FAA Announces Aviation Safety Rating for Vietnam

FAA Makes Major Drone ID Marking Change

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Presents Astronaut Wings to Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo Crew

Commercial Astronaut Wings Presentation

FAA Statement on Continuing Operations of the FAA During a Lapse in Appropriations

Atlanta is a "No Drone Zone" During Super Bowl LIII

FAA Statement: Safety is the top priority for the FAA

Aero Club of Washington Luncheon

Thank you, Margaret.

I’ve attended many Aero Club luncheons over the years. So, it’s a bit surreal to be looking at all of you from this side of the podium.

I’ve had a lot of those moments this year. Being back at the agency… it’s humbling. It hit me when I was at Udvar Hazy a few weeks ago. Aviation has such an amazing legacy.

I saw the Blackbird… 1960s technology with analog dials and Mach 4 capability.

I saw the Concorde, and the Space Shuttle. And the iconic Boeing 707. They’re just a few of aviation’s monuments.

A few of those birds were the brainchild of Kelly Johnson, and there are more than a handful of others who owed a debt of gratitude to the founder of Skunk Works.

He used to have a saying “Be quick, be quiet, and be on time.” Sounds like an airline mission statement, but I’m pretty sure he was talking to his engineers.

And, I think we can all agree. We are right “on time” for something big.

We find ourselves on the cusp of the third great era of aviation: the age of autonomous and unmanned aircraft.

The jet age was just as consequential. But in many ways, it was simpler. The skies weren’t as crowded as they are today.

Now, we’re looking at a future where thousands of airliners still crisscross the globe. But they’re joined by huge commercial rockets – and a million drones.

I’m not sure we appreciate how much of a seismic change it’s going to be – for all of us.

Government and industry have spent the last few decades honing the system. We carved out our roles, and figured out how to work together. 

But for aviation to continue to thrive … the system we have today must get better.

We don’t want to be caught flat-footed this time around.  We want to be ready for the next era of aviation. Especially since we almost missed the boat with the first.

This is what guys like me aren’t supposed to talk about. The “original sin” government committed against this industry.

The Wrights may have been bicycle repairmen, but they were no strangers to the pen.  They wrote letter after letter after letter—all sent to an address not far from where we’re sitting right now.  

They told Washington what they had.  They explained that they’d conquered the impossible. And Uncle Sam shrugged.

Thank you for your interest, Mr. Wright, but we at the War Department have already invested in our own flight experiment—with Samuel Langley.

That was a solid plan—right up until the moment Mr. Langley’s project crashed into the Potomac.

Conclusion? If the government couldn’t solve this problem… then it couldn’t be solved. Until, of course, it was.

That was an early and important lesson that still applies today: Innovation fuels aviation, and innovation rarely comes from the federal government.

And there’s an important corollary to that lesson: Bureaucrats shouldn’t tell innovators what they can’t do. See? It’s right there…page 27, section 3, paragraph 1, subpart b – in the footnote.

We’ve had too many of those exchanges in the past. But, that’s changing. And that’s thanks, in part, to a lot of what’s in a 400 page piece of legislation.

We’ve got a new five-year authorization – the longest the FAA has had in more than 35 years. It doesn’t have everything we asked for. No bill ever does. But it’s full of a lot of good things.

We have a mandate to accelerate our momentum on unmanned aircraft. It clears the way to remote identification standards. It supports us moving forward on long-awaited rules for drone operations over people and at night.

And we will be coordinating closely with our federal law enforcement partners in the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice who have new authority to counter the malicious use of UAS.

Congress didn’t stop there. The new law authorizes an increase in commercial space funding – to the tune of 236 percent over the next five years. We’ll also be creating an Office of Spaceports.

It even sets us up for the return of supersonic aircraft. That’s something most of us thought we’d never see again. And those aircraft advancements will be aided by a reformed certification system that helps manufacturers press ideas into metal faster.

There’s plenty more where that comes from. In fact, there’s so much more…we’re using a 30-page spreadsheet to track hundreds of deliverables we’re responsible for over the next five years.

But we still want more legislatively.  We need more.  We need funding reform.

This isn’t about more money. We collect plenty to keep the system running. What we need is stability and predictability. It would also be nice to have the flexibility to spend that money how and where and when we need to.

That may be asking a lot, but something has to give. We’re in our 47th continuing resolution in the last 11 years.

