blacksburg for the launch of the Virginia Tech test site, which also has ranges in New Jersey and Maryland. They’ll study the successful integration of unmanned aircraft systems into our skies.

In short, we’re working together to move things forward: government, industry, academia.

Before closing, let me talk for a moment about reauthorization. We still remain in a difficult situation when it comes to long term planning and budgeting. I know that many of you are thinking about it, and you by no means are alone. Here’s where we are:

In December, Congress passed a two-year budget. That provides us with some degree of certainty. The two-year budget temporarily avoids the cuts we would have had to make under the sequester. Our current authorization will expire in one year. As we gear up for this, we’re asking ourselves some basic questions, some tough questions about our mission. What are our priorities? How can we use technology to reduce our costs? Where will we find the resources to replace our aging infrastructure and also modernize the system?

We have to prioritize our work. We cannot continue to provide all of the services we have in the past. The current budget environment won’t let us. We’re looking at what we can do differently or stop altogether.

In an aviation community as diverse as ours, this is obviously a much larger discussion. We want to build consensus on the direction we’re going. I believer that consensus around the future direction of the FAA is absolutely critical if we’re going to resolve our long-term funding challenges.

We are committed to supporting our aviation system’s infrastructure needs and ensuring that our system remains the safest and most efficient in the world. Even with all this, though, we must remember that our central mission does not change: A safe and efficient system 24/7/365. Accomplishing that in an era of tight budgets is not easy. The long and short of that story is that it’s awfully hard to run a business without stable funding.

We’ve covered a lot of ground today, but the good news is that the challenges we have are dynamic. We’re not maintaining the status quo. We’re talking about bigger and better, about safer and greener. The good news for me is that groups like this one can be counted on to speak up and let its voice be heard. I look forward to working with you as we face the future together.

Kim, great minds think alike. As I said before, signing an agreement with NASAO is good for you, good for us and good for aviation. It’s a smart business move. Unmanned Aircraft Systems are an exciting technology, and I’m happy that you’re willing to work with us to integrate then. I am pleased to sign this MOU.

UAS Virginia Test Site Announcement

Good afternoon and thank you all for coming out.

I am very pleased to announce that today the FAA has approved Virginia Tech to conduct research on unmanned aircraft systems here in Virginia.

We have given authorization for seven different types of operations using unmanned aircraft, including fixed wing and rotorcraft.

We look forward to the important contributions that Virginia Tech and their partners in New Jersey and Maryland will make to our body of knowledge about unmanned systems, and how to safely integrate them into our nation’s airspace.

We’ll see in just a few minutes Virginia Tech’s research in action. Today’s test focuses on highway safety and emergency response. The University will also use unmanned aircraft for a number of other purposes. For example, to inspect power lines and cell towers for damage and maintenance. This work is now done by employees who must climb poles or use a bucket truck, which can be dangerous work.

This test site will also use unmanned vehicles to detect the health of crops, take air quality samples and detect the presence of bacteria, weeds and bugs. Other vehicles will map out the typical landscape of a rural setting – the silos, barns, cattle and other terrain characteristics to create the best procedures for integrating these vehicles into agricultural settings.

The research here will lay out the challenges and the potential solutions for using unmanned aircraft to perform these types of applications.

The FAA’s number one priority is safety. We regulate the use of our nation’s airspace to protect the safety of all aircraft as well as people and property on the ground.

In moving forward, we recognize that the expanded use of unmanned aircraft presents great opportunities, but there are operational issues that we need to address. We need to make sure that unmanned aircraft sense and avoid other aircraft, and that they operate safely if they lose the link to their pilot. We also need to address pilot training. This is why developing more test data is so important.

In addition to the work here at Virginia Tech, members of the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership will conduct testing in New Jersey and Maryland as well. Future research will include other types of agricultural uses related to crop dusting, and developing procedures to integrate unmanned vehicles into airspace near airports with control towers.

We want to safely expand the use of unmanned aircraft, and the research here in Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic, and other other sites across the country will help the evolution of our airspace. It will help to make sure that America remains a leader in aviation innovation.

Air Venture

Thank you, Jack (Pelton, Chairman of EAA and former CEO of Cessna). Good morning, everyone. It’s great to be back at Oshkosh this year and have the opportunity to meet with all of you. 

