FLIGHT PLAN 2006–2010
The Federal Aviation Administration operates 

and maintains the most complex aviation 

system in the world. How we do that 

takes the full weight of 45,852 employees. 

This is our corporate strategy, our report 

card, and our plan for moving forward.
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Moving America safely. It’s what we do.
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Table of contents

Introduction 4

Increased Safety 14

Greater Capacity 26

International Leadership 36

Organizational Excellence 44

Acronym Definition 55

© Charles O'Rear/Corbis
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Our job is to 

make a difference

every day.
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Over the last three years, more than two billion people flew on commercial jet

aircraft in the United States without experiencing a single fatality. That’s seven

times the population of the entire nation. It’s a remarkable record for the FAA

and the entire aviation community. 

Despite our achievements, we aim higher still, which is what the FAA and its employees

have done with this updated version of the Flight Plan 2006-2010. The Flight Plan is the

FAA’s to-do list developed for, by, and with our employees and stakeholders. It’s designed

to make sure that we focus on what’s important, and we spend the taxpayer’s dollar with

the strictest care. When safety is your mandate, there really is no other way.

When setting goals, the agency strives to set the bar higher every year. Our standards

must result in excellence. Truth be told, the flying public accepts nothing less. But setting

goals has an additional purpose. The FAA’s system for employee pay is tied to achieving

these goals. Each and every day, we are operating more and more like a business, and this

plan is our roadmap for success.

This is the third edition of the Flight Plan. Each year, we assess ourselves (the report card

is posted quarterly at www.FAA.gov), and we ask our stakeholders to weigh in as well. Are

the goals enough of a stretch? Are we paying attention to the right things?

The answer is yes and sometimes no. And even while we hit 28 of our 31 performance

targets during fiscal year 2005, we must work harder to improve. Our job is to make a

difference every day. 

Here’s a summary of our performance for 2005. It’s more than just a list of achievements.

For us, each missed target is a lesson and an opportunity for improvement.

Photo by Laurie Zaleski, FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center
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Safety >It’s always the most important task

on our list, and the results have been impressive.

This is the safest three-year period in the history of

commercial aviation, only 0.017 fatal accidents per

hundred thousand takeoffs—the equivalent of one

fatal accident per 5.9 million flights. At the same

time, however, general aviation’s fatal accidents,

especially those in Alaska, remain a concern. That’s

why we continue to educate the pilot community

and deploy new technology. Operational errors—

mistakes made when directing air traffic—increased

this past year. Accordingly, we are taking action on

a number of fronts to improve our performance 

in 2006. For the fourth year in a row, we met our

target for reducing serious runway incursions. 

Capacity>Long lines on the tarmac are

bad news—no matter which side of the counter

you’re on. That’s why we’re pushing to improve the

capacity of the system. 2005 showed surprisingly

strong growth in traffic, and the performance

improvements over 2004 were significant. Scheduled

operations were up nearly 4 percent over 2004 and

cancelled operations were down over 12 percent.

Although the on-time rate dropped slightly to 77.3

percent, 36 of the nation’s largest airports showed

increases in operations, while only 19 had decreased

operations in the past 12 months. That’s why we’re

pushing to improve the capacity of the system. We

also met our target of granting 75 percent of all

oceanic change requests, which are the times when

pilots flying over the ocean seek to alter their routes

for more fuel-efficient altitudes or smoother flights.

This was a major accomplishment because change

requests increased greatly—a surprising 67% in

September 2005 over September 2004. The reason

we met the goal was that we implemented the new

Advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures

(ATOP) in June in New York, which covers much

of the Atlantic. In October, we implemented ATOP

in Oakland, which covers key routes in the Pacific.

To give an example of the difference ATOP made

in New York, requests were up 67% in September,

but requests granted were up almost 96%. With

ATOP, we can reduce horizontal separation from

100 miles to 30 and longitudinal separation from

80 to 30, both without derogating safety. That

means up to three times more aircraft will be able

to use the airspace, saving fuel, time, and money.

2005: A snapshot

Photo by Laurie Zaleski, FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center
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International Leadership>

The FAA sets the pace for aviation across the globe.

We continue to use our most important export—

safety—as a means to ensure that the global system

mirrors aviation in the U.S. The list of countries we

provide support to has reached 100. We actively

supported 26 countries this year. We’re working

with the International Civil Aviation Organization,

Eurocontrol, and the European

Aviation Safety Agency to harmonize safety, efficiency, and

technology. We increased our

technical interactions with

China, India, and Brazil. We

plan to open new FAA offices in

India, South America, and the

Middle East this fiscal year. Our

aim is simple: We’re making

international air travel safer for

the American flying public,

while enhancing the technical reliability and 

economic stability of aviation across the globe.

Organizational Excellence >

The agency’s 45,852 employees continue to distinguish themselves in performance and leadership.

Together, we delivered on a promise to become

more fiscally responsible, customer focused, and

results oriented. One of our most important successes was conducting the largest A-76 outsourcing

competition at a non-defense agency in the history

of the federal government. As a result, the FAA’s

delivery of services provided by its network of

Automated Flight Service Stations, excluding

Alaska, has been contracted to Lockheed Martin.

The contract will result in reduced operating costs,

modernized services, and will provide continued

high quality service in a more cost-effective manner.

Lockheed Martin will draw almost all of its staffing

needs from current AFSS employees. Since its

inception, the A-76 initiative with automated flight

service stations is expected to result in an estimated

savings of $2.2 billion over

10 years. At the same time,

transitioning to the private

sector has been hard on

these employees. We are

working with Lockheed

Martin to place as many

FAA employees as possible,

giving Flight Service

employees priority consideration for other positions

within the FAA, and offering employees career counseling and other services

to help them adjust to this change.

Photo courtesy of Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center 

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For the second year in a row, we received the 

Association of Government Accountants’ prestigious

Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting

for our 2004 Performance and Accountability Report.

That financial report also won a Gold Award in the

2004 Vision Awards competition sponsored by the

League of American Communications Professionals.

We scored second in the Government category and

ranked 156 out of the 1,436 total private and public

sector annual report entries from 17 countries. For

the fifth consecutive year, the FAA received an

unqualified (“clean”) audit opinion on our financial

statements. When you consider that the FAA

implemented a new financial management system

and a new acquisition system in the same year, this

feat becomes a testament to the hard work and diligence of our financial management staff and staff

from our lines of business, regions, and centers.

Further, it gives us the foundation we need to examine and reduce our costs for the services we provide. 

For the second year in a row, we also met our goal

to keep our major capital investment programs within

cost and schedule. In addition, the FAA continues

to outperform other agencies government-wide in

awarding procurements to small businesses. Across

the government, agencies are asked to allocate 23

percent of their procurement budget to small busi-

nesses. Last year, we were able to award 32 percent.

This year, we will have awarded approximately 30

percent, totaling about $2 billion. Additionally, our

plan to hire air traffic controllers is tracking to the

plan we submitted to Congress in 2004 and we have

budgeted to hire 1,249 controllers next year as well. 

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Precisely

Our Wide Area Augmentation System team received

a prestigious annual aerospace laurel award from

Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine for

launching the system. WAAS allows near-precision

landings at airports without expensive groundbased landing systems, thereby saving money and

expanding capacity. 

Who Knew? 

The Government Accountability Office removed us

from its “high risk” list for financial management.

GAO heralded our implementation of Delphi, the

new general ledger system. Delphi, labor distribution reporting, and other new accounting tools will

give us the baseline information we need to examine and reduce our costs for the services we provide.

We’re #2! We’re #2!

A Harris Poll reported a 77 percent positive public

rating, a dramatic jump from 2001, when the 

FAA approval rating had dipped to 54 percent. The 

FAA was second among federal government 

agencies surveyed.

Strategy Pays

The Association for Strategic Planning (ASP) honored the FAA with the Richard Goodman Strategic

Planning Award: ASP applauded our ability “to

enable individuals and organizations to succeed

through strategic thinking, planning and action.” 

Nothing but Net

The American Customer Satisfaction Index cited

the FAA website as one of the two most improved

websites in government.

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The envelope, please...

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Photo by Laurie Zaleski, FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center
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he Flight Plan isn’t the only plan for aviation, 

and it’s not intended to be. But, that’s where 

it all starts. 

The Flight Plan is a tough set of goals designed to

support the Department of Transportation’s strategic

plan, the President’s Management Agenda, and other

presidential initiatives as well. Each of the individual

organizations within the FAA has a business plan,

and each of those activities is threaded directly to the

Flight Plan.

The Flight Plan takes the FAA out five years. The

next step along the way for the FAA is the Operational Evolution Plan, a rolling 10-year modernization effort. The “OEP,” as it is known, contains a

series of projects that will boost capacity at America’s

35 busiest airports. 

The longer-term effort is the Next Generation Air

Transportation System plan. The JPDO is developing

the plan that will take into account the rapid growth

of aviation and technology to and through 2025.

Naturally, each of these efforts runs in parallel. Each

effort—whether it takes the long view or the short

view—makes sure that the federal investment in 

aviation is a dollar well spent. 

So where do FAA employees fit? The Flight Plan is

supported by corresponding business plans from

every organization in the FAA. These plans contain

detailed sets of initiatives, metrics, and performance

targets. Our goal is to make sure that all FAA

employees are able to point to performance targets

that their work supports. 

How plans come together and how do

FAA employees fit in?

T

The Flight Plan is designed to

link the work of each and

every FAA employee to a goal.

“Sometimes that’s tough to

do,” says JUDY HOLCOMB, the

assistant manager of the Mike

Monroney Airways Facilities

Division. Employees like Holcomb can be

counted on to speak up when they spot a

problem. Thanks to her input, we added a new

item, “How Plans Come Together and How

Do FAA Employees Fit In?” It’s intended to

give FAA employees a direct line of sight from

their jobs to the goals of the Flight Plan.
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FAA goals in a nutshell
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Increased Safety. Safety isn’t just a publicinterest priority; it’s also an economic necessity.