The FAA hasn’t started a fiscal year with a full appropriation since 1997. Think about that for a second.  We support two-thirds of the world’s airspace… nearly a billion passengers… and 5 percent of the GDP.

That’s your bottom line. That’s America’s bottom line. And it’s just no way to run the largest, most complex air navigation system in the world.

President Trump gets that. He’s a businessman. And he’s bringing those same principles to this Administration. He told us to get rid of rules that have outlived their usefulness.

You don’t have to tell us twice. Under Secretary Chao’s leadership, DOT leads the federal government in cutting outdated, burdensome and unnecessary regulations.  And the FAA has been the largest contributor to the Department’s success in this area.

We’re answering the President’s call to cut two regulations for every new one. At the same time, we’re busy creating a new and improved regulatory framework for drones and commercial space transportation.  

This year alone, we’ve taken deregulatory actions that should save $65 million – annually.

But this isn’t just about saving dollars. It’s about saving time. About making it easier for people to operate in our system.

These are our commercial space launch and reentry licensing regs today.

Soon, they’ll look like this.

We’ve got momentum on this, and believe me when I tell you, we’re just getting started.  

These streamlining efforts go well beyond rulemaking. We’re using technology to clear out many of the pain points in our system. The delays… the inefficiencies… the bottlenecks.

The Northeast Corridor brings the system to its knees. It’s a petri dish for delays due to weather, construction and volume.  About a third of all delays in the system originate in the Northeast Corridor.

So I want you to know we know how important this artery is to our nation – and what happens when it’s clogged. That’s why we’re adding Performance Based Navigation procedures, and prioritizing initial trajectory-based operations that will reduce congestion in the region.

But we’re not just about this side of the country.  We’re rolling out technologies and procedures all across the NAS – with more on the way.  

We’re standing up Data Comm En Route Services in Memphis, Indianapolis and Kansas City that should be operational before the end of this year.

The ADS-B mandate is about fourteen months from taking effect. We don’t want you to find yourself on the wrong side of that, stuck in the hangar on New Year’s.  We re-launched the incentive program, and more of you are getting equipped every day.  

We’re also gearing up for the Terminal Flight Data Manager, which will improve controllers’ situational awareness. We’ll begin rolling out those capabilities in 2020.

Of course, individual programs have deadlines, but overall system improvement doesn’t. We don’t have a hard stop on safety or efficiency.  

That’s what these things are doing in the cockpit and on the ground and in the tower. The system’s not slowing down, so we have to do our best to keep up.  

The fact is, if the FAA is going to achieve its mission, safety and innovation can’t be at odds. I truly believe that innovation is the future of safety.

Government shouldn’t be a stop signal for great ideas. It should be a springboard.  Moving map displays. Remote towers. Artificial intelligence. They’re game-changers.  And we need to support them.  

When Secretary Chao launched the UAS Integration Pilot Program, she was all in. She was talking about drones, but that attitude applies to everything we’re doing.  

The President, the Vice President, and the Secretary have given us the green light to think outside the box. The stars don’t always line up like that. And we need to take advantage. I think we already are… but we can do more.

I want to create an innovation incubator inside the FAA. It’ll separate out early innovation from real-time operations, so that good ideas don’t die on the vine.

We’ll give people the freedom to tackle tough questions, and the time to figure out how a new technology can be incorporated into the NAS.

If it works, we’re off to the races. If not, we haven’t wasted much time.

We’ll measure success by our ability to disrupt the status quo and break down obstacles – so that new ideas can be transformed into concrete actions without disturbing current operations.

And let me just say… this isn’t just about being a better service provider and regulator. It’s about maintaining our position as a global leader.

I think we take this for granted sometimes. In the international community, we used to say, “Speak softly and carry a big market share.”

We can’t do that anymore, because times have changed. The rest of the world is catching up.

Complacency will kill us.  Especially if you consider the sheer volume of innovative ideas coming at our agency on an almost daily basis. 

Next year, go to InterDrone or the Consumer Electronics Show. I’ll be there. I don’t just want to see what they’re doing—I need to see it. Because they’re figuring out solutions to challenges we haven’t even thought of yet.

We need to support these innovators—let them know they’ve got a seat at our table. We can't afford to alienate them.

Because, the fact is… we’re staring down a workforce crisis. I know there’s been some debate about this. But, while we discuss the “why”, the “what” is moving right along. If you look at the facts… look at the numbers… they paint a clear picture.

The number of pilots holding active airmen certificates has decreased by nearly 30% since the 80’s. Maintenance isn’t exempt, either. Our technical workforce is aging at the same time our pipeline is running dry.

