Welcome to the Seventh Issue of the NATA Safety 1St® Etoolkit, Our

Issue 8 2nd Quarter 2007 Welcome to the 8th issue of the NATA Safety 1st® Flitebag, our quarterly online safety newsletter, supporting the NATA Safety 1st Management System (SMS) for Air Operators. This quarterly newsletter will highlight known and emerging trends, environmental and geographical matters, as well as advances in operational efficiency and safety. Subsequent issues will include a section with a roundup of real-time incidents and events, along with lessons learned. Flight and ground safety have been enhanced and many accidents prevented because of shared experiences. MIND THE GAP! NATA through its Safety 1st Management System program and a grant from the Federal Aviation Administration has By Russ Lawton developed a 54-question survey that is a tool to evaluate your current safety program. This “gap” analysis survey was Those who have visited London, England and have traveled created to assist companies following the release of FAA on that city’s subway system (“Underground” as it’s Advisory Circular (AC) 120-92, “Introduction to Safety commonly known) probably recall the signs that warn Management Systems for Air Operators.” passengers to “mind the gap” between the platform and the train. There’s a good reason for the warning, as not paying The gap analysis survey guides you through a review of the attention to the gap when entering and exiting the train can be four main elements of a Safety Management System (SMS): hazardous to your health. Safety Policy, Safety Risk Management, Safety Promotion and Safety Assurance. The survey questions correspond to The same can be said about your company’s safety program; the FAA SMS Standard contained in AC 120-92. Once where failure to “mind the gaps” in your safety program can completed, the survey provides a high-level summary of how be hazardous to your company’s health. How well is your well your safety program compares to current SMS safety program working? If your response is, “It must be standards. okay because we haven’t had any accidents,” you might want to read further. Refer to the sample page from the Safety 1st Gap Analysis Survey (Page 9). In This Issue The survey begins by asking a fundamental question: “Is ► Mind the Gap! ..................................................................................1 there a policy statement by top management that defines the ► Congress Moves Forward With FAA safety goals of your company?” If you answered “yes,” Reauthorization Legislation .............................................................2 indicate where it’s covered in company manuals and ► Fact Sheet .........................................................................................4 documents, e.g., operations manual, maintenance manual, ► NTSB Issues Safety Recommendations training manual, etc. Any equivocation (“Well, we kind of, for Air Traffic Controllers................................................................8 sort of do”) in answering the question means you probably ► Information for Operators (InFO) ..................................................10 don’t have a clearly stated safety policy and goals. ► NATA Asks FAA for Part 135 Maintenance Program ARC ...........................................................11 Exercise diligence when answering each question in the ► Most Wanted Transportation Safety Improvements......................12 survey by listing the reference paragraph(s) from within ► TSA, AAAE, ACI-NA and NATA Announce current company documents for each question. This will Industry-Cooperative Employee Screening Plan...........................13 identify holes or weaknesses (gaps) in your current safety ► Incident Roundup ...........................................................................14 program. The top ten areas where gaps are usually found ► Flyte Bytes......................................................................................14 include: ► Reminder to All NATA SMS Participants.....................................17 ► Communicating safety information throughout the ► NTSB News – NATA Issues Final Report on company Manhattan Pane Crash that Killed Yankee Pitcher........................18 ► SAFO Safety Alert .........................................................................19 ► Company safety culture ► Information for Operators (InFO) Part 2........................................19 ► 2007 Air Charter Summit...............................................................20 st nd ► Continuing Education.....................................................................26 NATA Safety 1 Flitebag – – Issue 8 – 2 Quarter 2007 Page 1 ► Compliance with legal and other requirements gasoline and 21.9 cents per gallon for aviation jet fuel. ► Confidential safety reporting program Commercial operators, including on-demand air charter operators, also pay a fuel tax of 4.3 cents per gallon. With all ► Continuous improvement process taxes set to expire this fall, both the airline industry and the ► Documentation and records management FAA have both supported altering the funding stream by eliminating the ticket tax in favor of a “user fee” system, ► Emergency response and preparation which will, according to the FAA, more closely align the ► Hazard analysis and risk assessment costs placed on the air traffic control system with the user fee charged. ► Internal evaluation programs ► Safety training Below is a brief synopsis of the FAA’s reauthorization proposal and the outlook for the FAA reauthorization bill on Once you’ve identified where the gaps are in your company, Capitol Hill. For more information, visit NATA’s FAA enter the risk (high, medium, low) that the gap poses to your Reauthorization Center. operation, and commit to a deadline for correcting the missing areas. Completing the survey thoroughly and Also, visit NATA’s Legislative Action Center, which contains honestly will provide a concise comparison of your safety information on the FAA reauthorization process and links to program with a fully implemented Safety Management form letters visitors can email to their legislators on System. It’s the first step on the way to continuous important issues up for debate during the process. improvement. FAA Proposal Repeat the survey every six months initially, and annually The FAA’s reauthorization proposal, submitted to Congress after your program matures, to ensure the continued on February 14 of this year, would eliminate the passenger elimination of those pesky gaps that can jump up and ruin an ticket tax and segment fees and replace them with a series of otherwise perfect safety record. user fees based on time in the air traffic control system, aircraft weight, and the size of the airport used. The FAA is Don’t have a gap analysis survey to use? Drop us a line at formally proposing to eliminate the current 7.5% passenger [email protected] and we’ll email you a copy. ticket tax and 6.25 percent cargo waybill tax in favor of a user fee system that ties fees to the cost of air traffic services provided. The fees, which apply only to commercial operations (including Part 135 flights and fractional ownership flights), will be based on the type of airspace used, CONGRESS MOVES FORWARD type of operation being conducted, and distance traveled. Most likely, the fees will be derived from use of Class B, WITH FAA REAUTHORIZATION Class C, and Class D airspace. The legislative proposal does LEGISLATION not specify the exact amount of the fees, although illustrative examples published by the agency show that airlines will see Updated May 21, 2007 their tax burdens significantly reduced, while general aviation operators, including air charter companies and Congress is currently in the process of considering legislation fractional owners, will see large tax increases. that would reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and other related programs for at least the next four Fees will be set by the FAA based on the cost of air traffic years. The current authorization, Vision 100, passed in 2003, services provided. The bill creates an Air Transportation expires on September 30, 2007, along with all excise and fuel System Advisory Board that will recommend changes in fees. taxes that fund the Airport and Airway Trust Fund. If the Board does not agree to changes in fees proposed by the FAA, the Administrator will still have the authority to Presently, the aviation trust fund is financed through a series change fees after publishing a notice in the Federal Register. of excise and fuel taxes. All commercial passengers pay a 7.5% ticket tax and $3.40 segment fee, and cargo shippers General aviation and business aviation will continue to pay pay a 6.25% waybill tax. General aviation users pay through through the fuel tax. However, the FAA is proposing to raise taxes on fuel, at rates of 19.4 cents per gallon for aviation the fuel tax to 70 cents per gallon for both aviation gasoline NATA Safety 1st Flitebag – – Issue 8 – 2nd Quarter 2007 Page 2 and aviation kerosene. The commercial fuel tax will also be aircraft will be charged a fee for landing during peak times. raised from 4.3 cents per gallon to 13.6 cents per gallon. The The proposal would also establish a commission to proposal also gives the FAA the authority to “index” fuel recommend consolidations and realignments at air traffic taxes, raising the taxes with the rate of inflation. The FAA control facilities, a proposal aimed at eliminating as much will also have the authority to modify fuel taxes based on politics as possible from such decisions.

Load more