# Presentation: 282638

## Air Carrier Safety Program

**Notes:**
This program is for Air Carriers who are larger in size.  The Air Carrier Safety Program is by design, aimed at the larger operator.  It is not for the Single Pilot and Basic operators.

The FAA is here to help you --- an old joke, but today not as many are laughing as much as in early years.  Many operators are realizing the FAA has implemented some program that are really designed to help them---- 

## OBJECTIVE

- Establish and maintain an Aviation Safety Program permitting Air Carriers to accomplish their objectives in the safest manner possible.

**Notes:**
Section 601 (b) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 states:  “In prescribing standards, rules, and regulations, and in issuing certificates under this title, the Secretary of Transportation shall give full consideration to the duty resting upon air carriers to perform their services with the HIGHEST possible degree of safety in the public interest”.....

Section 605(b)(2) states that employed inspectors shall be charged with the duty”...of advising and cooperating with each air carrier in the inspection and maintenance thereof by the air carrier”  The IEP facilitates the inspector’s advisory and cooperative capacity by providing a procedure for identifying and resolving safety related issues.

The FAA will continue to encourage certificate holders to develop an IEP as a tool for continuously monitoring and evaluating practices and procedures.

Public safety is enhanced if deficiencies are identified and immediately corrected when they are discovered by the certificate holder rather than when they are discovered by the FAA.

## WE WILL DISCUSS

- Development of the safety program
- Program elements
- Air Carrier Safety Officer
- Air Carrier Safety Committee
- Emergency Response Plan
- Internal Evaluation Programs
- Voluntary Disclosure

**Notes:**
This program is designed to get you thinking how you can develop an air carrier safety program in your operation, (//)   and what the elements are to a safety program.
(//)

We ‘ll discuss what an Air Carrier Safety Officer can do for your company and who would be a candidate for this position.
(//)

What an Air Carrier Safety Committee is and who should be on it.
(//)

Briefly we’ll touch on the development of an Emergency response plan.
(//)
Internal Evaluation Program guidance is contained in AC 120-59
(//)
Voluntary Disclosure guidance is in AC 120-56

## BENEFITS

- Positive economic effect
- Effectively complements the Internal Evaluation and Self Disclosure Programs
- Fosters team approach to certificate management

**Notes:**
You may ask, “How can an Air Carrier Safety Program benefit my operation?”    (//)

One positive economic benefit is the estimated cost of an aircraft accident.  Statistic's have shown that an aircraft accident true cost in claims, lost employee time or use, lost customers is 4 times the actual cost of the accident.  For example, US Air estimates that the Pittsburgh accidents actual cost was 30 to 40 Million dollars.  This means that the accidents true cost is somewhere around 140 Million dollars.  

As you can see if your air carrier safety program detects a problem that prevents one accident in your company.... You’ve more than paid for it’s cost.  (//)

An Air Carrier Safety Program will help to implement an IEP and help you detect items for self disclosure, which again could provide an economic benefit. (//)

It allows your employees to feel as if they are a part of a management team, where they will help to promote safety in the operation.

## INITIATIVES

- Compliance for the 90’s
- Industry / FAA Partnership
- Remedial Training
- Voluntary Self Disclosure (AC 120-56)
- Internal Evaluation Program (AC 120-59)
- The Air Carrier safety program incorporates these programs

**Notes:**
At the conference to improve aviation safety in Washington, DC on January 9 and 10, 1995, a wide range of safety improvements were recommended.  The underlying theme of the conference was that Aviation safety is a shared responsibility between the FAA and the air carrier.  In a renewed commitment to this:
Airlines are taking immediate, voluntary action to establish a safety office that reports to the CEO, and in 1996 the FAA will publish rules that require an independent flight safety department at every airline operating airplanes with more than 9 passenger seats.

In the Compliance for the 90’s program the FAA has implemented:
(bulleted items)
(//)

The air carrier safety program has all of these elements included.  The development of a safety program will put your company on the cutting edge of aviation safety for the coming years.  Pursuit of the goal of zero accidents is a shared responsibility of everyone involved in the aviation community.

## NTSB SAFETY RECOMMENDATION

- Recent NTSB Report, dated November 15, 1994 recommends:
- # 15 - “A mandatory airline safety program would ... correct problems before they lead to an accident.”
- # 19 - “To be effective, Internal Evaluation Programs should be mandatory for all Air Carriers....”