Events like this help us reconnect with the wonder of flight.

And for me, I think about how far aviation has come. Just think, it was fifty years ago that the Beech King Air flew its first flight. In 1964, the King Air became the first U.S. light twin-engine turboprop to be type-certified. It was the latest in business aviation.

Also fifty years ago this year, the founder of EAA, Paul Poberezny, moved the organization’s headquarters out of the basement of his home to a new building in Franklin, Wisconsin, which was the first home for the EAA. The interest in experimental and light sport aircraft was growing and the association needed to grow with it.

In the last 50 years, the entire aviation industry has matured and grown. Change is a constant. It’s part of that pioneering spirit of aviation – of wanting to explore and push limits.

To make GA safer and better, we need to work together and listen to each other. I value the chance to spend time with you, and to hear what’s on your mind. I’m interested in your opinions, and I am guessing that there is no shortage of them here!  I wouldn’t have it any other way. I look forward to working together with you and EAA and AOPA in a partnership, to address the needs of the general aviation community, and to help GA grow and mature. 

One of the important issues on everyone’s mind is the third class medical certificate. I have heard you loud and clear on this.

As everyone here knows, EAA and AOPA submitted a petition to exempt recreational pilots from needing a third class medical certificate. We asked for public comment on this and we’ve received more than 16,000 comments.  An exemption like this could impact approximately 39,000 pilots according to AOPA and EAA’s own estimates. 

Fundamentally what you’re trying to achieve is a long lasting policy change. A change that effects this many people is typically not done using the exemption route.

Exemptions are usually for very limited circumstances or for limited durations. We do major policy changes through rulemaking. Now, the downside of the rulemaking process is that it does take time. But that is how we get to the fundamental change you all are looking for. We haven’t ruled out the exemption as an interim step, but we don’t want to have it get in the way of expeditiously completing the rulemaking process. My leadership team at the FAA has worked very hard to draft a notice of proposed rulemaking. I have reviewed it and signed it last week. This notice will go through executive review, but our goal is to issue the notice of proposed rulemaking before the end of this year.

The proposed rule will lay out the parameters that define how a person could fly without a third class medical certificate. As you know, if you fly a glider or balloon today, you aren’t required to have a medical certificate at all. We are trying to take a reasonable approach to ensure we maintain the highest levels of safety in recreational flying.  

Everything in aviation changes and grows. Nothing is static. I was reminded of that when we visited the Innovation Pavilion this morning on the way over here.

We checked out the electric airplanes and other inventions. The rate of change in engine technology and navigation is exponential. Soon, what we saw this morning will be yesterday’s models.

At the FAA we are living that spirit of transformation by modernizing our nation’s airspace through NextGen. The changes we are making will allow all of us to take advantage of the benefits of new technology and make our airspace safer and more efficient.

As you may know, this year we finished one of the most crucial foundations of NextGen – the installation of the infrastructure for Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, or ADS-B.We have installed more than 630 transceivers nationwide. This represents a key milestone in transitioning from a ground-based radar system to satellite-based GPS technology. 

ADS-B Out is one of the foundational elements of NextGen, and it allows us to bring you many benefits.

I know that many of you are concerned about the 2020 mandate to equip for ADS-B Out. There is still a five-and-a-half year window to get it done. But the date is firm. As a nation, we need to modernize our airspace and take advantage of superior GPS capabilities and the enhanced safety and efficiency these capabilities will bring to all of us. I encourage you to equip before the deadline to avoid delays at repair stations as the deadline draws closer.

I also want to remind you that equipage for ADS-B Out will only be required in certain airspace. That airspace is where we require transponders today, so controllers can see you. This of course includes the airspace around busy airports. If you fly in uncontrolled airspace – where no transponder is required today – you don’t need to equip.

We are doing what we can to facilitate low-cost alternatives for the general aviation community.  To meet the minimum requirements for ADS-B Out, you need three things:

• A rule-compliant GPS receiver
• A 1090 MHz extended squitter, or a 978 MHz universal access transceiver
• And an antenna

You can buy just these things, or you can integrate with other technologies and capabilities. We’ve done a lot of work to certify a range of products, and companies are responding.