People fly only if they feel safe. They must trust

the system and their trust must be upheld by 

constantly improving performance.

Greater Capacity. Increasing capacity

is a double-edged sword. Air traffic is increasing

rapidly, but growth must not interfere with passengers’ abilities to reach their destinations on time.

And this must not be done at the expense of the

environment.

International Leadership. Across

the globe, aviation is a $1.4 trillion business. Given

our expertise in operating the world’s largest and

most complex system, it’s clear that in the aviation

industry, safety is our most vital national export.

We will enhance America’s leadership role by sharing expertise and new technologies with our international partners. We aim to raise the level of

safety everywhere planes fly.

Organizational Excellence. The

men and women of the FAA are committed to

achieving these goals. To do so, the FAA must

continually improve the way we train our employees and manage our finances. Last year’s achievements are a benchmark for the next. This requires

greater fiscal responsibility, stronger leadership,

more cooperation, improved customer service, and

performance-based management. Simply put, we

need to operate like the world’s finest bottom-line,

cost-driven enterprises with top quality results.

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Goal>To achieve the 

lowest possible accident 

rate and constantly 

improve safety.

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INCREASED

SAFETY

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OVERVIEW

S afety always comes first. It’s our primary mission, and our efforts to boost safety are paying

off. Last year, we achieved the lowest commercial fatal accident rate in aviation history. This year,

it’s even lower.

It’s not a coincidence. The FAA continues to develop

new procedures and technologies that will lower the

number of accidents overall, while improving an

unparalleled safety record. We’re taking a “systems

approach” to safety and identifying causes by looking at trends over the years. In so doing, we’ve

improved our risk management practices by collecting and analyzing data to find problems. This makes

it possible to prevent accidents before they occur.

What’s more, we’re not going it alone. We continue

to partner with industry to reduce the commercial

accident rate, improve runway safety, and extend

the excellent safety record of commercial space

transportation. This year, the Commercial Aviation

Safety Team (CAST)—experts from government

and industry—continued to implement solutions

to reduce the fatal accident rate and share the

results of our activity globally. CAST is now focusing on data-sharing analysis to both identify accident precursors and to measure the effectiveness 

of the solutions we’re using now.

Through the General Aviation Joint Steering 

Committee, a government-industry group formed

to coordinate efforts to reduce fatal general aviation

accidents, we’ve created risk management training

tools for flight inspectors and drafted proposed 

criteria for safety management systems. Through

the Aircraft Owners & Pilots Association (AOPA)

Air Safety Foundation, we’ve made on-line safety

courses available on specific topics, including runway safety, night flying, and mountain flying. We

continued our special commitment to the safety of

general aviation in Alaska, where heavy reliance on

air transportation in an unforgiving environment

has led to an unacceptably high accident rate. We

launched innovative safety programs such as Capstone, Alaska weather cameras, the Rural Alaska

Lighting Program, and the Medallion Program that

significantly reduced the number of accidents over

the last two years. The results are dramatic. We

experienced an average of 114 accidents in Alaska

in fiscal years 2005 and 2004, a reduction of more

than 12% from our baseline of 130 accidents per

year. This success in Alaska has led to safety

improvements throughout the lower 48 as well. For

this reason, in this edition of the Flight Plan, we’re 

combining the objective to reduce Alaska accidents

with the overall objective to reduce general aviation

accidents. Reducing accidents in Alaska will remain

a key strategy in reducing general aviation accidents

as a whole. 

Although the introduction of Unmanned Aerial

Vehicles (UAVs) and light sport aircraft will not

decrease the number of fatal accidents, we believe

that our objective for general aviation fatal accidents is the best place to focus on these two new

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entrants. By developing and implementing standards for safely flying UAVs, the number and rate

of accidents will be less than they would if we took

no action at all. For light sport aircraft, we are base

lining accidents to see how we will modify the performance target for general aviation fatal accidents. 

We are adding a new initiative to develop an en

route/TRACON event risk categorization model

for air traffic control, which will be used to categorize the severity of operational errors. Generally, en

route air traffic control handles aircraft at very high

altitudes; TRACONs control the airspace around

an airport up to the higher altitudes. The model

will provide an overall safety metric for en route

and TRACON airspace. In plain terms, this helps

us learn from our mistakes. By being able to measure the precise nature and circumstances of these

errors, we aim to lessen their occurrence. 

We’ve also moved some initiatives from the Flight

Plan into annual organizational business plans. 

For example, now that we developed streamlined

processes for certifying and approving communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment, basic

cockpit displays, electronic flight bags, and other

safety related flight technologies, we placed the dayto-day application of these processes in the business

plan for the FAA’s Aviation Safety organization.

We continue to develop Wide Area Augmentation

System (WAAS) approaches to improve navigation

for all users of the national airspace system. WAAS

allows near-precision landing at smaller airports.

Customers want us to move faster to develop WAAS

approaches for these airports or allow contractors to

develop them. And we are. Airports with WAAS

approaches may need other improvements, including obstacle removal, runway lights, and markings.

Given these factors, we are developing and prioritizing procedures to maximize the utility of WAAS

within a reasonable cost.

Finally, with the help of our stakeholders, we completed our objective to develop a Composite Safety

Index. The purpose of this index is to provide the

public with a general indication of the safety of the

system. We will now use this index to work with

the aviation community to assess the overall level 

of aviation safety.
Top SAFETY Accomplishments for 2005

> Two years ago, we reported the lowest airline

fatal accident rate in the history of aviation.

This year, it’s even lower. We continued to expand

the Air Transportation Oversight System to new

carriers, including Champion Air, FedEx, UPS,

SkyWest, and Trans States Airlines. Through

data collection and analysis, FAA inspectors are

better able to target areas for improvement and

prevent accidents before they occur. To provide

perspective, in 1997, we pledged to reduce the

airline accident rate by fivefold (80 percent) in

10 years. So far, we have reduced it more than

threefold, and we are on target to meet that

1997 goal by 2007.

> Another repeat performance for the FAA in the

arena of commercial space transportation: No

fatalities or serious injuries to the public during

either launch or reentry. Our new initiative to

develop rules and guidelines for passenger space

flight will be crucial to keeping this record

intact as people begin making commercial

flights into space.

> We established three new maintenance Aviation

Safety Action Programs with United, Independence Air, and Frontier Airlines and a new flight

crew program with CommutAir. The FAA’s

increased oversight of maintenance safety is

particularly important given the fact that some

carriers have begun contracting out maintenance.

ELIZABETH WILLIAMS, a management analyst from headquarters, is quite the careful

reader. She’s a member of the

RNP group in System Ops. She

pointed out that two separate

items dealing with RNP were covered by other

safety initiatives. She said, “Delete,” which is

what we did.

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Photo courtesy of FAA Civil Aeromedical Institute (CAMI)
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> Working with us, the National Transportation

Safety Board (NTSB) closed 32 air safety recommendations through September 30, 2005, with

30 closed in an “acceptable” status, a closure rate

of 93.8 percent. Our goal was 80 percent. Of

all the modes of transportation, the FAA receives

the bulk of the NTSB’s safety recommendations,

and the FAA has the best track record with the

NTSB for “acceptable” recommendations.

> We continued to improve runway safety.We

raised design standards for over 40 runway

safety areas. By focusing attention on driver

training and improving signing and marking,

we reduced runway incursions caused by vehicles and people, and these actions will continue

reducing runway incursions in the future.

> The FAA’s Air Traffic and Aviation Safety 

Organizations are working to put a performance-based national airspace system in place.

We’re already making progress on the domestic

and international fronts. We published criteria

for public Required Navigation Performance

(RNP) approach procedures this year (FAA

Order 8260.52; you can find it at www.FAA.gov). 

As a result, we published the first RNP public

approach procedure (for Washington Reagan

National Airport) in September 2005. Five

additional RNP special approach procedures

were also published during 2005. 

> Turning what may be the newest page in aviation, the FAA issued the first experimental airworthiness certificate for a civilian unmanned

aircraft operating in the national airspace system. But there are still many challenges ahead.

With approximately 10,000 aircraft flying at

any given time, how do you accommodate a

new breed—a plane without a pilot onboard?

Japan uses unmanned aircraft for crop-dusting.

The Europeans are contemplating trans-oceanic

flights with unmanned aircraft. Stay tuned.

© Anthony Bannister; Gallo Images/Corbis
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Top SAFETY Objectives for 2006–2010

Objective 1 

Reduce the commercial airline fatal 

accident rate.

Strategy Continue the evolution toward a performance-based National Airspace System (NAS) by

using a space-based navigation system and onboard

technologies that allow aircraft greater flexibility to

navigate airspace more safely, efficiently, and in a

more environmentally sound way than the current

ground-based navigation system.

INITIATIVE

● Develop and implement Required Navigation

Performance approach procedures (RNP Special

Aircraft and Aircrew Authorization Required

(SAAAR) and/or RNP Parallel Approach Transition (RPAT)). 

Strategy Address safety concerns and issues,

expand cost-effective safety oversight and surveillance, and continue research into the causal factors

of accidents. 

INITIATIVES

● Send critical safety rules to the Office of the 

Secretary of Transportation within 90 days of

planned date, such as Air Tour Safety Standards.

● Address the National Transportation Safety

Board’s identified safety issues. 

● Ensure that safety oversight keeps pace with changes

occurring in the aviation environment by targeting

our inspections resources better, improving our

oversight systems, and providing training for

safety critical employees on time. 

