Opening Remarks - Aviation Surface Safety Summit

Thank you, Secretary Buttigieg, for your interest and leadership.

And thanks to all of you all for being here. I am pleased to see so many familiar faces in the audience and to know that you are taking the time to join us for this safety summit.

When I called this gathering a few weeks ago, it was because we had seen an uptick in incidents across the aviation system. In the intervening time, we’ve experienced additional incidents, including events on runways, terminal area ramps  — and even unruly passenger incidents that continue to defy logic.

I think I speak for all of us, and certainly the traveling public, when I say these events are concerning. They are not what we have come to expect during a time of unprecedented safety in the U.S. air transportation system.

The question is, what do they mean?

Many years ago, while I was still learning to fly, my instructor taught me a very important lesson: Listen to the airplane. Pay attention to what it is trying to tell you.

It’s a lesson that served me well throughout my career, and it’s one that applies here. As a safety community, we must pay attention to the events of recent months. What is the system trying to tell us?

I am honored to be joined today in this plenary session by former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Robert Sumwalt. Mr. Sumwalt will help facilitate a conversation among our panelists that I hope will help us frame our thinking. 

This plenary session will be followed by some specific breakout sessions designed to allow our various stakeholders to dive deeper into specific areas and have frank, open discussions.

One of the hallmarks of aviation and the people who pursue a life in this industry is a willingness to question conventional wisdom. And to always be looking for ways to advance safety.

As I mentioned in my call to action, the biggest mistake we can make as an industry is to become complacent. As a safety professional, if you are comfortable it means you’re probably missing something.

It’s in that light that my colleagues at the FAA and I have brought you together today. There is no question that aviation is amazingly safe. But vigilance can never take the day off.

We must ask ourselves difficult and sometimes uncomfortable questions, even when we are confident that the system is sound.

For example, we all recognize the desire to make the maximum use of available airspace and runway capacity to keep the aviation system running smoothly and on time.

In light of the recent close calls and the attention being focused on even routine go-arounds — are we emphasizing efficiency over safety? How much of what we are seeing can be attributed to the sudden resurgence in demand following the pandemic?  

Since 1997, the aviation industry has made enormous strides in improving safety under the guidance of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, or CAST. As you know, the data-sharing and voluntary safety reporting programs under the CAST umbrella enabled us to reduce the risk of a fatal accident by 95 percent.

Instead of reacting to accidents and incidents after the fact, we are getting better at scouring flight data for precursors that allow us to identify a nascent event before it manifests itself as something more serious.

That’s an amazing accomplishment — and I believe that historians will look at the strides we have made under CAST as one of the great successes of the modern transportation age.

But we also must ask ourselves if the CAST process is nimble enough to help us reach the goal of eliminating the rare — but still concerning — incidents we’ve seen recently.

I want to say before we get started with our plenary panel that I appreciate the messages of support and pledges of cooperation that I have gotten personally from many of you in this room.

America’s aviation safety net is strong. Our goal — our obligation — is to sew those threads even tighter.

I want to encourage you to come into these sessions with an open mind. As I mentioned in the call-to-action, I want to hear from our stakeholders about concrete actions that we can take in the near- and medium term to make the world’s safest transportation system even safer.

Before we get started, I want take a moment to acknowledge that current Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy has joined us today. As we all know, the NTSB is taking its own, independent, look into many of these same issues and we are appreciative of the work they do.

I would like to ask Chair Homendy to the podium to share a few thoughts.
 

Statement Of Billy Nolen, Acting FAA Administrator, Hearing Before the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, & Transportation: Implementation & Oversight of the Aircraft, Certification, Safety, & Accountability Act

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to be with you today to discuss how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is strengthening our certification and safety oversight processes and our implementation of the bipartisan Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act (“Act”). Before we discuss certification reform implementation, on behalf of everyone at the United States Department of Transportation and the FAA, I want to recognize the families of the victims of the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines accidents and thank them for their continued advocacy for aviation safety. 