Thousands of GA aircraft owners have already equipped with ADS-B Out, and I thank you for that. The experimental community is often at the forefront of adopting advanced technology, and you are helping us by flagging difficulties you may have encountered with equipage so far.

We are tracking the installations to date and we have encountered some problems with improper avionics installations and system software configurations.

We want to fix these problems immediately and we are providing a free service where we will verify ADS-B Out avionics performance for you. Just email us and ask us to check your equipment, and we’ll do it. We search a database of flight tracks kept at our Tech Center in Atlantic City, and we can see if you are transmitting correctly.

We have set up a dedicated email account, and last month, we checked 300 aircraft, and helped owners fix issues. Please visit the ADS-B booth in the FAA Safety Center. They have the email address and can help you out.

Equipping for ADS-B brings pilots many advantages. 

We now have ADS-B coverage in remote areas where radar coverage was limited before, such as the Gulf of Mexico, mountainous regions in Colorado, and low altitude airspace in Alaska. This makes flying safer.

Of course, we also have ADS-B coverage here in Wisconsin, the Dakotas, Minnesota and parts of the Northern Great Plains.

ADS-B enables us to determine an aircraft’s location with far greater accuracy than radar. This highly precise surveillance is improving our ability to perform life-saving search and rescue operations. Air traffic controllers have better information about an airplane’s last position, helping to take the “search” out of search and rescue. 

Now that we’ve completed the nationwide installation of the transceivers, ADS-B is bringing free weather and traffic updates to the cockpit from coast to coast. There’s no cost to subscribe. This service had been available in select areas before, but now we truly have nationwide coverage.

ADS-B delivers information about hazardous weather to the cockpit and brings important flight information, such as temporary flight restrictions and notices to airmen.  It also enables general aviation pilots – for the first time – to see much of what air traffic controllers see. Cockpit displays show the location of aircraft in the sky around you, creating an environment of shared situational awareness that enhances safety. When everyone is ADS-B compliant, it will truly be a different world.

Many GA pilots are already enjoying the benefits of GPS and specifically the advantages of WAAS-LPV.

If you are thinking of equipping for WAAS, vendors are selling rule compliant ADS-B Out equipment in a package with WAAS GPS receivers.

Already, more than 74,000 GA aircraft of all types are equipped to be able to use WAAS-LPV approaches. That includes nearly 70,000 recreational and sport GA aircraft (Part 23). This is a huge benefit that NextGen brings to the GA community. WAAS brings better and more reliable access to smaller airports that don’t have an instrument landing system, for example, Half Moon Bay Airport south of San Francisco.

WAAS also improves access to airports that do have an ILS but you can’t use it because the wind has changed and you need to come in from the other end of the runway. If you have to go to an opposite runway end, then WAAS-LPV can get you in. 

WAAS provides a vertically guided approach that allows you to fly into airports in poor weather conditions with minimums as low as 200 feet. It is very similar to a Category I ILS approach. With WAAS, the accuracy of the GPS signal is improved from 20 meters, to about 2 meters in both the horizontal and vertical dimensions.

• An advantage of using WAAS-LPV is that the signal is more stable.
• Also, you don’t have to watch out for the critical areas of the runway that protect the ILS.
• And it improves your ability to file for IFR to an airport with no ILS; or to designate the airport as an alternate.
• Also, for those airports that do have an ILS, sometimes it’s down, due to construction, but WAAS-LPV can get you in.

We have been steadily working for the last 10 years to bring you this NextGen benefit. These approaches are at 1,676 airports across the country, available for you right now, such as Fort Myers, Fla.; Martha’s Vineyard; and Fulton County Airport at Charlie Brown Field west of Atlanta. 

We have published more than 3,400 WAAS-LPV approaches to runway ends across the country. That’s more than two and a half times the number of ILS procedures (1,281) nationwide. And we’re not done. We intend to develop another 270 WAAS-LPV approaches in the next three years, including at Newcastle, Delaware; Muscatine, Iowa; and Conway, Arkansas.

This represents a significant improvement in safety and efficiency for GA pilots thanks to NextGen.

In addition to adding new procedures across the country, we have also worked very hard to streamline our certification process for GA safety equipment.

I want to share with you the efforts that the FAA has made to cut red tape and really improve the experience of GA pilots in several areas.

