FAAST Blast — Week of Nov 14, 2016 – Nov 20, 2016
Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update
FAA Making Progress on New Pilot Medical Qualifications
The FAA is working to implement Section 2307 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (P.L. 114-190), Medical Certification of Certain Small Aircraft Pilots. In the Act, Congress outlined an alternative medical qualification in lieu of holding an FAA medical certificate. The FAA must draft rules to meet the Congressional mandate. We have reached out to the general aviation community, including groups which have expressed a desire to partner with the FAA during the implementation. We look forward to working with them to successfully implement the provisions of Section 2307 on time.
Most Wanted List Released
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released its 2017-2018 Most Wanted List of Transportation Safety Improvements earlier this week. On the top 10 list is Prevent Loss of Control in Flight in General Aviation. Accidents involving inflight loss of control (LOC) in GA, while trending downward, still occur at an unacceptable rate. From 2008 to 2014, nearly 48 percent of fatal fixed-wing GA accidents resulted from pilots losing control of their aircraft in flight. During this time, LOC in flight accounted for 1,194 fatalities.
The NTSB has also moved to a two-year cycle for the list instead of issuing it annually. The change allows more time for the transportation industry, safety advocates, regulatory agencies, and individuals to effect the changes necessary to address the ten issues on the Most Wanted List. You can download the NTSB fact sheet about LOC at http://bit.ly/2fOuzX5.
FAA Rulemaking Explained
In the current “Dear FAA…” issue of FAA Safety Briefing, we focus on many of the public’s commonly asked questions to the agency, and the subject of rulemaking normally tops that list. Editor Jennifer Caron takes a deep dive into the world of FAA rulemaking in her article “Out For Comments,” explaining why the process takes as long as it does, but also what’s being done to speed that process up. In a complementary piece, Caron also unshrouds the mystery of the Federal Register and offers tips on how you can use this tool to leverage important information and have it be a mouthpiece for aviation issues that matter to you. See the article “What is the Federal Register and Why Is it Important?” for more information. You can find both articles in the Nov/Dec issue of FAA Safety Briefing at: www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing.
Produced by the FAA Safety Briefing editors, http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/
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