We’re competing with Silicon Valley for talent. And we’re losing.  If we don’t turn this around, and I mean soon, we’re going to have empty flight decks. Not unmanned – empty. 

That’s why Secretary Chao, Air Force Secretary Wilson and I held an aviation workforce summit a few months ago.

We brought together stakeholders from government, industry, and academia to start talking about the pipelines, pathways, and partnerships we need to get young people excited about careers in aviation again.

Because that’s gotta be part of the solution. We all have to roll up our sleeves if this is going to work.  Each of us must take a personal and direct role in spreading the aviation bug. I caught it in elementary school.

It’s a little ironic that aviation has a mojo crisis right now. I mean – what kid wouldn’t want to pilot a drone, or a space craft – or your own jet pack?

This workforce dilemma – we’re going to solve it. Like we do everything else – with collaboration, calls to action, or just plain elbow grease.

But mark my words: there is a solution, and we will find it.  Because that’s what we do. Look at our monuments.

When I’m at Udvar Hazy…I love going to Udvar-Hazy…I see our past. But I also think about our future.

Where are the next Wright Brothers? Would we even recognize them if they knocked on our door? Or worse… if they knocked, would we know to answer? The War Department didn’t.

Where’s our next Kelly Johnson? We can’t presume he’s in this room having lunch with us. He, or she, might be working a booth at ComicCon. Or tooling away in a garage with the next Steve Wozniak.

We’ve got to stop and think and ask the question, what are the monuments this next generation is going to build?

I don’t know. But I’m excited to find out.

Be quick: Respond to innovation.

Be quiet: Keep your head down and do the work, unhindered by unnecessary rules.

Be on time: Recognize this moment we’re in… and what it requires of us.

This is a new and exciting era—for new entrants, for innovation, for aviation. Let’s make it memorable.

Thank you.

NBAA Remarks

Good morning, and thanks, Ed.  I know you’re interested in technology, so here’s a nugget for you.  Google has an alert feature that’s pretty handy.  You enter a word, and every time that words pops up in the news, you get an email.

If you enter “FAA,” you get updates about the Federal Aviation Administration.  And the Federal Arbitration Act.  The Fine Arts Association.  The Angolan Armed Forces.  You can imagine what those news clips look like.  

And not to be shortchanged, the Florida Aquaculture Association.  

I must warn you, if you’re going to try this, get ready for updates on the National Bass Anglers Association.  

Worthless trivia aside, in this room, there’s little doubt about what FAA and business aviation stand for. We stand for safety.  We’ve stood for safety from day one.  

The good news here is that you can be counted on to step up at each and every turn.  

With the help of the NBAA and the other General Aviation Joint Steering Committee members, the FAA has really started to broaden the scope of our data collection system.  

We’ve always needed GA information in the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing program – ASIAS – and now thanks to you—we’re getting the valuable safety data we need.  

When we began building GA operations into ASIAS, there were just two business operators. They stepped forward to be the first to bring their data into the program.

Today, we have 82 corporate and business operators who actively participate in ASIAS. There are upwards of 1,600 jet and several hundred piston aircraft generating data in use today by the GA membership in ASIAS.

That’s a look behind the curtain that for a long time, we weren’t very optimistic about getting. But that was then, this is now. Business aviation has stepped up, and you’ve made it possible for us to raise the safety bar. Again.  

You’ve been active in our efforts to modernize as well. We appreciate your involvement on the NextGen advisory committee. You’ve helped make next generation plans become a reality for this generation.  

You’ve been a lead advocate for the modernization of the NAS, allowing us to lay a forward-looking foundation.  The business aviation community is pursuing the same goals we are—access, efficiency and flexibility and, of course, safety.  

But it’s just as important to note that for modernization to be a success, we need airspace users to be invested in aircraft avionics for communication, navigation and surveillance.  

All of our avionics decisions were made after careful consultation with the aviation industry.  

With the help of the NextGen Advisory Committee, we’re trying to tackle the Northeast Corridor…because, quite frankly, it’s been tackling us for far too long.  

We know that there’s no new runway on anyone’s horizon. We’ve capitalized on the natural progression of air traffic control. From procedural separation in the 50s … based on knowing where we thought the aircraft was.  

To surveillance control—where we know where the aircraft is. And for about the last 10 years, we’ve been focused on time-based…or trajectory based traffic management. Air traffic control based on where we know the aircraft will be.  