● Achieve ISO:9001 registration to certify that FAA’s

Aviation Safety organization meets the same standards expected of those we regulate in the aviation

industry. 

● Continue research to identify human factors that

may cause accidents and develop strategies, methods,

and technologies that will reduce those accidents. 

● Identify and implement activities designed to streamline and improve the Notice to Airmen process. 

● Where practical, upgrade runway safety areas to

meet standards. 

Don’t forget air tour safety for

both commercial and general

aviation, says ED O’CONNOR, an

economist in headquarters. He’s

right. We received more than

2,000 comments on the NPRM,

which is a clear indication of the widespread

interest in this sector of the industry. Now, we

highlight air tour safety standards as a crucial

rule we will send forward under DOT’s Critical

Safety Rules initiative. 
Strategy Promote and expand safety information

sharing efforts, including FAA-industry partnerships

and data-driven safety programs that prioritize and

address risks before they lead to accidents. 

INITIATIVES

● Promote national data sharing and analysis programs (for example, Voluntary Aviation Safety

Information Program (VASIP), Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), Aviation

Safety Action Program (ASAP), and Continued

Operational Safety Program (COSP)). 

● Continue implementing the Air Transportation

Oversight System. 

● Continue implementing Commercial Aviation

Safety Team (CAST) initiatives. 

● Improve the safety of transporting hazardous

materials by air. 

PERFORMANCE TARGET

● Reduce the airline fatal accident rate by 80 percent

from the 1994-1996 baseline to a three-year rolling

average rate of 0.010 per 100,000 departures by

FY 2007. 

● Reduce the three-year rolling average fatal accident

rate below 0.010 per 100,000 departures by 

FY 2010. 

Objective 2 

Reduce the number of fatal accidents in

general aviation.

Strategy Implement technologies and systems

that will help pilots operate aircraft as safely as possible.

INITIATIVES

● Continue delivery of dependent surveillance to

key sites. 

● Provide text and graphical data through programs

such as Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast/Traffic Information Service-Broadcast, and

Flight Information Service Broadcast to the cockpit

through flight information services. 

● Increase situational awareness by improving the

capabilities of small aircraft with integrated displays,

data-link, and traffic information. 

● Develop and publish Wide Area Augmentation

System (WAAS) approaches. In FY 2006, we will

publish 300 WAAS/Localizer appproaches with

vertical guidance (LPV).

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Our commitment to launch Capstone was weakened in this

year’s Flight Plan. JIM HEBERT,

the FAA’s manager of Capstone,

noted that “more analysis” isn’t

what’s needed. That’s why we

changed the Capstone initiative to emphasize 

further expansion in Alaska.
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Strategy Expand and accelerate implementing

safety and air navigation improvement programs 

in Alaska.

INITIATIVES

● Achieve full operational capability of WAAS. 

● Expand the Capstone Program as part of the 

NAS through a phased approach starting with

Bethel and Southeast Alaska with the goal of

statewide implementation. 

● Continue to optimize weather camera benefits

and explore alternative technologies to provide 

or expand similar data and real-time images to

the aviation community and other government

entities (U.S. and foreign). 

● Support the Medallion, Circle of Safety, and

Alaska Flight Service Safety programs. 

● Improve rural airports thereby permitting 24-

hour Visual Flight Rules (VFR) access. In many

rural communities, the airport provides the only

year-round access. Because there are no roads

linking these communities to larger cities, the airport needs to provide year-round transportation

of people, food, supplies, and medical

assistance/transportation when necessary.

● By FY 2009, establish an improved statewide

public RNP/RNAV WAAS enabled route structure where supported by WAAS. 

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● By FY 2009, reduce the number of general aviation

and nonscheduled Part 135 fatal accidents to no

more than 319 (from 385, which represents the

average number of fatal accidents for the baseline

period of 1996-1998). 

● By FY 2009, reduce accidents in Alaska for general

aviation and all Part 135 operations from the

2000-2002 average of 130 accidents per year to

no more than 99 accidents per year. 

Strategy Establish standard procedures and

guidelines for general aviation operators. 

INITIATIVES

● Ensure that safety oversight and regulatory compliance keep pace with changes in the general 

aviation environment. 

● Continue to implement General Aviation Joint

Steering Committee initiatives. 

● Continue research to identify human factors 

that may cause accidents and develop strategies,

methods, and technologies that will reduce 

those accidents. 

● Develop policies, procedures, and approval

processes to enable operation of unmanned aerial

vehicles (UAVs). 

● By FY 2009 and working with industry, develop

and baseline a target rate for general aviation fatal

accidents to replace the current performance

measure. 

Photo by Laurie Zaleski, FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center
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Objective 3 

Reduce the risk of runway incursions.

Strategy Identify and reduce runway incursion

collision risks. 

INITIATIVE

● Improve training, procedures, evaluation, analysis,

testing, and certification to reduce the risk of

runway incursions resulting from errors by pilots,

air traffic controllers, and airport authorized

pedestrians, vehicle operators, tug operators, and

mechanics conducting aircraft taxi operations. 

Strategy Modify and improve existing surface

movement infrastructure. 

INITIATIVES

● Install Airport Surface Detection EquipmentModel X (ASDE-X) and retrofit of ASDE-X

equipment capability into selected Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS) installations. 

● Continue developing, testing, evaluating, and

deploying runway status lights at AMASS and

ASDE-X airports. 

Strategy Use advanced modeling and simulation

tools to design and develop new equipment, procedures, and training.

INITIATIVE

● Integrate cockpit and tower cab simulation facilities. 

PERFORMANCE TARGET

● By FY 2010, reduce Category A and B (most 

serious) runway incursions to a rate of no more

than 0.450 per million operations.

Objective 4

Ensure the safety of commercial space

launches.

Strategy Continue developing tools, guidance,

and regulations for reducing the safety risks for

commercial space launches, including those involving

crew and passengers. 

INITIATIVES

● Establish processes and standards for granting

safety approvals of launch and reentry vehicles,

safety systems, processes, services and/or personnel. 

● Enhance safety for launch at federal and nonfederal launch sites through continued improvement of internal processes and partnerships with

the Air Force, other government agencies, and 

the commercial space transportation industry. 

● Develop rules and guidelines to enable human

space flight participation and experimental suborbital reusable launch vehicle operations. 

PERFORMANCE TARGET

● No fatalities, serious injuries, or significant property damage to the uninvolved public during

licensed space launch and reentry activities.

Photo by John Rodriguez
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Objective 5

Enhance the safety of FAA’s air traffic systems.

Strategy Identify and reduce operational error

collision risks and influence their reduction.

INITIATIVES

● Modify the evaluation process to facilitate the

reduction of operational errors. 

● Conduct Airspace Complexity Studies at selected

facilities to identify measures of airspace complexity and develop recommendations to reduce

errors. 

● Provide pilots with safe access to the NAS by 

analyzing and disseminating aeronautical and

meteorological information to pilots and controllers through innovative systems. 

● Develop an EnRoute/ Terminal Radar Approach

Control (TRACON) event risk categorization

model. 

● Evaluate the use of high fidelity simulation to

improve ATC training for local facilities. 

Strategy Design, develop, and implement a

Safety Management System (SMS) that complies

with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s

(ICAO) requirements and applies a system safety

approach to the FAA’s delivery of air traffic services. 

INITIATIVES

● Implement Safety Risk Management (SRM) using

a phased approach with initial implementation

focusing on targeted NAS changes. 

● Implement SRM processes FAA-wide to assess

safety risk and to monitor effectiveness of safety

risk-mitigation strategies. 

● Expand the collection, consolidation, and analysis

of safety data to enhance reporting and assessment.

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● By FY 2010, reduce Category A and B (most 

serious) operational errors to a rate of no more

than 3.18 per million activities.

● By FY 2010, apply Safety Risk Management to 

at least 22 significant changes in the NAS.

© Jon Ross, ATSS, MIA ATCT
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WHO WE ARE IS WHAT WE STAND FOR

The mission of the Federal Aviation

Administration is to provide the safest, most

efficient aerospace system in the world.

Our visionis to improve continuously the

safety and efficiency of aviation, while

being responsive to our customers and

accountable to the public.

We conduct our business in accordance with

these values:

● Safety is our passion. We are the world

leaders in aerospace safety.

● Quality is our trademark. We serve our

country, our customers, and each other.

● Integrity is our character. We do the right

thing, even when no one is looking.

● People are our strength. We treat each

other as we want to be treated.

© Ausloeser/zefa/Corbis

© Jon Ross, ATSS, MIA ATCT
● 25

he FAA gets most of its money to operate the 

air traffic system, its safety programs, and its 

capital investments from the Airport and Airway

Trust Fund, which is fueled by a 7.5 percent tax on

the price of airline tickets. Unfortunately, the surplus in the Trust Fund is almost gone. A significant

gap exists between the tax receipts and what it costs

to run the system. The FAA already is hard at work to

control costs, including restructuring and a reduction of staffing by some 15 percent over the last 12

years. Even at that, labor costs continue to increase. 

All the while, the Trust Fund continues to show 

the wear and tear of maintaining the world’s largest

and most complex air traffic control system. As the

surplus dwindles, Trust Fund revenues are unable to

cover growing costs. So what caused this problem?

There are many factors. Since 9/11, we have experienced massive changes in the aviation industry. The

airlines have moved away from the large aircraft to

smaller regional jets. This use of smaller jets has

increased access to small airports and communities,

increased the number of passengers, and increased

the number of aircraft carrying them. As low-cost

carriers drive down the price of a ticket, which has

the possible effect of enabling more people to fly

and, thus, generating more flights, the per-flight

revenue received by the Trust Fund, declines. All

these factors spell trouble for the FAA’s ability to

pay its bills.