The FAA understands and embraces the importance of continuously raising the bar on aviation safety, not only in the U.S., but around the world. During the past two years, we have made significant progress meeting the requirements of the law to improve and refine our certification and safety oversight processes. Using a comprehensive approach to implementing the provisions from the recent certification reform legislation and the various recommendations received from investigations and independent reviews¹, we have rededicated our processes to treat aircraft as complex systems, with full consideration of how all the elements in the operating system interact. We are integrating human factors considerations more effectively throughout all aspects of the design and certification process. We are improving the agency’s oversight process by ensuring coordinated and flexible flow of data and information. And finally, we are recruiting a workforce that can meet the demands of the future—by hiring new talent who understand the safety implications of new and innovative technologies, as required by the Act. We will continue to prioritize this important work as we carry out our responsibilities for public safety. It is more important than ever that we maintain our safety record while making improvements that will help sustain our progress. The discussion below provides an overview of some of our accomplishments to date. 

• Safety Management Systems (SMS). SMS is a systematic and comprehensive way to identify, monitor, and address potential operational hazards early on, to prevent serious problems from occurring. U.S. airlines have been required to have SMS since 2018. Expanding SMS to other players in the aviation industry is critical for achieving the next level of safety. As required by the Act, we recently published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), which proposes SMS requirements for certain design and manufacturing organizations. Recognizing the importance and value of SMS, we included Part 135 operators and air tour operators conducting operations under Part 91 in NPRM as well.² As rulemaking is underway, we continue to promote participation in voluntary SMS programs. These participants submit elements of SMS to the FAA for acceptance; and commit to regular oversight of their SMS by the FAA. As of today, we have accepted more than 60 SMSs for Part 135 operators, Part 91 air tour operators, and Part 145 repair stations; and accepted five SMSs for design and manufacturing organizations, with many more working towards acceptance. The FAA is using the lessons learned from these voluntary programs to inform FAA’s SMS rulemaking and policy development. 
   
• System Safety and Human Factors. In accordance with the Act, we incorporated system safety assessments and validation of human factors assumptions into the FAA’s aviation safety policy and oversight, including the design and certification process. We recently published an NPRM that proposes new requirements on how to conduct system safety assessments for transport category airplanes.³ We are also working on several initiatives to increase the incorporation of human factors to improve the way systems account for the broad range of pilot capabilities around the world. For example, pursuant to the Act, the FAA completed a preliminary review of human factors rules, guidance, and pilot response assumptions to identify and prioritize changes to better incorporate system safety analyses and human factors assumptions into the FAA’s aviation safety policy and oversight. Finally, the FAA launched a call to action to review revisions made to pilot certification standards. The group provided recommendations on how to improve manual flying skills and automation management, and the FAA is in the process of implementing these recommendations.
   
• Global Collaboration. Global collaboration is crucial to maintaining U.S. leadership in aviation safety. The FAA continues to participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Personnel Training and Licensing Panel Automation Working Group, which is assessing the pilot dependency on automation globally. The FAA is also leading an international authority working group to evaluate the Act’s requirements regarding amended type certificates. This working group recently recommended process improvements based on more than a decade of harmonized application of changed product rules. We are working to implement these recommendations. The Act requires the FAA to ensure that pilot operational evaluations for transport category airplanes include foreign and domestic pilots of varying levels of experience. In response, the FAA issued a notice in 2021, to update the policy to include pilots in Flight Standards Board operational evaluations.
   
• Data. As the aviation system evolves, the FAA is constantly considering options to improve data accessibility and foster collaboration in order to share data on identified risks throughout the government and with the public. FAA continues to expand the agency’s capability to collect, consolidate, analyze, and share safety data within the FAA and with aviation and transportation stakeholders and international partners. Data enhances the FAA’s ability to identify and respond to potential safety issues and to better identify safety trends in aviation. It is key in our efforts to move to a predictive system, not just preventative. The FAA continues to improve the Aviation Safety Information and Sharing (ASIAS) database, including incorporating rotorcraft data and voice data from air traffic control to support safety analyses. Pursuant to the Act, we have worked with the Transportation Research Board to identify, categorize, and analyze emerging safety trends in aviation and completed the first required report in August 2022. We have also partnered with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration to establish the framework for real-time data monitoring.
   