**Notes:**
These were contained in a recent NTSB recommendation to the FAA.

## The Safety Program

- Is applicable to _ALL_ employees
- Covers all property and equipment
- Is designed to ensure safe operating conditions and enhance safety awareness
- Will address safety concerns
- Provides employees with a timely means of reporting unsafe conditions

**Notes:**
Every employee should be included into your safety program.  Those involved with the flight operations as well as those in the ground operations.  Don’t forget those in the administrative functions, maybe they will see something occurring in the other operations that is a potential problem.  Sometimes those that see the best are those that are not as close to the situation. (//)

It should cover all the companies equipment and property. (//)

Use the program to develop safety awareness and safe procedures.(//)

If your employees have safety concerns this is a way to address them.(//)

If your employees have a way to report safety concerns, without the fear of reprisal, they can help you improve your operations.  The person who is doing the job may have some good suggestions on ways to do it better and safer.  This program gives him a voice.(//)

## Safety Program will provide for:

- A process of reporting incidents
- Investigation of incidents and accidents
- Means of advising management
- Information feedback to employees

**Notes:**
The safety program gives the employee a means to report incidents and accidents to the management of the company.(//)

It gives the safety officer a means to investigate the causes of those accidents and incidents to keep them for reoccurring.(//)

Management is advised early if a policy or procedure need to be changed or modified.(//)

It gives the employee feedback on what happened to they safety concern.  This will encourage them to continue to increase their safety awareness, making your operation safer.  It fosters the team approach to safety management.(//)

## AIR CARRIER SAFETY OFFICER

- Appointed by company management
- Reports directly to CEO
- Qualifications
- Aviation Professional
- Line pilot / senior mechanic
- Ability to communicate effectively
- Strong interpersonal skills

**Notes:**
The main focal point of any Air Carrier Safety Program is the Safety Officer.  This person should be motivated by a desire to increase safety in all aspects of your company.(//)

The safety Office should be appointed by the company management, the higher the better.  This will give this person the power to correct safety issues, and conduct investigations.(//)

It is imperative that they report to the highest officer in the company, ONLY.  This avoids the manipulation of safety data by a supervisor who is not operating in the safest manner, or who has been “caught”.(//)

They should have good qualifications to hold this position:
A professional in the way they conduct their business--
Not in management--
They will have to communicate the safety message and changes required
They must be able to work effectively with all levels within the company.

## Duties and Responsibilities

- Develop Safety Awareness in the company
- Advise and assist senior management in all matters pertaining to aviation safety
- Establish reporting system
- Maintain database
- Analyze directives, regulations, safety data, and operational environment
- Conduct safety surveys, monitor hazard reports, M or D’s, etc.

**Notes:**
The Safety Officers duties are many and varied,  these are some, you may need to develop others for your companies situation(//)

First and formost the Safety officer must develop a safety awareness within your organization (//)

## Duties and Responsibilities

- Make recommendations / Ensure follow-up
- Coordinate with operations, training and maintenance departments
- Ensure that safety initiatives are incorporated into all phases of company
- Organize and conduct safety meetings
- Integrate and emphasize ground safety
- Solicit and process safety recommendations
- Investigate incidents and accidents throughout the company

## Duties and Responsibilities

- Coordinate with external organizations
- Maintain close liaison with FAA SPM
- FAA, State, and Local Government officials
- Aircraft manufacturers and other industry organizations
- Develop and maintain emergency response plan
- Act as recorder for the Air Carrier Safety Committee

**Notes:**
Your Safety Officer, should be the recorder of all activity of the Safety Committee - so they can coordinate the activity of this Committee and direct it’s actions.

## AIR CARRIER SAFETY COMMITTEE

- Philosophy is to promote aviation safety within the company --
- Through the exchange of ideas and discussion
- Reported flight and ground hazards
- Monitoring the Air Carrier Safety Program

**Notes:**
The Committee should help and agment the safety officers message.  They should help the safety officer complete their job.(//)

The exchange of idea’s from a group of persons will help to develop the best policies and procedures.  Many times ideas sound good until they are discussed by a group with knowledge of the problem.(//)

The Committee should review all reported hazards.(//)

They should monitor the effectiveness of the safety officer and the safety program in general, then make changes as necessary.

## AIR CARRIER SAFETY COMMITTEE

- Should meet quarterly
- Special meetings can be called by any member
- Should be chaired by _*Senior Management*_
- ACSO will act as the recorder
- Minutes should contain agenda, decisions, and corrective actions taken
- Can be used as a tool to enhance the Safety Program

**Notes:**
The Committee must be charied by the highest level of management.  Their recommendations have to have the power of the top management or they will be ignored by the supervisors and employees.  The top management has to buy off on safety for the program to work.  The senior management has to own the problem to have the solution work.(//)

As employees see that their concerns are being addressed they will buy into the safety program and increase their awareness of safety problems.  Especially if top management is aware of their concerns and takes action to address it.

