FAAST Blast — Week of Dec 12, 2016 – Dec 18, 2016
Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update
FAA International Flight Plan Change Status
Transition to the International Flight Plan format by the FAA Flight Service Stations* will occur in early spring 2017. All civil IFR and VFR flight plans filed with Flight Service will be required to use the new format. Additionally, in cooperation with NavCanada, all VFR flight plans to Canadian destinations will use the international format, bringing us in line with international aviation standards. Flight Service will continue to accept NAS formatted flight plans filed by the military.
Flight Service is working with vendors of the Flight Service operating systems (Harris, Leidos, and CSRA) to modify their software for exclusive use of the international format. Formal testing of the operating systems will begin in mid-January. Upon successful completion of testing, the specific implementation date will be announced at least 30 days in advance. Detailed instructions for FAA Form 7233-4 and simplified guidance on how to complete an international flight plan are available at www.faa.gov/go/flightservice.
* Alaska Flight Service, the Flight Service contracted service provider in CONUS, HI, and PR, and/or the FAA contracted on-line service providers (1800wxbrief.com and duats.com).
Safety Enhancement Topic of the Month: FRAT
One of the most effective ways for a pilot to proactively assess risk for a given flight is with a Flight Risk Assessment Tool, or FRAT. A FRAT enables proactive hazard identification, is generally easy to use, and can visually depict risk. It is an invaluable tool in helping pilots make better go/no-go decisions and should be a part of every flight. For more on how a FRAT works, as well as how to download the FAA Safety Team’s FRAT, see this month’s SE Topic flyer here. Also, be sure to check out the upcoming January/February 2017 FAA Safety Briefing for more on integrating risk management strategies into your flying.
New TALPA InFO Issued
The FAA this week issued a new Information for Operators bulletin (InFO 16021) to highlight forthcoming amendments to the Aeronautical Information Manual (AIM) and Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) with regard to the Takeoff and Landing Performance Assessment (TALPA). The TALPA initiative aims to provide improved runway condition information so that pilots can better determine the runway length needed to safely stop their aircraft.
Seeking Regulatory Relief
The FAA recognizes that sometimes regulations may not fit every particular circumstance in aviation. That’s why the agency has a number of processes that may be able to provide some relief when specific regulatory requirements do not necessarily fit your situation. For a quick primer on exemptions, waivers, deviations, and authorizations, see the article, “What if the Rule Doesn’t Fit?” in the Nov/Dec issue of FAA Safety Briefing www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing. You can find a mobile-friendly version of the article here.
Produced by the FAA Safety Briefing editors, http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/
Address questions or comments to: SafetyBriefing@faa.gov.
Follow us on Twitter @FAASafetyBrief or https://twitter.com/FAASafetyBrief