This is where air traffic control needs to be.  

You know, I was at FAA back when we signed the original ADS-B contract with ITT, and when we first started drafting the ADS-B Out NPRM.  

Since then, we’ve heard two narratives: 1. NextGen’s great, FAA has been delivering billions of dollars in benefits. And then there’s the other: NextGen is over-budget, delayed—of no benefit at all.  

I think the reality is somewhere in the middle. One thing is for sure: Despite considerable obstacles, that I’ll talk about in a few minutes, FAA has done a great job, and business aviation has always embraced advances. You’re early adopters. Always have been.  

There’s this notion that modernization has a start and a stop, as if innovators say, “well, that’s enough for now. Let’s take a break.”

The FAA has never looked at it that way; industry certainly doesn’t. We continue to build, to streamline, to modify, to advance.

Modernization is more a journey than a destination.

But, if we’ve learned anything from our efforts the past few decades it’s that government doesn’t have all the answers.  

We’re putting the specs out there with the expectation that industry will come up with solutions. We were never meant to be the only innovator. Our role as the regulator is safety.  

My vision is that we give the innovator as free a reign as possible.  We set the conditions for a safe and efficient NAS.  How you get there is up to you. That’s the definition of a performance-based regulatory culture. We set the safety bar high – very high. And you continue to go over it.

Business aviation has always been very helpful when it comes to supporting modernization – especially as adopters of new technology. So, we need you to keep moving forward with us.  

When the bill was signed, I think just about everybody breathed a sigh of relief. The first 5-year FAA bill since 1982. On that afternoon, we said that the Reauthorization delivers a safer, more secure and efficient aviation system to the traveling public… that it fuels economic growth and competitiveness. And it does.

This leads directly to a discussion of the FAA Reauthorization bill the President signed a few weeks ago.  

The bill creates a stronger infrastructure and does a lot to maintain American leadership in aviation. It’s a bi-partisan bill, and aviation…heck, everyone… needs a little bipartisan thinking.  

We’ve already started working on the key provisions.

Of course, while the bill gives us the authority to exist the next five years, it doesn’t give us the money to keep the lights on. So, while we get a respite from living under one short-term extension after another, we’re not out of the woods on funding.  

In the last 11 years, the FAA has had to operate under 45 mini-appropriations cycles, some lasting only a few days;  28 Authorization cycles; Sequestration; Two government shutdowns; And a partridge in a pear tree.

Look…each of you has a budget. Each of you makes sure that you’re looking as far down the road as possible.

I can’t do that. I’m in a rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul scenario, a never-ending loop in which the vagaries of the political winds hamstring our chances of planning with certainty—real, actual certainty, of what we plan to do in the long term.  

If I asked you to buy into a business that ran on a continuing resolution, you’d walk away.

Being for innovation and against a stable funding stream is like being pro-light bulb and anti-electricity.  

We’re trying to run a $16 billion operation with 45,000 employees—with a budget system that’s just like living check to check. This scenario will not go away. It will not resolve itself.  

When your budget is a political football, it just gets way too easy to punt. And that’s just what’s been happening for years.  

We’ve shown that we can transform the NAS – albeit with one hand tied behind our backs. Now it’s time to do the same with funding. Ed, we need your help on this. The one certainty here is that what we’re doing now just doesn’t cut it.

My sense of urgency is fueled by three words: commercial, space and drones.

America witnessed its first passenger on a commercial spacecraft. These aren’t barnstormers. They’re new entrants.  They’re investors, and they are here, in no uncertain terms, to stay.  

They have no plans to make money on a zero-g carnival ride.  They’re looking long-term, and space, for them, anyway, isn’t so much the final frontier as it is a helluva place to set up shop.  

There’s a raised eyebrow about commercial space, and I’d like to disabuse you of that notion.  It’s unsafe.  It’s too risky.  We need more regulations.  What about people and property on the ground?  It’s too expensive.  Passengers would be putting their lives into someone else’s hands.

For the record, that’s what people used to say about us.  But aviation evolved, and so will commercial space.  We would be foolish to dismiss this as novelty.

We’re learning the same lesson with unmanned aircraft.  What started as a toy is now an economic juggernaut.  This thing went from aisle 4 at Toys R Us to a pretty pricey business strategy—but who am I to speak for Amazon, Google, Uber and Walmart?  

We must find a path for these new entrants to be safely integrated into the NAS.  The FAA will not create a segregated traffic management system.  That’s not going to work.  

