--by Jeffrey Smith, FAA Compliance Program Focus Team Lead
Compliance Program Background
The FAA’s Compliance Program is a foundational aspect of the aviation safety culture. It is built upon risk-based decision making (RBDM). Put simply, RBDM promotes making informed choices that take into account all relevant data. In terms of compliance with the regulations, this has several implications:
- Enforcement (such as a certificate suspension or civil penalty) is not always the best solution.
- When an individual or organization is willing and able to take corrective action, the FAA can use a non-enforcement response (known as a compliance action) to correct the issue.
- The focus is on the underlying root cause and actions to ensure the problem remains fixed.
The Compliance Program (launched as the Compliance Philosophy in October 2015) is certainly not an isolated endeavor. In fact, it is another step in the evolution of safety culture that has been occurring for decades. The agency set an early cornerstone for this philosophy back in the mid-1970s with the advent of the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) program. Associated with the familiar term “NASA Report,” this system allowed for the voluntary sharing of information with the FAA while providing protection from enforcement sanctions. For more on the ASRS program, read “Break a Rule? See a Safety Issue?”
Additional FAA/industry partnerships have since formed. These programs have focused on safety data analysis, information sharing, and identifying and understanding risks before accidents or incidents occur. (See Figure 1)
Of course, deviations from the safety standards will still occur. Even inadvertent mistakes can have a serious, adverse impact on your safety and you must address them. You need a strong safety culture to address existing and emerging hazards.
Safety Culture Considerations
With this background in mind, let’s take a look at a few considerations on how everyone in the NAS can contribute to the safety culture. Note that this list is not exhaustive, nor are the paragraphs exclusive to one another.
Voluntary Compliance: The responsibility for aviation safety does not rest solely with the FAA. Actually, the majority of general aviation operations occur without direct FAA oversight. As a participant in the NAS, it is expected that you will voluntarily comply with the regulations and other appropriate safety standards.
Knowledge and Skills: In order to best identify hazards and mitigate risks, you should strive to keep current on safety trends. You should also maintain the skills and knowledge pertinent to your certificates and privileges. Examples include reading publications such as the FAA Safety Briefing, attending FAA Safety Team (FAASTeam) seminars, and seeking flight instruction beyond the minimum flight review.
Safety Management Procedures: Everyone should develop procedures to prevent deviations from regulatory standards. These procedures do not have to be complex, but they do need to ensure compliance with the regulations, identification of hazards, risk analysis, and mitigation of any threats. Examples include using a checklist, developing personal habits that you repeat for each flight, using a Flight Risk Analysis Tool or FRAT, and adhering to your personal minimums.
Unique Hazards: The regulations address hazards that affect entire populations, such as all pilot schools or all mechanics. However, some hazards are unique to specific systems, operations, or environments. While there may not be a rule addressing such hazards, they still must be controlled. For example, if you must fly at low altitudes, you may need to take additional steps to avoid terrain, obstacles, or other aircraft.
Focus on Behaviors, Not Outcomes: The outcome of an event is not what determines whether your behavior is acceptable or unacceptable. Rather, it is your behavioral choices. No one should be punished based solely on negative results of the flight. That doesn’t mean that “no harm, no foul” is okay. If you run out of fuel and make an off-airport landing, you should not be treated more harshly than a pilot who runs out of fuel but, through happenstance, is able to glide to an airport. In both cases, though, it is important to identify and deal with the underlying behavior, or other root cause, that led to the fuel exhaustion.
Addressing Deviations: When a deviation occurs, an open and transparent exchange of information should follow. In other words, you must avoid hiding the mistake for fear of punishment. Instead, you should be able to identify the problem, learn from the mistake, implement fixes that can prevent a reoccurrence, and complete follow-up actions to validate effectiveness. Examples involve collaborating with an FAA Safety Inspector, communicating within a local club or advocacy group, or simply being honest with yourself after an occurrence.
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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 July/August 2019 issue of FAA Safety Briefing magazine.