## Membership should represent

- D.O., D.O.M.
- ACSO
- Chief, Quality Control
- Check Airmen
- Line Pilots
- Mechanics
- Flight Attendants
- Union involvement
- Ground Operations

**Notes:**
As you can see, membership is open to all employees, because the safety program is applicable to all employees, as I said earlier.

## AIR CARRIER SAFETY COMMITTEE

- Eyes and ears of the company management
- Monitor all areas of the operation
- Identify safety concerns and deficiencies
- Make recommendations to senior management

## EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN

- Should develop to provide guidance in the event of an aircraft accident or incident
- The plan should include:
- Company policy
- Notification procedures
- Passenger and crew welfare
- Injury / casualty notification procedures
- Media relations

**Notes:**
Each air carrier should develop an emergency action plan prior to an emergency, this way employees know what is expected from each of them, and they can perform their job functions in a time of crisis properly.(//)

This guidance can be in an operation manual or a separate manual as the air carrier sees fit.  However you must still comply with FAR 135.23 in your operations manual.  These procedures may augment those contained in the operation manual.  

## COMPANY SAFETY AUDIT

- Safety Program requires an internal evaluation process – AC 120-59
- An evaluation program will continually monitor the company’s policies and procedures
- Ensures that the highest level of safety compliance is maintained
- An Air Carrier may voluntarily disclose apparent violations even if an FAA Internal Evaluation Program has not been established

**Notes:**
The guidance for development of an Internal Evaluation Program is contained in AC 120-59.

Most certificate holders are very capable of conducting their own internal evaluations prior to evaluations conducted by the FAA.  The Internal Evaluation Program will not replace the evaluations conducted by the FAA.

An Internal Evaluation Program is a voluntary program, participation is left to your discretion, we (the FAA) encourage certificate holder to identify, correct, and disclose instances of non-compliance.  Aviation safety is best served by a program that allows the certificate holder to identify and correct their own instances of noncompliance and invest more resources in efforts to preclude their reoccurrence.

The FAA will help and assist the air carrier in the development of the program, but we do not approve or accept the programs.

Any Air Carrier can use the voluntary disclosure program, regardless if they have an Internal Evaluation Program or not. 

## VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE POLICY

- The open sharing of apparent violations and a cooperative, as well as advisory, approach to solving problems will enhance and promote aviation safety.

**Notes:**
The FAA’s enforcement program has always been considered a means, not an end, to achieving compliance with the FAR’s through remedial or punitive measures.  However, the negative incentive of deterrence is not always effective.  The public’s interest is best served by incentives which allow certificate holder to identify and correct their own instances of noncompliance.  Thus the voluntary disclosure policy has been implemented.

As you can see the two groups pulling on the rope, if the rope breaks, both groups are in the water with the gators and sharks.  The air carrier is one of these groups, the FAA is the other, and the rope is air safety.  Anybody want to guess who the gators and sharks are???

## Air Carrier Voluntary Disclosure

- AC 120-56, January 23, 1992
- An Air Carrier can elect to voluntarily disclose apparent violations to the FAA
- The procedures can be applied to maintenance, flight operations, and security aspects of the companies operation

**Notes:**
In a nutshell, if you discover through your own internal evaluation program or safety program, a noncompliance with the FAR’s. 
1)  If you report it to your certificate holding district office, prior to them finding out by their own means, IMMEDIATELY after you detect it, 
2) If it was inadvertent, if it does not indicate a lack of basic qualification, 
3) You take immediate action to prevent it’s reoccurrence, and 
4) Develop and implement a comprehensive fix satisfactory to the FAA. 
 You can receive a Letter of Correction in lieu of a civil penalty.

Your pilots and mechanic’s can also be excluded from a violation, if
1) if they were acting on behalf of the certificate holder
2) they immediately make the first report of the violation to the certificate holder, and
3) the FAA is notified immediately after the airman reports it.

All the procedures are described in the AC, which you have copies.

## CONCLUSION

- Aviation safety is best served by programs that allow certificate holders to identify and correct their own instances of non-compliance
- The FAA encourages establishing the Voluntary Disclosure and Internal Evaluation Programs to realize the full benefits of the Air Carrier Safety Program

## CONCLUSION

- The Air Carrier Safety Program
- Has a positive economic effect
- Effectively complements the Voluntary Disclosure and Internal Evaluation Programs
- Provides a team approach with the FAA and the air carrier to address the carrier’s safety issues and regulatory requirements

**Notes:**
The Air Carrier Safety Program, including the Internal Evaluation Program, and the Voluntary Disclosure Program are currently all voluntary for Air Carriers, however if I’ve done my job today, you can see how they will benefit you and help you to operate the safest possible flight operations.

These programs are designed to help you achieve the goal of zero accidents.

I hope I’ve shown you how the FAA is really here to HELP you....