• Integration of Certification and Oversight Functions. The Act requires the FAA to form an interdisciplinary project team for any type certificate project for transport category airplane. The FAA’s Integrated Program Management team includes subject matter experts from Flight Standards and the Aircraft Certification Service who make recommendations to improve oversight during aircraft certification and operational evaluations. As the team finalizes recommendations, they are already integrating best practices into certification projects and ensuring proper integration on those projects. In February 2022, the FAA expanded the Technical Advisory Board (TAB) process for all new and amended type certification projects for transport category airplanes, and applied this new approach to the Boeing 777X certification program. We also established the FAA Compliance Program Executive Council to monitor the operation and effectiveness of the Compliance Program, and I received the second report earlier this year. 
   
• Culture of Safety and Excellence. The safety culture at the FAA is one that promotes continuous improvement of safety systems and outcomes, while providing support for employees and industry stakeholders to self-disclose safety issues and noncompliance. These efforts include promoting the voluntary safety reporting program (VSRP) among other efforts, and recruiting talented staff. VSRP empowers all Aviation Safety (AVS) employees to confidentially report safety concerns without fear of reprisal or other repercussions.⁴ We recently completed the first AVS safety culture assessment, which included surveys of AVS employee’s opinions about safety culture and the implementation of VSRP. The FAA is reviewing the results to determine what actions may be needed in response to the data. We have also hired specialized staff within the AVS organization and provided training to increase competencies on human factors. FAA will continue to evaluate the safety culture and implement measures to improve collaboration between employees and management to identify and address safety concerns. 
   
• Delegation. The Act requires the FAA to make extensive and meaningful changes to the Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) program. As required by law, we now require FAA approval of individual ODA unit members for certain ODA types, and established a policy to prevent interference with ODA unit members. The ODA expert panel was established in December 2022, and we held the kickoff meeting for the expert panel earlier this month. Finally, the ODA Office within AVS now has approximately 50 employees and is tasked with overseeing the ODA system across all of AVS. 
   
• Certification and Continued Operational Safety Processes. Ensuring the safety of aviation products through certification is an important function of the FAA, and we are enhancing the type certification process. This includes revising guidance and criteria used for determining significant changes to best ensure that proposed changes to an aircraft are evaluated from a whole aircraft-level perspective, including human interface elements. Pursuant to the Act’s requirements, we recently published an order that outlines the aircraft certification service issue resolution and appeals processes.⁵
   
• Innovation. Aviation is incredibly dynamic, and it is imperative for the FAA to accelerate and enable the deployment of new technologies to reduce barriers and promote innovation that enhances the safety and efficiency of air transportation. Through our Center for Emerging Concepts and Innovation we have expanded efforts to support certification of new aircraft and technologies, including structured pre-application engagement with companies to identify a clear path to compliance.

Chair Cantwell, Ranking Member Cruz, I want to assure you, and each member of the Commerce Committee, that the FAA is fully committed to the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. As we continue this work, we will maintain a posture of transparency and accountability, including providing regular briefings with the Committee and stakeholders across the industry.

¹Including investigations conducted by Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Inspector General, National Transportation Safety Board, etc. and independent reviews conducted by the Joint Authorities Technical Review, DOT Special Committee, congressional committees, etc.

²RIN 2120-AL60, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Safety Management Systems published on January 11, 2023. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/01/11/2022-28583/safety-management-systems. FAA is seeking public comment on the NPRM until March 13, 2023.

³RIN 2120-AJ99, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for System Safety Assessments for transport category airplanes published on December 8, 2022. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/08/2022-26369/system-safety-assessments

⁴Federal Aviation Administration, Aviation Safety Voluntary Safety Reporting Program, Order 8000.375, February 02, 2021, at http://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/VS_8000.375.pdf.

⁵Federal Aviation Administration, Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) Issue Resolution and Appeal Processes, Order 8100.20, January 1, 2023, at https://www.faa.gov/documentLibrary/media/Order/Order_8100.20.pdf
 

FAA Proposes New Policy that Would Fulfill One of the Key Requirements of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act

Women’s History Month Kickoff (opening remarks)

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Hi everyone, and thank you for asking me to join you today for the FAA’s kickoff to Women’s History Month. Organizations like yours are making a real difference as we work to bring more women into aviation and to the FAA. 