Long term, this puts the FAA in an untenable position. As air traffic continues to increase, the FAA’s

controllers, inspectors, and technicians have to 

handle the mounting workload without missing a

beat. The need for services increases and operating

costs increase, but the amount of money the FAA

receives stays the same. As it stands now, there’s no

real link between the taxes received for the service

and the cost to provide the service itself. Unfortunately, the price of the ticket determines the size of

the Trust Fund.

What the FAA needs is a stable funding stream

where the cost for a service is reflected in what’s

charged for the service. The future depends on it.

We will not be able to modernize the current aviation system and prepare for the future without it.

In April 2005, the FAA convened a group of government, industry, and Wall Street experts to analyze

the problem and make suggestions on how to fix it.

Stakeholder involvement is critical to achieving a

workable solution. To learn more about the issue,

see the Trust Fund fact sheet on-line at www.FAA.gov.

How it gets paid for

T
Goal>Work with local

governments and airspace

users to provide capacity in

the United States airspace

system that meets projected

demand in an environmentally sound manner.

26 ●

GREATER

CAPACITY

© G. Schuster/zefa/Corbis
OVERVIEW

Capacity is what keeps our system moving.

It’s both a priority and a necessity. With

traffic bouncing back after 9/11 and continuing to increase, we are working diligently to

keep air travel on schedule. Even so, we can’t control the weather as it ripples through the system.

And we can’t control traffic demand—that’s a function of the marketplace. But we can prepare for

both. That’s why we’re working with the airlines,

local governments, and all airspace users to develop

solutions that meet current and future capacity

needs. The entire process is meant to be absolutely

“transparent to the passenger,” and that’s as it

should be. The consumer wants more options,

regardless of traffic and weather. The carriers want

predictability and fair treatment when we impose

tactical (daily) or strategic (rule-making) constraints.

By sharing our performance, our plans, and partnering with operators in development of strategies

and reviewing lessons, our intentions are known 

to everyone.

This year, we’ve worked with our industry and government partners to deliver two key technologies:

Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum

(DRVSM) and Advanced Technologies and Oceanic

Procedures. DRVSM alone, by increasing en route

capacity and the ability to avoid severe weather, is

expected to result in fuel savings for the airlines

that could reach $5 billion through 2016. These

two technologies helped operators participate in

reduced separation standards. This allows them to

fly more aircraft in a given airspace and the most

fuel-efficient routes—safely. 

The FAA is working to increase the number of

flights at America’s top airports by 1 percent per

year, primarily by opening new runways. This year,

we’ll be commissioning four new runways at some

of our busiest airports, including Minneapolis-St.

Paul, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Lambert-St.

Louis, and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta. No doubt,

our airports will be able to increase arrival and

departure rates. The challenge, however, will be to

ensure that we keep pace with forecasted demand.

This edition of the Flight Plan no longer includes

the Oceanic En Route Change Request performance

measure. We found these oceanic operational metrics require better data, modeling, and analysis to

forecast how increases in traffic volume affect

oceanic metrics. Even though we granted more

requests for altitude changes than in the past, the

number of requests went up even faster. Consequently, the performance measure, defined as a percentage, was always lagging. Rather than have this

measure serve as a major objective for the agency,

we’ll focus on full implementation of the Advanced

Technologies and Oceanic Procedures software and

develop sound, baselined metrics we can use to

measure our performance in the future. 

Our Capstone program continues to make navigation and safety advances in Alaska. Capstone uses

● 27
satellite technology to improve communication,

capacity, and safety. As a result, we’ve added a new

initiative for our Air Traffic Organization to decide

whether to implement Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance-Broadcast—the heart of Capstone—

nationwide. ADS-B transmits an aircraft’s position

to other equipped aircraft and controllers. It also

provides the pilots with weather information and

the position of other aircraft.

Planning for future capacity needs is what the Next

Generation Air Transportation System—affectionately known as NGATS—is all about. We’ve

brought together groups from across government

and industry to design, develop, and deliver a completely new air transportation system. FAA led integrated product teams—Airports, Environmental,

Safety, and Global Harmonization—have specified

how they are supporting the Flight Plan with initiatives throughout the whole plan.

28 ●

With RNAV procedures, aircraft now fly on precise, predefined routes,

which save the airlines millions, shorten flight times, increase capacity,

and help the environment.
● 29

Top CAPACITY Accomplishments for 2005

> After several years of careful preparation with

industry, the Governments of Canada and

Mexico, airports, and our workforce, we implemented Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation

Minimum—DRVSM—on January 20, 2005.

Reduced vertical separation means that more

aircraft can fly in a given airspace, greatly

increasing the total number of aircraft that can

fly safely at any one time and providing more

flexibility to avoid severe weather.

> On June 6, 2005, the New York Air Route

Traffic Control Center achieved full operational

capability of the Advanced Technologies and

Oceanic Procedures system. This technology

increases capacity and allows more planes to fly

preferred routes over oceanic airspace. 

> We published over 50 Area Navigation (RNAV)

arrival and departure procedures at airports,

exceeding our target and expanding the number of arrivals and departures that each airport

can handle. These RNAV procedures offer the

air carriers significant benefits in fuel savings

due to reductions in miles flown from the more

efficient procedures. For our implementations

at Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth, the carriers

predict annual savings of over $30 million dollars at each location. We also made progress

redesigning terminal airspace at Los Angeles

International Airport to increase capacity. 

> For controllers, we deployed state-of-the-art

software—STARS—at 10 sites. STARS—the

Standard Terminal Automation Replacement

System—replaces older automation software

and displays to improve the control of aircraft

in terminal airspace.

> Two pieces of advanced software to enhance

efficiency and capacity were deployed as well.

The User Request Evaluation Tool, which enables

controllers to assess new altitudes or changes in

course instantly, is now up and running at 13

sites. The Traffic Management Advisor, which

funnels high altitude aircraft into large airports,

is in operation at 7 sites. Both technologies

improve safety, increase capacity, and save the

airlines money.
30 ●

Top CAPACITY Objectives for 2006–2010

Objective 1

Increase capacity to meet projected

demand. 

Strategy Evaluate existing airport capacity levels

and set investment and infrastructure priorities. 

INITIATIVES

● Update the Future Airport Capacity Team

(FACT) Report titled “Capacity Needs in the

National Airspace System.” 

● Establish priorities for infrastructure investments

to maintain existing capacity in a cost-effective

manner. 

● Provide operational support for new runway 

construction. 

● Support master plans for airfield improvements at

the 35 Operational Evolution Plan (OEP) airports

(for airports not located within the eight metropolitan areas identified in Objective 2). 

● Ensure that all necessary activities are accomplished

to meet new OEP runway capability commitments

established in partnership with stakeholders. 

● Support environmental processing of airfield

improvements for projects selected under the

President’s environmental streamlining executive

order and support Vision 100 environmental

streamlining at the 35 OEP airports (for airports

not located within the eight metropolitan areas

identified in Objective 2).

Strategy Improve airway access to increase

capacity through operational and procedural

changes. 

INITIATIVES

● Redesign terminal airspace and change procedures. 

● Implement the performance-based navigation

roadmap by continuing development and implementation of Area Navigation (RNAV) routes,

standard instrument departures (SIDs), and standard terminal arrivals (STARs). 

● Using the cross-organizational Airport Obstructions

Standards Committee (AOSC), develop recommended standards and action plans for runway

procedures, such as end-around taxiways, and

establish databases and data collection tools to

improve airport flight operations, while maintaining an optimal balance among safety, capacity,

and efficiency considerations. 

● Enhance NAS performance for the 35 OEP 

airports through advanced engineering and 

program support. 
● 31

Strategy Improve bad weather departure and landing capacity with new technologies and procedures.

INITIATIVES

● Capitalize on Spring/Summer Plan data, developed

in partnership with the airlines and other segments

of aviation, to improve traffic flow in bad weather. 

● Implement Precision Runway Monitor. 

● Increase airport capacity through the use of 

Traffic Management Advisor.

● Identify and implement procedures and technology

to improve the dissemination of weather information to pilots and controllers. 

● Develop an FAA weather index to better quantify

and improve our on-time performance during

good and bad weather. 

Strategy Modify separation standards and 

procedures to allow more efficient use of congested

airspace.

INITIATIVE

● Conduct research to improve safety and increase

throughput using wake turbulence monitoring,

operational procedures, and controller tools. 

Strategy Meet the new and growing demands

for air transportation services through 2025 through

the interagency effort of the Joint Planning and

Development Office.

INITIATIVES

● Develop a consolidated modernization plan

focused on the transition to the Next Generation

Air Transportation System (NGATS). 

● Ensure that the environmental approach for

capacity expansion is compatible with the road

map developed by the Environmental Integrated

Product Team (IPT) for NGATS. 

● Develop Airports Integrated Product Team road

map in support of NGATS. 

● Ensure that all necessary activities are accomplished to make a final decision for NAS-Wide

Implementation of Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) by July 2006. 

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● Achieve an average daily airport capacity of

104,338 arrivals and departures per day by FY

2008 and maintain through FY 2010 at the 35

OEP airports. 

● Commission as many as eight new runway projects,

increasing the annual service volume of the 35 OEP

airports by at least 1 percent annually, measured as

a five-year moving average, through FY 2010.

● Sustain adjusted operational availability at 99.5

percent for the reportable facilities that support

the 35 OEP airports through FY 2010. 

DON STREETER makes it two in a

row. The aviation safety inspector from headquarters is “very

disappointed that the draft

Flight Plan does not even mention the continued research,

development, and implementation of ADS-B” especially with respect to its use

for “air traffic separation services.” In response,

we added a new initiative under Capacity.
32 ●

Objective 2 

Increase or improve aviation capacity in

the eight major metropolitan areas and

corridors that most affect total system

delay. For FY 2006, those areas are: New

York, Philadelphia, South Central Florida,

Chicago, Washington/Baltimore, Atlanta,

Los Angeles Basin, and San Francisco Bay

Area.