First, we have simplified the design approval process for angle of attack indicators, to make it easier for GA pilots to install this safety device in older aircraft.

What this means is that it’s less expensive for the manufacturers to make this important safety device. There’s less paperwork involved. A large percentage of the cost of an aircraft part is solely the cost of documenting the way the company made the part. We’ve streamlined that and brought down the price of the angle of attack indicator from about $6,000 to $1,500 or less.  This indicator can now be installed as a minor alteration, which makes it less costly.

I really encourage those of you with older model aircraft to install this life-saving device.  Just last week we issued an Information for Operators – an “InFO,” that highlights the advantages of using an angle of attack indicator. Loss of control, mainly stalls, accounted for 40 percent of fatal GA accidents over the last decade.

The angle of attack indicator tells you how much lift you have under your wings. It can help you discern if you’re about to stall. There are different kinds of indicators, but many of those for GA are simple, like the ones for the military – they show green, yellow and red. Green is good. You’ve got enough lift.

If we can save just one life by avoiding a loss of control accident, it will be worth it. Please consider adding this important safety equipment to your aircraft.

Second, I want to share with you a new draft advisory circular that encourages an additional qualified pilot to ride in amateur built aircraft for phase one flight testing.  The comment period for this circular ended a few days ago and we’ll be reviewing all of the comments.

The final advisory circular can significantly enhance the safety of experimental aircraft testing by having an expert ride with you. Many times the pilot who built the aircraft may not have prior experience flying that type of aircraft. It’s exactly during the testing phase when it makes sense to have a pilot who is more familiar with the aircraft accompany you. This best practice guidance is an example of the FAA and EAA really working together to make things better for the experimental aircraft community.

Third, we’re also improving the testing and training for airman certification.

The new “Airman Certification Standards” was developed by industry in partnership with the FAA and will improve airman testing and training in ways that benefit everybody. The basics are not changing. But the material is presented in a better way.  We’re integrating standards for aeronautical knowledge and risk management into the flight proficiency skills. The new standards will be the only necessary reference for both knowledge and skill.

To be clear:

• Standards are not changing.
• Check rides are not changing.
• The material is just presented better.

This effort represents a great partnership, and we deeply appreciate the industry’s strong commitment to this.

As always, the FAA’s number one mission is safety. It’s everyone’s job at the FAA, and we appreciate very much the professionalism that all of you display. It’s the dedication to detail, day in and day out, that makes the difference in safety.

This year we are asking pilots to think about the weather when thinking about safety.

Earlier this year we launched our “Got Weather?” campaign with our GA partners—EAA and AOPA along with NBAA, the NTSB, NOAA and others.  You can check it out at faa.gov/go/gotweather. 

We have a simple premise:  While terrain, model type and pilot experience may vary, the one thing that should unite all pilots is respect for the weather.  Nearly 75 percent of weather-related GA accidents are fatal, according to AOPA.

We are focusing on a new topic each month through the end of the year. In June, we focused on turbulence. This month we’re looking at Flying IFR:  knowing what you’re flying into.  And with summer flying, that means thunderstorms.

Next month, we’ll look at flying into Instrument Meteorological Conditions without meaning to – a common cause of accidents.

The fatal accident rate for GA has remained stagnant the last five years. I think we’d all agree that we’re still not where we want to be.  This year we are down below our not-to-exceed rate by about 10 accidents so far, but we cannot rest or be content with this. We all need to work together to constantly improve our skills and make sure that all of us will continue to enjoy the skies for many years to come.

Right now, I’d like to recognize some very important people we have in the audience today. They are experts in safety and serve as a role model to others. They are the winners of this year’s General Aviation Awards. These folks join a distinguished group of aviation professionals who have won the award over the years here at AirVenture. I would like to acknowledge them. There will be another ceremony later today where they will receive their awards, but I did want to flag these folks for you so that you recognize them as leaders in safety. Winners, please stand when I call your name.

The winner of the Certificated Flight Instructor of the Yearaward is Howard William Wolvington of Issaquah,Washington.

The Aviation Maintenance Technician of the year winner is Max Lloyd Burnette of Rockvale, Tennessee.

From Guilford, Connecticut, we have the winner of the Avionics Technician of the Year award – David Brian Kocak.

