Faa Reauthorization: Aviation Safety and General Aviation
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S. HRG. 114–226 FAA REAUTHORIZATION: AVIATION SAFETY AND GENERAL AVIATION HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND SECURITY OF THE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION APRIL 28, 2015 Printed for the use of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation ( U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 99–710 PDF WASHINGTON : 2016 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:58 Apr 12, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\GPO\DOCS\99710.TXT JACKIE SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION JOHN THUNE, South Dakota, Chairman ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi BILL NELSON, Florida, Ranking ROY BLUNT, Missouri MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MARCO RUBIO, Florida CLAIRE MCCASKILL, Missouri KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota TED CRUZ, Texas RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut DEB FISCHER, Nebraska BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii JERRY MORAN, Kansas EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska CORY BOOKER, New Jersey RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin TOM UDALL, New Mexico DEAN HELLER, Nevada JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia CORY GARDNER, Colorado GARY PETERS, Michigan STEVE DAINES, Montana DAVID SCHWIETERT, Staff Director NICK ROSSI, Deputy Staff Director REBECCA SEIDEL, General Counsel JASON VAN BEEK, Deputy General Counsel KIM LIPSKY, Democratic Staff Director CHRIS DAY, Democratic Deputy Staff Director CLINT ODOM, Democratic General Counsel and Policy Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND SECURITY KELLY AYOTTE, New Hampshire, Chairman MARIA CANTWELL, Washington, Ranking ROGER F. WICKER, Mississippi AMY KLOBUCHAR, Minnesota ROY BLUNT, Missouri RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, Connecticut MARCO RUBIO, Florida BRIAN SCHATZ, Hawaii TED CRUZ, Texas EDWARD MARKEY, Massachusetts DEB FISCHER, Nebraska CORY BOOKER, New Jersey JERRY MORAN, Kansas TOM UDALL, New Mexico DAN SULLIVAN, Alaska JOE MANCHIN III, West Virginia RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin GARY PETERS, Michigan DEAN HELLER, Nevada CORY GARDNER, Colorado (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:58 Apr 12, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\99710.TXT JACKIE C O N T E N T S Page Hearing held on April 28, 2015 .............................................................................. 1 Statement of Senator Ayotte ................................................................................... 1 Statement of Senator Cantwell .............................................................................. 3 Statement of Senator Nelson .................................................................................. 4 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 Statement of Senator Wicker .................................................................................. 58 Statement of Senator Klobuchar ............................................................................ 59 Statement of Senator Moran .................................................................................. 61 Statement of Senator Manchin ............................................................................... 64 Statement of Senator Fischer ................................................................................. 68 Statement of Senator Daines .................................................................................. 69 Statement of Senator Sullivan ............................................................................... 72 Statement of Senator Peters ................................................................................... 75 Letter to Hon. Gary Peters from Faye Malarkey Black, Interim President, Regional Airline Association ........................................................................ 76 Statement of Senator Blumenthal .......................................................................... 78 WITNESSES Margaret Gilligan, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety, Federal Avia- tion Administration .............................................................................................. 5 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 7 Hon. Christopher A. Hart, Chairman, National Transportation Safety Board .. 10 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 12 Chesley B. ‘‘Sully’’ Sullenberger III, Aviation Safety Expert and Captain of Flight 1549, The Landing on the Hudson ...................................................... 30 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 31 Faye Malarkey Black, Interim President, Regional Airline Association ............. 36 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 Mark Baker, President and CEO, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association ........ 46 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 47 APPENDIX Thomas L. Hendricks, President and CEO, National Air Transportation Asso- ciation, prepared statement ................................................................................ 81 Response to written question submitted to Margaret Gilligan by: Hon. Roger F. Wicker ....................................................................................... 83 Hon. Marco Rubio ............................................................................................. 83 Hon. Steve Daines ............................................................................................ 84 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:58 Apr 12, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\99710.TXT JACKIE VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:58 Apr 12, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 S:\GPO\DOCS\99710.TXT JACKIE FAA REAUTHORIZATION: AVIATION SAFETY AND GENERAL AVIATION TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 2015 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AVIATION OPERATIONS, SAFETY, AND SECURITY, COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:30 p.m., in room SR–253, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Kelly Ayotte, Chair- man of the Subcommittee, presiding. Present: Senators Ayotte [presiding], Wicker, Fischer, Moran, Sullivan, Gardner, Daines, Cantwell, Nelson, Klobuchar, Blumenthal, Schatz, Booker, Manchin, and Peters. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. KELLY AYOTTE, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW HAMPSHIRE Senator AYOTTE. Good afternoon, and welcome. Thank you all for being here. Today’s hearing is one in a series we are holding in preparation for this year’s Federal Aviation Administration’s reauthorization ef- fort. And last week, we heard from experts and stakeholders on the certification process and airport infrastructure financing. Today, we have the opportunity to discuss the single most impor- tant underlying issue for any reauthorization effort, and that’s safety, the safety of our national airspace system and the safety of the flying public. With that, I want to take a moment to recognize the family mem- bers of the victims of Colgan Flight 3407, which crashed near Buf- falo in 2009, who I understand are here in the audience today. So, your sustained efforts to improve safety of our skies are very admi- rable, and we appreciate your coming to this hearing today. Safety is, and must remain, our top priority. The United States national airspace system remains one of the safest in the world, even while being one of the most complex systems in the world. The safety record we enjoy is a product of hard work of both gov- ernment and industry alike, but it requires vigilant and dedication to ongoing improvement and assessment. Today’s hearing covers a broad array of important issues, and I appreciate all of our witnesses for being here today. In 2010, Congress enacted the Airline Safety and Federal Avia- tion Administration Extension Act. In 2012, Congress enacted the FAA Modernization and Reform Act. Today, I look forward to hear- ing from our witnesses about the safety improvements that have (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 10:58 Apr 12, 2016 Jkt 075679 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\GPO\DOCS\99710.TXT JACKIE 2 been implemented since these laws were enacted, and what still re- mains to be done. The FAA has made significant progress in implementing reforms mandated by the Airline Safety Act. And yet, some initiatives are left undone. In particular, I’d like to focus on the agency’s progress in implementing the Pilot Records Data base. This is an important tool to make sure airlines have all the information needed to assess pilots applying for positions in the cockpit. And I urge the FAA to move quickly in implementing this reform. More recently, some have noted a concern about the supply of pi- lots. Acknowledging there is some point of disagreement here, par- ticularly with regard to the root cause of any real or perceived shortage, I hope to hear from each witness today on this issue so we can properly assess and understand the situation. As we review the issue, I’m confident that no one on this com- mittee, including me, wants to compromise passenger safety. We want to make sure that we have,