Strategy Identify airport improvements that

are most likely to reduce the major causes of 

system delay. 

INITIATIVES

● Monitor and maintain scheduled progress for

Environmental Impact Statements at Washington

Dulles, new South Suburban, Ft. Lauderdale, and

Philadelphia Airports (located within the eight

metropolitan areas).

● Support master plans for airfield improvements 

at OEP airports (located within the eight metropolitan areas).

● Conduct regional studies in the New York, New

England, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas. 

● Direct Airport Improvement Program (AIP)

funding to reduce capacity constraints of secondary and reliever airports located within those 

metropolitan areas. 

● Work with the aviation community to establish

the most feasible policies to enhance capacity and

manage congestion. 

● Update which metropolitan areas we project will

have the greatest impact on the total system for

delays over the period of the Flight Plan. 

Strategy Redesign the airspace and traffic flows.

INITIATIVES

● Redesign the airspace of the eight major metropolitan areas: New York, Philadelphia, South

Central Florida, Chicago, Washington/Baltimore,

Atlanta, Los Angeles Basin, and San Francisco. 

● Expand use of time-based metering at air traffic

control centers. 

PERFORMANCE TARGET

● Achieve an average daily airport capacity for the

eight major metropolitan areas of 68,750 arrivals

and departures per day by FY 2010. 

It’s not necessary to duplicate

the RNP Roadmap initiative

under both Safety and Capacity,

and recommended it be placed

under Capacity. In response to

MAROLYN HATCH, a management/program analyst at Headquarters, the

Capacity duplicate was deleted. Another Capacity initiative referring to RNP was rewritten to

emphasize developing RNAV routes to increase

capacity.
● 33

Objective 3

Increase on-time performance of scheduled carriers. 

Strategy Promote use of automated systems

that provide more accurate and timely information

for all system users. 

INITIATIVE

● Improve on-time performance and operator and

passenger access to information through the use

of Traffic Flow Management (TFM), Traffic 

Management Advisor (TMA), and Collaborative

Decision Making (CDM) capabilities. 

Strategy Restructure airspace to ensure efficient

traffic flow between oceanic and domestic airspace.

INITIATIVES

● Use new equipment and technology to reduce 

en-route congestion. 

● Implement high-altitude airspace redesign to

reduce congestion. 

● Reduce oceanic separation in the Pacific. 

● Develop ocean capacity metrics and targets for 

FY 2007 and the out years, through the use of 

a comprehensive Advanced Technologies and

Oceanic Procedures (ATOP) data collection and

analysis capability and oceanic simulation and

modeling capability. 

PERFORMANCE TARGET

● Through FY 2010, maintain an 87.4 percent 

on-time arrival for all flights arriving at the 35

OEP airports, no more than 15 minutes late due

to NAS related delays. 

Objective 4 

Address environmental issues associated

with capacity enhancements.

Strategy Develop better technologies and analytical tools to evaluate aircraft noise and emissions.

INITIATIVES

● Conduct research and develop, verify, and validate

analytical tools to better understand the relationship between noise and emissions and different

types of emissions, and to provide the cost benefit

analysis capability necessary for data-driven decision making. 

● Along with stakeholders, increase aircraft noise

and emissions mitigation activities at the new

environmental Center of Excellence. 

● Work with several airports to implement Continuous Descent Approach (CDA) for night operations, and initiate research into CDA applicability

to airports with greater traffic levels, general

mixed fleet, and mixed operations.

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● Reduce the number of people exposed to 

significant noise by 1 percent per year through 

FY 2010, as measured by a three-year moving

average, from the three-year average for calendar

years 2000-2002. 

● Improve aviation fuel efficiency per revenue

plane-mile by 1 percent per year through FY

2010, as measured by a three-year moving average, from the three-year average for calendar 

years 2000-2002.
34 ●

RECIPE FOR A FLIGHT PLAN

The Flight Plan is the strategic plan for the

FAA. Two years ago, the FAA drafted goals in

four major areas: safety, capacity, international

leadership, and organizational excellence.

These goals, their performance targets,

objectives, and initiatives were then sent to

FAA employees and to FAA’s stakeholders for

their input. The result was a plan that pointed

the FAA in a direction that its customers and

employees helped create. To make sure it

was achievable, the plan contained only

items for which the agency had budgeted. 

The agency’s senior management team meets

each month to assess progress. At the end

of the first year, the agency had achieved 24

out of 30 goals. The agency updated the

Flight Plan through the same process. This

past year we met 28 of our 31 goals.

© Lassi Tolvanen/Airliners.net

© Frank Lukasseck/zefa/Corbis
● 35

he headline in USA Today said simply, 

“Planes will soon fly stacked more closely.” 

Then, seven paragraphs later, this: “Don’t

worry,” says Steve Entis, an air traffic controller.

“You are safe, and the planes are separated properly.”

The subject of the article is the FAA’s domestic

reduced vertical separation minimum program.

Simply, “DRVSM” allows aircraft at high altitudes

to be routed more closely together. 

Admittedly, “stacked more closely” is more than

just a bit of hyperbole, especially since DRVSM

still calls for 1,000 feet between aircraft at the very

high altitudes. Before DRVSM implementation last

January, anything above 29,000 feet had to have

2,000 feet apart vertical separation. With this new

procedure, we’ve doubled the available jet lanes

without compromising safety.

For the public, the move is virtually transparent.

For the airlines, which battle at the pump every

day, the fuel savings are expected to reach $5 billion

through 2016. 

It’s a safety move as well because controllers now

have greater flexibility to guide airplanes away from

bad weather and congested lanes. 

Controllers like it. Pilots like it. It’s safe. It’s efficient.

It doubles capacity in the same airspace. It’s an idea

whose time has come.

Stacking the deck? Not hardly. 

T

© Jay Kivowitz
Goal>Increase the safety

and capacity of the global

civil aerospace system in 

an environmentally sound

manner.

36 ●

INTERNATIONAL

LEADERSHIP

© Jason Hosking/zefa/Corbis
OVERVIEW

The United States sets the pace internationally for aviation, and our goal is to keep it

that way. That’s why we promote aviation

safety across the globe. The FAA’s air traffic management system handles almost half of the world’s

air traffic, certifies more than two-thirds of the

world’s large jet aircraft, and provides direct or indirect aviation assistance to over 100 countries. Every

day, 130 domestic and 118 scheduled international

air carriers serve the United States. We’re the leader

in developing and implementing new technologies

to create a safer, more efficient global airspace system. We are also the largest contributor of technical

and financial support to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which represents 189

of the world’s civil aviation authorities and sets the

international aviation standards. 

The FAA continues to advance safety internationally by broadening our strategic partnerships, providing targeted technical assistance, and promoting

harmonized regulations and safety solutions. We

work with aviation partners and ICAO to promote

common safety standards and interoperable air traffic procedures and technologies such as RVSM,

RNP, and Global Navigation Satellite Systems. 

We work with organizations such as the European

Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to facilitate the

exchange of aeronautical products, technologies,

and services. We also plan on opening up new

international offices in India, South America, and

the Middle East in 2006. 

In response to numerous suggestions from our

employees this year, we’ve developed more outcome-based measures. For countries in Asia and the

Americas that are experiencing substantial growth

in operations, we’ve developed a measure to influence and help reduce the current air carrier fatal

accident rate. Creating a safer and more efficient

global airspace system demands this of us.

We’ve also increased our focus on bilateral aviation

safety agreements to account for detailed safety and

certification implementation work that must be

accomplished to make them effective. In the past

we only tracked the signing of the agreements

themselves. By adding focus to implementation

procedures as well, this will give a better picture of

the steps necessary to fully accomplish our safety

work and the increased exchanges in products and

services that will be enabled by these agreements.

In this edition of the Flight Plan, we’ve also added

an initiative recognizing the important role the

agency will play over the next few years in helping

to develop and implement an international strategy

for the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

● 37
We also modified our initiative to implement Presidential International Civil Aviation Safety Programs

for Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East.

We removed the specific geographic regions to

allow for commitment to broader Administration

initiatives. The initiative now stresses supporting

the Administration’s efforts wherever they may be. 

In sum, our reach extends to wherever planes fly. The

FAA’s ultimate objective is to ensure air travel is as

safe and efficient abroad as it is at home. We’re making significant progress toward making that happen.

38 ●
● 39

Top INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Accomplishments for 2005

> We established effective partnerships with 

three Asian regional groups, as well as Greece,

Argentina, Colombia, countries in the

Caribbean, Central America, and the East

African community to ensure the highest level

of safety in aviation operations, and worked to

harmonize standards for fractional ownership

with the European Civil Aviation Conference,

Canada, and Mexico.

> The FAA and Australia’s aviation authority

implemented an aviation safety agreement that

provides for an expanded exchange of aviation

products between Australia and the United States.

> In Iraq, the FAA and Department of Defense

restructured the upper airspace and opened it

up to international traffic. Air traffic management facilities for both Baghdad and Basrah are

currently being constructed with FAA leadership.

> In Afghanistan, we launched a Civil Aviation

Advisory Team to get their war-torn air traffic

system up and running.

> We established an Indian Aviation Cooperation

Program, modeled after the very successful

China government-industry partnership,

focused on aviation safety initiatives for India.

> The FAA worked with the Department of State

to fund technical support for the Caribbean

and the East African community through the

Regional Aviation Safety Oversight System.

Most of these countries agreed to adopt regulations

based on the Model Civil Aviation Regulations. 

> In 2005, the FAA formally agreed with Canada

and Mexico to work on the harmonized implementation of RNP and RNAV in the North

America region.

