Compliance Philosophy for Flight Instructors A Look at Regulations and Safety Management

by Jeffrey Smith, FAA Airman Training and Certification Branch Manager

As every instructor knows, the regulations are an integral part of flying and therefore an integral part of flight and ground instruction. For example, prior to a cross-country flight under visual flight rules (VFR), a discussion on regulatory requirements pertaining to weather minimums, recent experience, and fuel requirements is both typical and appropriate. Looking back to my occupation as a full-time flight instructor, I recall generally framing the regulations as something that had to be done to avoid a potential punitive response on the part of the FAA. While it is true that deviating from the regulations may invoke FAA action, I really missed an opportunity to discuss the regulations with safety considerations as the main focus.

The FAA’s Compliance Philosophy provides a good foundation as to how we should approach the regulations. In this article, we’ll discuss the regulations as risk controls, incorporating safety management principles, and expectations during an investigation. We’ll explore what these topics mean to pilots — and how they should be approached by flight and ground instructors — so you don’t miss the same opportunities I did.

Quick Overview

Before we get into the details, let’s review some of the high-level points. The Compliance Philosophy:

  • requires and expects compliance with the regulations,
  • is designed to manage risk through identification and control of existing or emerging safety issues,
  • places emphasis on effective compliance by focusing on how participants in the National Airspace System (NAS) ensure compliance,
  • fosters an open exchange of information between the FAA and the aviation community to allow safety problems to be understood and appropriately addressed,
  • encourages a problem solving approach to finding and fixing problems in the NAS, and
  • expects NAS participants to utilize safety management system constructs to identify risks.

Taking Control

While it may be easy to teach the regulations as simply something that must be followed, I encourage you to take it a step further; consider the regulations as risk controls. This makes sense considering the FAA generally takes rulemaking action to address those risks that are common to all or large portions of participants in the NAS. When conditions are identified in the NAS that present an unacceptable risk — generally with input from the aviation community — the FAA may propose new regulations through the public rulemaking process.

Nearly all regulations address situations with the potential for significant damage or harm. The objective of most regulations is to reduce the likelihood of hazard(s) resulting in a negative outcome (such as an accident). If the regulation is not met, the level of risk should be considered uncontrolled. This means there is no level of noncompliance with the regulations that can be considered acceptable.

In order for the risk controls in regulations to be effective, we must take actions to apply the regulations to our operations. The actions for effective compliance can be broken down as follows:

  • Determine what regulations are applicable to the flight
  • Consider the hazards addressed in those applicable regulations, and
  • Decide what action(s) to take to conform to the regulations in a manner that effectively controls the risk

Using the cross-country as an example, you would likely determine that Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) section 91.155(a) — part of the basic VFR weather minimums — is applicable. The hazards being addressed by this regulation include clouds and restrictions to flight visibility. One of the risks involved with not adhering to this regulation is the potential for a mid-air collision. You and your student review the weather forecast and plan to fly at an altitude that will keep you below the bottom cloud layer. You also plan to check weather at nearby airports during the flight to make sure the cloud heights and visibility remain as forecasted. You also remind your student of the importance to visually scan for other aircraft throughout the flight.

Developing rules for every possible situation is ineffective — if not impossible. Although compliance with the regulations remains the minimum expectation, experience has shown that simple compliance with regulations does not guarantee safety. Some risks are not common to all NAS participants; rather, they are unique to individual persons. This may be due to specialized equipment, the environment or other conditions, or the type of operation. So while some situations are not addressed directly by the regulations, the risks are still present and therefore must be proactively identified and managed.

Safety Management

So how can we address the risks that are not covered by the regulations or other safety standards? The answer is safety management. Basically, safety management is a problem-solving approach where individuals and organizations have the primary responsibility for safety performance. Good safety management practices are expected of all pilots. We must proactively identify and manage risks that are applicable to our flying. For individuals, this may be as simple as setting personal minimums, use of memory aids, pre-flight preparation checklists, or adopting good personal habits. For organizations, safety management may involve more complex strategies, such as specialized training or procedural tools like formal hazard identification and risk assessments.

You may have seen the graphic depicted in Figure 1 in previous editions of FAA Safety Briefing. This diagram is useful in visualizing the steps pilots can use for their own safety management.

Figure 1. Safety Management Overview

The FAA has developed a document containing elective lesson materials for Flight Instructor Refresher Course (FIRC) providers who wish to offer instruction concerning the Compliance Philosophy. This document offers an expanded description of the diagram in Figure 1. See the additional resources listed at the end of this article for the link.

What about Enforcement?

You may be thinking that the FAA’s Compliance Philosophy is to address situations where regulatory violations have occurred. While that’s true, it’s not the whole story. Instructors have the ability to make sure that those we train understand both the risks involved with flying and how to employ good safety management principles to address those risks. This includes practices that focus on how we comply with the regulations. In this way, the Compliance Philosophy promotes continued compliance to prevent a deviation as well as how to address a deviation once it has occurred.

As noted in this issue’s Checklist department (“Communicating the Concept of Compliance”), the FAA recognizes that should a regulatory deviation occur, it likely results from a lack of training or knowledge, diminished skills, and/or flawed procedures. Such deviations can most often be addressed with non-enforcement means — called Compliance Actions — that include on-the-spot corrections, counseling, and remedial training.

If you or your students become the subject of an FAA investigation, do not panic. Keep in mind that the objective of the FAA is to determine whether or not a regulatory deviation or other safety issue is present. If so, the FAA will seek to work with you through an exchange of information to determine the root cause and the best course of action to fix the problem. Part of the FAA’s analysis is whether the person(s) involved are willing and able to return to, and remain in, compliance. By instilling good principles in those you train, you are giving them the solid foundational tools to maintain their compliance with safety standards.

In all cases, you should encourage your students to take steps on their own to address any known safety risks. This may involve avoiding flying, or at least that kind of operation, until the problem is fixed. Of course, this is prudent whether or not someone is being investigated by the FAA. For example, if a pilot is involved in a deviation due to misunderstanding an IFR clearance, it would be sensible to avoid further IFR flights until they obtained recurrent training on IFR procedures. The FAA’s Flight Standards Service Compliance and Enforcement Policy requires Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASIs) to resolve a regulatory deviation with a Compliance Action unless enforcement is necessary. ASIs are able to take into account corrective actions that have been initiated or completed by the persons involved.

Instructional Tools

As an instructor, you have a great opportunity to discuss risk controls and safety management in order to empower those you instruct to remain in compliance with the regulations and other safety standards. Below are some highlights as to how you can promote the safety practices discussed in this article (additional details can be found in the FIRC lesson referenced earlier in the article):

  • Help your students develop safety management principles, including personal minimums, checklists, and memory aids such as IMSAFE and PAVE.
  • Encourage your students to seek recurrent training above the minimum required by the regulations.
  • Strive to provide comprehensive flight reviews and instrument proficiency checks.
  • Encourage those whom you fly with to seek proficiency training when their skills/knowledge may have diminished, or if they are flying in a different aircraft or environment from what they are used to.
  • Advocate staying engaged with updates affecting general aviation. One way to do this is to share with your students the resources that you use to stay current.

Learn More

Jeffrey Smith is the manager of the FAA’s Airman Training and Certification Branch, currently on detail to the Flight Standards Compliance Philosophy Focus Team. He holds an ATP certificate, is a flight and ground instructor, and is certificated as an A&P mechanic.

This article was originally published in the September/October 2017 issue of FAA Safety Briefing magazine.
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