We went from balloons to pistons to jets and rotorcraft.  And we’re going to evolve again to accommodate commercial spacecraft, drones, and whatever’s next.  And believe me when I tell you, I’ve come to realize that what’s next comes around the corner a whole lot faster than it used to.

Personally, I’ve flown: MD-80, B767/757, and Cessna Citation on the civilian side.  On the military side:  C-21 (Lear 35), C-141B, T-37/T-38. Becoming a registered drone pilot is next on my list.  

Like I said, they are here to stay. We’ve got to learn about them just as much as we want them to learn about us.  

Before I close, I’d like to leave you with a thought about the future. We’ve discussed future workforce, future aircraft and future funding.

But I think each of these takes a backseat to the future of safety. The future of safety lies in analyzing data submitted through voluntary safety programs.  

To those operators who participate in ASIAS today, thank you. You’re laying the groundwork for the safety of the next generation. I encourage you to share your experiences with operators who are a little gun-shy. The more data we have to learn about the system the better we can manage and improve the system.  

Sharing safety issues, trends and lessons learned is critical to learning what may be emerging to become the next risk in the system. We won’t be able to identify these without you and without all of us working together.  

When it comes to safety, the corporate community is a leader and I admire what you have accomplished and the high bar you have set. I want to see that across our entire community and our new entrants.  And I’d like to see you step up wherever possible to make that point for me.

We’ve covered a lot of ground, but as Ed and I have said on many occasions, we’ve got to move forward together.  Our system is dynamic and constantly evolving. I firmly believe that collaboration is the only way forward.  

Through cooperation, through voluntary data sharing, we’ll be able to uncover risks. We’ll be able to mitigate them before they become a catastrophe.  

The good news for all of us is that I know that we can count on NBAA to step up for safety. That’s what you’re known for.

Thank you.

Aviation Workforce Symposium Opening Remarks

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the Aviation Workforce Symposium.

It’s great to see the variety and caliber of the stakeholders here today, and I want to thank you for taking the time to join us.

The aviation community has always come together to tackle its most pressing challenges.

Today, we need to do it again.

Air travel in the United States and around the world is growing rapidly – with no signs of slowing down.

Last year, IATA forecast that the number of air passengers traveling will nearly double by 2036.

The Boeing Pilot Outlook projects this growth will require 117,000 new pilots in North America alone.

But at a time when we need to see interest in aviation careers going up, the data is trending in the opposite direction.

The number of private pilots holding active airmen certificates has decreased by 27 percent in the last ten years. The number of commercial pilots in the same period has decreased by 21 percent.

The military – which used to be one of the best sources for new hires – isn’t turning out as many new pilots as it used to. And college aviation programs don’t have enough instructors to teach new students, because they’re taking jobs with the airlines as soon as they log enough time.

Meanwhile, the huge bubble of B-scale airline hires in the 80s – of which I was one – is up for retirement in the next 5 to 10 years. And the average age of an Airline Transport Pilot certificate-holder has climbed to 50.

I know this paints a sobering picture.

But there needs to be a common understanding of the gravity and urgency of this situation.

We have a diminishing supply of qualified pilots, mechanics, and technicians.

That’s why we’re here today… to focus on solutions.

We’re going to discuss how we can make aviation careers attractive and open to all Americans who have the skill to succeed in this profession.

But aptitude and innate talent can only get you so far.

We’re also going to discuss how we can improve training, so that a new pilot can be transformed into the safe, experienced professional the traveling public deserves and expects on the flight deck.

And we’re going to look at how new and existing partnerships between the airlines, government, and academia can support all of these efforts.

Of course, ensuring an adequate pilot supply doesn’t strictly fall under the FAA’s jurisdiction.

But it is our responsibility to ensure the safety of our aviation system… and that the pilots flying within it receive the best training and are held to the highest standards.

We’re not going to compromise on this.

So as we approach today’s discussion, we need to remember that it’s not going to be enough to just maintain our current level of safety.

We need to actively improve on it.

So… we’ve got a lot on our plates to discuss.

I know there are a lot of strong opinions in the room.

And I’m really looking forward to hearing from each and every one of you.

We’ve got the best of the best here with us today, serving as panelists, moderators… even just sitting in the audience.

And with all of this collective expertise, I know we’ll be able to come up with some actionable ideas that will ensure America maintains a robust pilot supply – that also happens to be the safest and best-trained in the world.

Thank you.