> We continued to support the development of

regional aviation safety organizations through

work with seven civil aviation authorities in 

the Caribbean as well as with the East African

community. 

> We’ve also assisted Kenya in developing new

aviation regulations to meet international 

safety standards and signed agreements with

Argentina and Colombia to support efforts

aimed at maintaining compliance with international safety standards.

> Finally, the FAA exceeded its goal of raising

$13.7 million in financial assistance from U.S.

government organizations and multilateral

banks for international aviation infrastructure

projects during FY 2005. By June 2005, over

$19 million was committed for initiatives to

increase safety oversight, and provide training

and aviation safety capacity building.
40 ●

Top INTERNATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Objectives for 2006–2010

Objective 1

Promote improved safety and regulatory

oversight in cooperation with bilateral,

regional, and multilateral aviation partners.

Strategy Support the continued development

of competent authorities worldwide.

INITIATIVES

● Provide technical assistance and training and

strengthen mutually beneficial partnerships with

key civil aviation organizations in Asia and the

Americas.

● Implement civil aviation safety programs to 

support the Administration’s initiatives. 

● Support creation of government industry partnerships to facilitate the transfer of aeronautical

products, services, and technologies to key 

developing regions. 

● Provide technical assistance and training in 

creating at least four regional aviation authorities

or organizations capable of meeting globally

accepted safety and efficiency standards.

Strategy Work with key international partners

to implement safety enhancements that will

improve worldwide aviation safety while enabling

the transfer of aeronautical products, technologies,

and services.

INITIATIVES

● Establish an effective partnership with the European Union and EASA to ensure the highest level

of cooperation for aviation safety and an efficient

exchange of products, services, and technologies. 

● Establish coordinated safety agendas throughout

the world to improve aviation safety.

● Negotiate and conclude bilateral agreements for

safety, certification, and approval systems that

enable technology transfer with global aviation

partners. 

Strategy Support ICAO and other international organization initiatives.

INITIATIVES

● Provide U.S. technical participation and leadership in ICAO meetings to achieve U.S. objectives.

● Increase recruitment of qualified U.S. technical

personnel to fill positions at ICAO.

● Reduce the number of filed differences with

ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices

(SARPs) and provide leadership in the development of new SARPs.

● Work at ICAO to foster international environmental standards, recommended practices, and

guidance materials that are technically feasible,

economically reasonable, provide a measurable

benefit and take interdependencies between the

various emissions and between emissions and

noise into account.
● 41

Strategy Secure external funding for global

safety initiatives.

INITIATIVE

● Increase external funding from the U.S. government, bilateral partners, multilateral banks, and

industry to strengthen the global aviation infrastructure.

Strategy Work with global partners and industry to develop and implement technologies and

processes that enhance safety.

INITIATIVE

● Seek global harmonization of fractional ownership regulatory policy.

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● By FY 2010, continue to reduce the five-year

rolling average commercial air carrier fatal accident rate in key regions or countries experiencing

substantial growth in aviation operations by 10

percent from the 2000-2005 baseline.

● Conclude at least eight (new or expanded) bilateral safety agreements that will facilitate an

increase in the ability to exchange aviation products and services by FY 2010.

● Secure a yearly increase of 20 percent in external

funding for international aviation activities from

the United States and international government

organizations, multilateral banks, and industry.

Objective 2

Promote seamless operations around the

globe in cooperation with bilateral,

regional, and multilateral aviation partners.

Strategy Advocate the global implementation

of the Air Traffic Management Operational Concept and promote harmonization and interoperability of emerging technologies to support enhanced

global safety, capacity, and system efficiency. 

INITIATIVES

● Encourage adoption of enabling technologies and

processes, such as the Global Navigation Satellite

System (GNSS) and ADS-B, to improve safety of

flight operations. 

● Develop and implement capacity enhancing

applications, such as RNP/RNAV, embracing 

current operational capabilities to the maximum

extent possible. 

● Improve interoperability of automation tools and

operational procedures to increase user flexibility

and efficiencies.

● Develop and implement international strategy in

support of the NGATS Global Harmonization

IPT and work with civil aviation and interagency

partners to implement the strategy.

● Provide technical participation and leadership in

the World Radio Communication Conference.

PERFORMANCE TARGET

● By FY 2010, expand the use of Global Positioning System-based technologies and procedures to

five more countries. 
42 ●

U.S. AVIATION BY THE NUMBERS

Airports 19,815

Active pilots 749,834

Flight instructors 89,396

Total number of 

regulated aircraft 319,549

FAA budget $13,858,197,000

Pieces of equipment 71,000

Square miles of airspace 

monitored 17,017,092

Total commercial 

passengers 688,500,000

Total commercial 

miles flown 714,500,000,000

Air traffic control 

facilities 617

Flights handled per day 49,545

FAA air traffic controllers 14,577

FAA aviation safety inspectors 4,563

FAA technicians 5,860

Courtesy of Northrop Grumman

© Eclipse Aviation Corporation
● 43

overnment programs tend to be identified 

by a curious jumble of acronyms and abbreviations. This one—the JPDO—is no different.

But what sets the JPDO apart is that without it, the

aviation system won’t be able to keep up with the

ever-increasing number of people who fly. “JPDO”

stands for the Joint Planning and Development

Office, and its aim is to develop the aviation system

that will be used to and through 2025.

Chartered by Congress, the JPDO aligns the brain

power and resources of several cabinet-level offices,

including Defense, Commerce, Transportation,

NASA, Homeland Security, and the White House

Office of Science and Technology. Together, this

group is developing a vision of the aviation system

in the year 2025 and a Next Generation Air Transportation System (NGATS) Implementation Plan. 

Let’s start from today. More than 700 million 

people flew to, from, and within the U.S. last year,

and the number of passengers is expected to hit 

one billion by 2015. The JPDO expects demand to

triple by 2025. 

New types of aircraft are on the horizon—literally.

SpaceShipOne last year made the first flights

designed to carry passengers into space. Newer

kinds of small aircraft, sometimes called “very light

jets,” soon will take to the sky. They portend to

make air taxis, now confined largely to Alaska, a

way of life throughout the USA. Finally, unmanned

aircraft, used primarily by the military, will move

into civil use to conduct surveillance, fly cargo, and

perhaps—one day—even fly passengers.

And for efficiency’s sake, we know that small airports are an untapped resource. We’ve got to make

them a bigger part of our system. There are more

than 5,400 small public use airports in the United

States, and 98 percent of our country lives less than

a 30-minute drive from any one of them. We need

to introduce more technology that takes advantage

of the small airport.

What’s more, passengers will want to have a flight

experience that flows smoothly from “door-todoor” and seamlessly integrates security into the

process. 

We’re well under way. All of this puts a turbocharger on the FAA’s efforts to deliver a safe and

efficient system for the future. Our immediate

response to NGATS and the demand for increased

capacity is the 10-year Operational Evolution Plan

(OEP), aimed at increasing capacity at 35 key airports that account for 73 percent of all passenger

enplanements. 

Find out more at www.JPDO.aero.

The shape of things to come

G
Goal>Ensure the success

of the FAA’s mission through

stronger leadership, a better

trained workforce, enhanced

cost-control measures, and

improved decision-making

based on reliable data.

44 ●

EXCELLENCE

ORGANIZATIONAL

Photo courtesy of Aeronautical Center

© Royalty-Free/Corbis

Photo by Laurie Zaleski, 

FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center

Photo by John Rodriguez Photo by Staff Photographer, 

William J. Hughes Technical Center
OVERVIEW

The agency is delivering on its promise to

become a world-class organization. The pay

rates for most employees, from the most

senior executives all the way to new hires, are now

tied to accomplishing our targets and initiatives in

the Flight Plan and those in the organizational

business plans that support it. We’re operating more

like a bottom-line business. 

We also build our budgets to support the Flight

Plan. No initiative appears in this Flight Plan unless

we are prepared to pay for it. Once a project

becomes part of the Flight Plan, the FAA includes

each initiative’s financial requirements in the

budget. Accordingly, the business plans and activities for each organization are designed specifically

to achieve the Flight Plan’s goals. It might seem elementary, but by focusing on the fundamental

things we do, such as air traffic control, inspection,

certification, and engineering, we’re able to ensure

that all of our activities enable us to deliver a system that is both safe and efficient. At a time when

budgets all across the government are stretched thin,

every penny counts. There’s no room—or money—

for unnecessary activity. 

Consequently, we’ve revised the Organizational

Excellence goal to align more closely to the President’s Management Agenda (PMA), which consists

of programs to improve performance throughout

the entire government. Each of these elements contributes to the Organizational Excellence goal. For

this reason, we have expanded our focus under this

goal to include specific initiatives in support of the

eight elements of the PMA: 

● Strategic management of human capital;

● Competitive sourcing;

● Improved financial performance;

● Expanded electronic government;

● Budget and performance integration;

● Research and development investment criteria;

● Federal real property management; and

● Eliminating improper payments.

In addition to aligning our initiatives with government-wide requirements, these adjustments

strengthen our commitment to develop strong 

leaders and improve financial management, 

performance, and customer satisfaction. We’ve

improved our corporate training programs for

employees to ensure that our most valuable assets

have the proper knowledge and skills to help

achieve the agency’s mission. We’ve also made

tough decisions to ensure that our work adds value,

● 45

Photo by Staff Photographer, William J. Hughes Technical Center
46 ●

meets customer needs and expectations, and is 

performed as cost effectively as possible. 

Today, we survey more customers than ever before.

For years we have surveyed commercial pilots on

their satisfaction with the FAA, and, more recently,

we’ve asked airline operation representatives, airplane mechanics, airport customers, and customers

seeking a commercial space transportation license.

Our new cost accounting systems and labor distribution reporting are allowing us to look at the costs

of what we do and improve the value of our services.