And while we need to keep pushing to diversify our workforce, there are already innovative and strong women at every level at our agency. However, we need more. I can tell you first hand that this agency highly values your ideas, contributions and innovations. That is especially true for me. The women I work with here at the FAA are the most likely to challenge preconceived notions and reject group think. As a safety organization, challenging conventional wisdom is so important. It’s how we grow, improve, and become stronger and safer. 

As you may already know, the 2023 theme for National Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.” When people tell stories about famous women in aviation, of course we think of Amelia Earhart and Anne Morrow Lindberg—two of our nation’s most famous aviators. And by the way, speaking of telling stories, they didn’t just fly, but wrote about flying, too.

But we have famous women aviators to celebrate today. Zara Rutherford, at age 19, recently became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world. And what about Tammie Jo Shults? She was one of the first female F/A-18 Hornet pilots in the US Navy — who, in 2018 when she’d become a commercial pilot, saved 148 passengers and crew members when she safely landed a Boeing 737 after a high-altitude engine blade failure.  She deserves the Sully treatment!

These are great stories about standouts in female aviation, and all of us owe them a debt of gratitude. 

As we all know, women play critical roles throughout the FAA…and many are involved in organizations like PWC—Professional Women Controllers, Inc.; the TWO, or Technical Women’s Organization; and the Federal Women’s Program.  The organizations are breaking down barriers to the hiring and advancement of women as well as enhancing employment opportunities for women in every area of federal service. Gioia Albi is our Federal Women’s Program Manager, and I thank her for the important work she does.  

And back to PWC, Inc. – what a crucial role this organization has --encouraging women to enter the air traffic control profession; to build a diverse workforce; and to be a resource that provides support, training, and encouragement. In particular, I want to highlight their National Mentor Program, which provides an excellent opportunity for any FAA employee—at any grade, location, and point in their career—to receive mentoring that strengthens their professional skills and abilities. And, of course, the program needs mentors who can pass these skills on too. Opportunities like this are vital if we’re going to make aviation an option for everyone who’s interested…and if we’re going to meet future aviation workforce needs.  

Aviation needs the talents and perspective of women. Earhart and Lindberg helped get that conversation started, and the women of the FAA and the aviation industry are helping it to continue. I look forward to hearing from the next generation of female aviators. Most especially, I look forward to the way that hearing their stories will inspire others for generations to come. 

Thank you.

Schools Nationwide Receive $10 Million in FAA Grants to Develop the Next Generation of Aviation Professionals

WASHINGTON— Twenty-three schools will receive $10 million in grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to help attract and train students for careers as pilots and aviation maintenance technicians. 
 
Twelve of the schools will receive $5 million from the FAA’s Aircraft Pilots Aviation Workforce Development Grants program. The schools can use the funding to create and...

Drone Pilots: Mark Your Calendars

USTDA East and Southern Africa Airport Modernization Reverse Trade Mission – Welcome Remarks

Thank you, India [Pinkney]. Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to the FAA. 

We’re happy to host you here today to discuss airport modernization. We’re eager to work with you to strengthen airports, and aviation systems, across the African continent.

I’ve taken more than 20 trips to Africa. One of my most notable visits was in 1998. We took a 3-day trip there, as part of the Clinton administration. 

We visited South Africa, where I had the good fortune to meet President Nelson Mandela, and other countries as well.

During that time, we announced the Safe Skies for Africa initiative. As part of that effort, we teamed up with African states to improve aviation safety, security and air navigation services.

I also helped lead efforts to secure Open Skies agreements with many African states. Through these agreements, we’ve greatly expanded passenger and cargo flights to and from our respective continents.

Today, we have a chance to build on the progress we've made. We have a chance to strengthen and expand our cooperation, so we can fulfill shared priorities. 

We must do it. And the FAA and the Biden Administration are ready to continue our exchange of best practices. 

Safety is our highest collective priority. And one major key to our success has been the use of safety management systems – or SMS – by commercial airlines and some manufacturers. 

We know many African aviation authorities expect their operators to use SMS, and we can work together in this area.