And last but not least, the FAA Safety Team Representative of the year is Richard Loren Stowell Jr. of McCall, Idaho.

Please join me in congratulating these outstanding aviation safety leaders.

I want to thank you for your attention this morning. AirVenture is all about reconnecting with the thrill of flight and the enjoyment we get from exploring the skies. I salute your commitment to improving your skills as pilots and to passing on your knowledge and wisdom to other pilots, and to young and old who are just starting to discover the field we know and love.

Thank you very much.

Jack, I know we’re going to questions now, but before we do, I’d like to introduce my FAA safety team that’s joining me today.  Would the FAA employees please stand up and face the audience? Please acknowledge when I call your name.

Pogue Award

Thank you, Ken [Quinn]. 

The Pogue Award recognizes individuals with a lifetime of achievement in aviation and a vision for where this industry is headed.

Back in the mid 1940s, Welch Pogue chaired the Civil Aeronautics Board before the FAA existed. He then worked to establish a legal framework of rules and treaties for international aviation that helped mold the system we have today.

To win the Pogue Award, you not only need insight, you have to lead people and make the vision a reality.

Peggy Gilligan has done just that.

What Peggy has done is the very challenging work of changing the philosophical underpinning of how we think about aviation safety. She has engineered a sea change in the very culture of safety.

Peggy recognized early on that we need to move away from the forensic study of accidents and instead attempt to anticipate what the next accident cause might be, and prevent it from happening.

We need to evolve past compliance based safety to data driven safety. We need to stop being retrospective and become prospective.

Peggy has worked with industry, starting with the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, or CAST, to expand the use of data sharing among airlines and the FAA.

Now, more than 40 airlines and the FAA share their data through the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing system.

This happened because Peggy is a known entity. She has worked at the FAA for more than 30 years.  She delivers as promised. Peggy lives and breathes aviation and she defends her community. She’s a lawyer after all. And she’s always prepared.

Peggy likes to joke that everyone comes to her when they want to remember what happened “the last time we did this.” She jokes that she is the doyenne of the FAA. But it’s no joke. So much has changed during Peggy’s watch that it takes a very smart person to synthesize it all and translate what it means. And that is so valuable. What Peggy offers is a rich institutional knowledge and also an open door.

When she first became Associate Administrator of Safety five years ago, she represented a change from the standard candidate. She was not a pilot or an air traffic controller. She was an attorney. But very quickly, any doubts about fitting in evaporated.

Her influence spreads across the lines of business at the FAA.  She heads one of our biggest cultural shifts—to risk-based decision making.  Through this initiative, we use data-driven tools to make smarter, risk-based decisions about safety and how we operate.  As an agency, we tap the wealth of data now available and conduct sophisticated analysis to identify the areas of highest risk.  The goal of this initiative is to get us to a point where we can redirect all of our efforts toward these higher risk areas. 

This will change how we do things in areas outside the Aviation Safety organization, such as the development of safety management systems and some of the work the Air Traffic Organization is doing to identify top safety hazards and target corrective activities.  This initiative will also position us to make risk-based decision making part of our operating philosophy across the entire agency.

Being data-driven helps us refine our safety oversight model that prioritizes safety inspection efforts.  It also will provide us with the tools to consider stopping certain oversight activities for known system operators that have strong safety management systems of their own.  This way, we can achieve compliance more efficiently.

That gives you an idea organizationally, but she also touches individual employees as well.  Peggy has been a mentor to many – young lawyers, women, safety professionals and more. People turn to her when they need a trusted source to explain the lay of the land.

Before I was Administrator of the FAA, I had the pleasure of working with Peg during the Clinton years when I was the chief of staff at DOT.  At the time, Peggy had a reputation for being tough but fair, someone who was going to hang in there as long as it took to make the point or underscore the need for action.

I learned then what I know now:  Peggy Gilligan really is the people’s representative for aviation safety.  She creates teams and energizes them, and makes sure they get the job done. 

The sum total of all this is that Peggy Gilligan makes a difference, and she makes a difference that will last.  The safety of the system that all of us enjoy is the direct result of her work and the team that she has built.  Hers is a legacy of vision, and of excellence, and it’s fair to say that like the previous Pogue Award winners, Peggy Gilligan has changed the face of aviation.  We are the better for it.