This plan takes into account the fiscal realities of the

budget environment and our Trust Fund revenues.

For the first time in agency history, we implemented

an aggressive cost control program that requires

organizations to examine priorities closely and then

develop initiatives that achieve measurable cost

reductions and savings. This year, we’re focusing on

realizing efficiency and productivity gains. Through

prioritization, planning, and measurement, we

ensure that agency activities are aligned with the

strategic direction set forth in the Flight Plan. 

FAA employees responded to each of the last several

agency-wide employee satisfaction surveys conducted by the agency with a strong message: They

want information that’s clear, timely, and on target.

The agency subsequently conducted a top-to-bottom review of its communications vehicles—everything from newsletters to websites to broadcast

e-mail. We found too many voices, too much chatter. As a result, we created a separate organization

dedicated solely to internal communications. We

eliminated dozens of newsletters and reports. The

agency’s new newsletter—FocusFAA—is both electronic and interactive. We’ve also implemented new

information hotlines with messages tailored to

employees according to their line of business. Each

of these is more flexible and cost-efficient. 

The FAA completely overhauled its website and

created a template for its organizations to follow as

well. As a result, each FAA website has the same

look and feel, and surfers are able to find information consistently and easily. Good things happened

almost immediately. The U.S. Geological Survey and

the Performance Institute named FAA’s website as

one of the top-10, best-managed sites in government.

FAA employees also told us that we needed to do

more to prevent and resolve conflict in the workplace. We put together a team that studied best

practices in private industry and across the government. They developed the new Center for Early

Photo by John Rodriguez Photo by Staff Photographer, 

William J. Hughes Technical Center
● 47

Dispute Resolution. The Center opened its doors

on September 26, 2005 with the goal of expanding

it across the agency.

In addition, to ensure a consistent and corporate

labor management program, we will focus on providing effective and efficient processes to train 

managers and supervisors, and handle grievances,

negotiations, and contract administration. We now

have specific metrics to track our performance.

We continue to ensure the safety and security of

our workforce and facilities. In securing the

National Airspace System, the FAA supports

Homeland Security programs relative to emergency

preparedness, crisis management, and continuity of

government planning. 

In addition to these functions, we provide operational support to National Command Authority

directed missions and oversight on aviation intelligence requirements. Now that there’s a heightened

focus on restricting airspace because of increased

security, the FAA’s work with the Transportation

Security Administration and other agencies on the

waiver program for the National Capital Region

and other parts of the U.S. is even more critical.

Close partnerships with other federal agencies in

integration of security technologies and management

of overflight programs all work to ensure continuous operation of the national airspace system.

The Aviation Trust Fund that pays

for our operations bill is at an alltime low. For over a year, we’ve

been asking for ideas. “Charge a

flat rate fee on the airline ticket,”

says JOE VANDENBOSCH, with the

RADAR/STARS unit at the Rochester,

NY, tower. CLIFF VACIRCA, a civil

engineer from New England, was

even more pointed. “I question

why it is necessary to continue

with a percentage based ticket

tax structure when it is based on

an industry climate that no longer exists,” he

says. He favors a flat fee as well. So where are

we now? The agency’s is in the process of developing proposals to remedy the situation. We’ve

asked stakeholders for their ideas as well.
48 ●

Top ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Accomplishments for 2005

> For the second year in a row, we received the

Association of Government Accountants’ prestigious Certificate of Excellence in Accountability

Reporting for our 2004 Performance and

Accountability Report. The same annual financial report also won a Gold Award in the 2004

Vision Awards competition sponsored by the

League of American Communications Professionals. We scored second in the government

category and ranked 156 out of the 1,436 total

private and public sector annual report entries

from 17 countries. 

> For the fifth consecutive year, we received an

unqualified clean audit opinion on our financial statements. When you consider that the

FAA implemented a new core financial management system and a new acquisition system

in the same year, this feat becomes a testament

to the hard work and diligence of our financial

management staff and staff from our lines of

business and facilities throughout the nation.

> We undertook the largest outsourcing competition at a non-defense agency in the history of

the United States government. As a result, the

network of Automated Flight Service Stations

are now operated by Lockheed Martin. The

contract will improve service, reduce operating

costs, eliminate outdated technology, and save

the taxpayer $2.2 billion. This change, though

recognized as beneficial by the aviation community in their comments on this Flight Plan, was

hard on our Flight Service employees. To help

our employees through this change, we worked

with Lockheed Martin to place as many FAA

employees as possible, giving Flight Service

employees priority consideration for other positions within the FAA, and offering employees

career counseling and other services to help

them adjust to this change.

> Working with the aviation community, we are

eliminating redundant navigation aids, such as

approaches for 216 Non Directional Beacons,

saving $5 million a year.

> We held an Aviation Trust Fund Forum, in

which representatives from government, the

aviation community, academia, finance, and the

international community discussed issues with

the current Airport and Airway Trust Fund

structure and options for the future. The current

Trust Fund authorization expires in 2007, and

this was a first step to understanding funding

stability beyond the current Trust Fund.

> The FAA developed an Equal Employment

Opportunity plan under the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Management

Directive 715 (MD-715). The plan establishes

a monthly review to identify and correct EEO

deficiencies, general barriers, and barriers to

persons with disabilities within the FAA.
● 49

> We are achieving significant cost avoidance

through effective management of the workers’

compensation program. By centrally managing

claims from Southern and Great Lakes Regions

and Washington Headquarters, almost 70 individuals have been returned to duty, over 30

claims of questionable veracity have been

denied, and several management-training sessions have been provided. As a result of these

efforts, we have realized an estimated one year

cost avoidance in excess of $5.4 million, which

exceeded our Flight Plan target of one year cost

avoidance of $4.3 million. 

> Our aviation education program continues to

flourish. Nationwide, this outreach staged

1,004 separate events. Some 2,693 FAA volunteers presented information on careers in aviation and aerospace to 111,977 students and

7,996 teachers. The program reached out to

74,430 adults at these events. We also co-sponsored 35 aviation career education summer

camps across the country. 

> Environmental compliance and stewardship

have long been an integral part of life at the

FAA. In 2005, the FAA continued to implement programs to deal with hazardous waste

and other environmental issues at FAA facilities, the Technical Center in Atlantic City, and

the Mike Monroney Center in Oklahoma City.

The Administrator signed FAA Order 1050.1E,

“Environmental Impacts: Policies and Procedures.” The new order provides guidance for

compliance with the National Environmental

Policy Act and implements regulations issued

by the Council on Environmental Quality

(CEQ). We maintain a very close relationship

with CEQ and work together to ensure that we

facilitate increased capacity and continue to be

a good environmental steward.

> In our pursuit to become more efficient and

run the agency more like a business, we began

the consolidation of our accounting operations

from nine offices to one office in Oklahoma.

Our accounting offices in the Southwest

Region and the Alaskan Region were successfully consolidated on schedule. In addition, we

consolidated some Headquarters accounting

functions earlier than planned. We will resume

the consolidation effort in November 2005,

after our financial statement audit is completed,

and we expect to meet the scheduled completion by the end of August 2006. We anticipate

savings of approximately $4 million per year by

FY 2009.

> The FAA also tightened its oversight of service

contracts. These contracts represent a significant

investment on the part of the taxpayer, and 

the agency is providing additional oversight

accordingly. 

> The FAA also completed 21 airport traffic 

control tower fire life safety upgrades and conducted safety hazard analyses at numerous sites.
50 ●

Top ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE

Objectives for 2006–2010

● Pilot a corporate, senior leadership development

process to build executive-level competencies.

StrategyImplement corporate systems, policies,

programs, and tools to build a results-oriented, high

performance workforce.

INITIATIVES

● Undertake a timely and effective corporate

approach to conflict management. 

● Monitor and evaluate Employee Attitude Survey

(EAS) Action Plan results. 

Strategy Make strategic people investments and

provide a professional, safe and secure work environment to attract, acquire, and retain a highly

skilled workforce.

INITIATIVES

● In external recruitment efforts, implement corporate strategies that result in attracting high quality

candidates to the FAA for employment. 

● Expand the HR Selections Within Faster Time

(SWIFT) automated suite to all mission-critical

positions and those positions that cross organizational lines, i.e., finance, budget, human

resources, and information technology. 

● Improve the process for hiring air traffic controllers to ensure the agency has the capacity to

achieve anticipated strategic staffing requirements. 

● Establish corporate employee training programs

to build leadership competence within the FAA

workforce, support professional development, and

promote continuous learning. 

● Reduce workplace injuries to enhance FAA

worker safety. 

Objective 1

Make the organization more effective

with stronger leadership, increased commitment of individual workers to fulfill

organization-wide goals, and a better prepared, better trained, safer, diverse workforce.

Strategy Use workforce planning to identify

and fulfill current and future human capital needs

to meet FAA’s mission.

INITIATIVES

● Sustain and improve agency human capital planning and measurement processes. 

● Implement the hiring, training, staffing analysis,

and management recommendations of the Air

Traffic Controller Workforce Plan to support

FAA’s safety mission and meet external stakeholder requirements. Update and report annually

on agency progress. 

● Develop a technical workforce staffing and training plan. 

Strategy Build stronger leadership to achieve

strategic goals, manage people and resources effectively, and drive continuous improvement.

INITIATIVES

● Implement corporate policies to improve managerial selection and strengthen probationary requirements for managers. 