This month, the FAA published a final rule requiring more than 200 of our nation’s busiest commercial airports to implement SMS. The rule becomes effective on April 24th, and it will help airports detect and mitigate safety problems before they result in accidents or incidents.  

SMS will be an essential safety enhancer, and it’s happening at an important time, as we make historic investments in U.S. airport infrastructure. 

The FAA has also been collaborating with ASECNA and ICAO to harmonize domestic and oceanic air traffic operations in North Atlantic and South Atlantic airspace. These improvements are resulting in greater operational efficiency and enhanced safety.

And reiterating what Annie mentioned earlier from a total transportation perspective, we in the FAA also want to partner with you to reduce aviation’s impact on the climate. 

One big way to address the problem is through more fuel-efficient air traffic procedures. At airports across America, we’re implementing software that calculates the best moment to have the aircraft pushback from the gate at busy hub airports, so they can roll right to the runway. With this capability, we can reduce taxi delays and ramp congestion, and burn less fuel.

But more efficient operational procedures is only one part of the solution. The United States is scaling up the production of sustainable aviation fuels, making engines and airframes more fuel efficient, and investing into electrifying airport equipment.

The FAA is eager to share what we’re learning in all these areas. We want to continue working with African states to expand air transportation capacity; and make aviation safer, more efficient and sustainable across the continent.

We also want to work with you to integrate new kinds of aircraft activity like drones, advanced air mobility and commercial space transportation.

Of course, Africa has been a global leader in the integration of drones. We’re seeing how drones are being used in Tanzania and many other countries, to save countless lives by transporting blood and medical supplies to people in hard-to-reach areas. 

We have also seen how drones are being used to improve crop yields, inspect infrastructure, and for many other purposes. And we have seen how nations like Rwanda, Kenya and others have advanced their regulatory systems.

We’re making similar integration efforts in the United States. We can learn from you. 

We need to continue to exchange knowledge and best practices, including in areas like unmanned traffic-management systems and remote identification, so we can all take the next big step on drones. 

And this past December, at the US-African Space Forum here in Washington DC, the FAA pledged our cooperation to work with African states to develop launch and reentry regulations for commercial space transportation.

In all areas of aviation, we look forward to strengthening our US-Africa partnership.

So again, welcome to the FAA. And now, I’ll turn it back over to India…

Biden-Harris Administration Announces Nearly $1B in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Airport Funding Awarded to Meet Surging Air Travel Demand

Bessie Coleman US Mint Quarter Presentation (remarks)

On behalf of the FAA, thank you, Ventris, and all the people of the US Mint who have brought “Brave Bessie’s” story to life. Not only is the coin itself beautiful, but it represents a significant milestone for Black and Native people, women, and aviation. And highlighting Bessie Coleman’s history is only half of it.

Around the FAA, lots of us have stories about what landed us in this field. I like to share how, playing outside one day as a small child, I heard helicopters in the distance. From that moment, I was completely hooked! I became a pilot the minute I could, and I’ve never stopped loving aviation since. Across the agency, I often hear similar stories from others. The details usually vary—someone recalls their first flight over here, another watched a space shuttle landing over there—but the resulting life-long love of aviation is always the same. 

The point is, there’s no telling what will spark a child’s imagination and literally make them take flight. As someone who’s concerned about ensuring the aviation workforce will meet our country’s needs in years to come, I’m always buoyed by these stories and how they’ve brought people to the agency. 

I know that passion is only one part of what makes a talented workforce …but it’s an important part. The Bessie Coleman coin puts a significant piece of history in the hands of millions, many of them children, and some of them future aviation professionals. And I have a feeling that this coin will be a part of someone’s aviation story one day soon.

Again, thank you, Director Gibson, and thank you, US Mint employees. We appreciate this gift and, even more, the way you’re keeping Bessie Coleman’s legacy alive for the future. 

FAA Proposes $175,000 Fine Against SpaceX for Not Submitting Required Pre-Launch Data

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed a $175,000 civil penalty against Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) for failure to submit launch collision analysis trajectory data directly to the FAA prior to the August 19, 2022, launch of the Starlink Group 4-27 mission.

SpaceX was required to submit the data to the agency at least seven days prior to an attempted launch. 

Launch...