● Establish corporate managerial training programs

that ensure effective use of resources and alignment with agency goals. 
● 51

The FAA needs to plant the

seeds for aviation and aerospace careers today. The

future depends on it. SHELIA

BAUER (national program

manager; New England),

JOAN BROWN (Eastern),

MARY LOU DORDAN (Tech

Center), GREG GRAVITT

(Central), BARBARA KELLER

(Western-Pacific), CONNIE

COLEMAN LACADIE (Northwest Mountain), LISA LESTER (Great Lakes),

SANDY MONGE (Western Pacific), DEBRA

MYERS (Southwest), OPAL NEELY (Southern),

and JULIE SELTSAM (New England) put it

this way: FAA’s aviation education program

needs to be second to none. We agree. Aviation

education has been placed in the components

of each business plan throughout the agency.

● Provide our employees with a safe environment

through the identification of security measures

designed to provide protection for our employees,

our facilities, and our critical infrastructure.

Strategy Improve labor management relations

while delivering quality service.

INITIATIVES

● Develop and implement service level agreements

to meet the requirements of line of business and

staff offices.

● Develop and provide labor relations training for

agency supervisors and managers.

● Implement the Grievance Electronic Tracking

System (GETS) and establish a grievance processing baseline measure.

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● Increase Employee Attitude Survey scores in the

areas of management effectiveness and accountability by at least 5 percent by FY 2010. 

● By FY 2010, reduce the time it takes to fill mission-critical positions by 25 percent over the FY

2003 baseline. 

● Reduce the total workplace injury and illness case

rate to no more than 2.85 per 100 employees by

the end of FY 2006, representing a cumulative 3

percent annual reduction from the FY 2003 baseline (3.12) set in the Safety, Health and Return to

Employment (SHARE) Presidential Initiative.

● Reduce grievance processing time by 25 percent

by FY 2010.

● Maintain air traffic controller annual hiring

within 5 percent of the Air Traffic Controller

Workforce Hiring Plan.
52 ●

Objective 2

Improve financial management while

delivering quality customer service.

Strategy Develop and implement an agencywide cost control and cost reduction program.

INITIATIVES

● Maintain and improve the agency acquisition,

accounting, cost accounting, and payroll and personnel systems, especially the attendant business

processes, with the goal of providing timely and

reliable financial information to FAA organizations. 

● In 2006, each organization will develop and

implement productivity and/or financial metrics

to measure its efficiency. 

● Implement line of business specific cost efficiency

and/or productivity improvement initiatives, as

well as agency-wide initiatives. 

● Improve the overall management of cost-reimbursable contracts through the Defense Contract

Audit Agency (DCAA) audit process. 

● In partnership with the aerospace community,

reform the way FAA is financed to provide stable,

adequate funding more closely tied to FAA costs,

services, and performance, in partnership with the

aerospace community. 

Their message is clear and direct: We need

to do more about the environment. JULIE

YEAGER, a safety engineer from headquarters, suggests that we add an objective for

the National Environmental Policy Act and

an “Environmental Management System.”

HOWARD KIMPTON, manager of ops planning

at the Tech Center, says the environmental

management system will help us go “beyond

compliance.” And PAUL DIBENEDETTO, an

environmental protection specialist from

headquarters, told us that using an environmental management system will help the

agency “to better plan for and mitigate

environmental risks.” They’re right on all

counts. We added an accomplishment on

environmental compliance and stewardship

that stresses our continued commitment to

being a good environmental steward. The

Administrator signed an order establishing

the FAA’s Environmental Management System.
● 53

Strategy Improve financial performance.

INITIATIVES

● In compliance with the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) Guidance, document and test

internal controls to help program and financial

managers achieve results.

● Reduce improper payments. 

● Improve how we manage FAA’s real property

assets. 

● Continue integrating performance information

into budgetary decision-making and presentation.

● Ensure that agency assets are capitalized timely

and accurately. 

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● Close out 85 percent of eligible cost reimbursable

contracts during each fiscal year. 

● Each FAA organization will contribute at least

one measurable and significant cost reduction

and/or productivity improvement activity each

year, including but not limited to, cost efficiencies

in the areas of:

—Strategic sourcing for selected products and

services;

—Complete consolidation of facilities and services such as accounting offices, real property

management, helpdesks, and Web services; and

—Elimination or reduction of FAA use of obsolete technology by either removing from service

or transferring from federal operation 100

Navaids. 

● Obtain an unqualified opinion on the agency’s

financial statements (Clean Audit with no material weaknesses) each fiscal year. 

Safety is our top priority,

and we need to have a

similar focus on employee

safety as well. MICHAEL

THOMAS, a safety and

occupational health manager in headquarters, BRANDY ELLARD, a

grad student interning at headquarters,

JENNY ROSS, an engineer in the Great

Lakes regional headquarters, and HENRIK

VEJLSTRUP, an aviation safety inspector

(operations) from the Eastern Region, all

pointed to the fact that we’ve got to do a

better job. “Safety evaluations are like

the annual checkup you get from your

physician that shows you a problem and

removes it in the early stages,” Thomas

says. Well stated. As a result of their

thoughts, we set a new performance target to reduce employee injuries and illnesses. We also modified the Employee

Safety initiative we had added to the

draft Flight Plan to further emphasize

reducing workplace injuries.
54 ●

Objective 3

Make decisions based on reliable data to

improve our overall performance and customer satisfaction.

Strategy Better prepare managers to use cost

and performance data in making decisions.

INITIATIVES

● Provide training to all current executives and

managers on using FAA cost data, as derived from

FAA’s acquisition, accounting, cost accounting,

and payroll and personnel systems, to make management decisions. 

● Use automated software to track and report

progress on Flight Plan initiatives and to establish

the appropriate linkages and accountability for

supporting initiatives in each line of business and

staff office. 

Strategy Eliminate FAA Air Traffic Control

Modernization from the Government Accountability Office’s high risk list by FY 2008.

INITIATIVES

● Develop, document, and use investment criteria

to manage major capital programs. 

● Implement and improve program management

processes to remain within acquisition cost and

schedule baselines. 

Strategy Find faster, more efficient ways to collect and measure customer feedback and satisfaction.

INITIATIVES

● Communicate the goals of the Flight Plan to the

FAA employees and the aerospace community

and gain feedback that helps the FAA meet their

needs. Give employees and stakeholders a clear

line of sight from their jobs to the goals of the

Flight Plan. 

● Review customer requirements annually and

measure customer satisfaction more broadly for

FAA services. 

Strategy Improve the security of our data.

INITIATIVE

● Improve how we protect FAA’s information infrastructure using the agency’s cyber-defense android

concept, which is an advanced defense strategy. 

PERFORMANCE TARGETS

● By FY 2008, 90 percent of major system acquisition investments are within 10 percent of annual

budget and maintain through FY 2010. 

● By FY 2008, 90 percent of major system acquisition investments are on schedule and maintain

through FY 2010. 

● Increase agency scores on the American Customer

Satisfaction Index. 

● Achieve zero cyber security events that disable or

significantly degrade FAA services.
● 55

Acronym Definition

ADS-B Automatic Dependent 

Surveillance Broadcast

AIP Airport Improvement Program

AMASS Airport Movement Area 

Safety System

ASAP Aviation Safety Action Program

ASDE-X Airport Surface Detection Equipment-Model X

ATOP Advanced Technologies and

Oceanic Procedures

CAEP ICAO Committee on 

Environmental Protection

CAST Commercial Aviation Safety Team

CDM Collaborative Decision Making

COSP Continued Operational 

Safety Program

DRVSM Domestic Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum

EAS Employee Attitude Survey

EASA European Aviation Safety Agency

EDRC Early Dispute Resolution Center

FOQA Flight Operational Quality 

Assurance

FY Fiscal Year

GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

ICAOInternational Civil Aviation 

Organization

JPDO Joint Planning and Development

Office

NAS National Airspace System

NGATS Next Generation Air 

Transportation System

OEP Operational Evolution Plan

PMA President’s Management Agenda

PRM Precision Runway Monitor

RNAV Area Navigation

RNP Required Navigation Performance

RPAT RNP Parallel Approach Transition

SRM Safety Risk Management

SMS Safety Management System

SWIFT Selections Within Faster Times

TFM Traffic Flow Management

TMA Traffic Management Advisor

UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

VASIP Voluntary Aviation Safety 

Information Program

WAAS Wide Area Augmentation System

Photo by Laurie Zaleski, FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center

Acknowledgments

This Flight Plan is the result of the hard work and sustained commitment of everyone involved in

the planning process. We would like to acknowledge and convey our sincere thanks to all of our

employees, Members of Congress and their staff, our industry partners, and stakeholders.
56 ●

TO THE RESCUE The devastating effects of

Hurricane Katrina will last, no doubt, for years.

Aviation ground to a halt in and

out of the Gulf as the worst natural disaster in the history of our

country wreaked havoc.

Even as the floodwaters continued

to rise, FAA employees worked

on, knowing that thousands were depending

on them. They were successful. Within hours,

relief flights came in with food, supplies, and

medical help. Radars, runways, landing and

navigation systems were restored within days. 

Aviation proved to be a lifeline to those in

need. The men and the women of the FAA

proved themselves to be lifesavers as well.

HEROES STEP FORWARD When the Iraqi war

started, FAA employees were there. Some

were activated from the reserves,

as soldiers, as pilots, as engineers.

Others volunteered as civilians

to help rebuild the aviation

system that had been

destroyed. Airports, runways,

radar ... virtually every piece 

of equipment that had helped planes fly now

lay in ruins.

Some of the stories that came back were

nothing short of valor beyond the call of

duty. Even as the fighting continued to rage,

FAA employees traversed the danger zones

rebuilding airports, airspace, and the country’s

infrastructure.
Serving our nation ... and the world

© Kyle Niemi/U.S. Coast Guard/Reuters/Corbis

© Smiley N. Pool/Dallas Morning News/Corbis

© NOAA/Handout/Reuters/Corbis

© Theo Allofs/zefa/Corbis
800 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20591

www.faa.gov

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA