The FAA Compliance Program Continued from page 33 appropriate. A Compliance Action is the FAA’s method for correcting unintentional deviations (e.g. simple mistakes, lack of understanding, or diminished skills). The FAA believes these types of deviations are most effectively corrected through root-cause analysis and training, education, or other appropriate improvements to procedures or training programs. The FAA expects compliance to be the standard; however, it will use enforcement action when needed. The FAA maintains strict accountability for inappropri- ate risk-taking and has zero tolerance for intentional or reckless behavior. The FAA doesn’t see every safety issue as a “nail” requiring a hammer. Like a hammer, enforcement is not the only, or the first, tool in the regulatory toolbox. Just like how the goal of community policing is to improve police-community relations and reduce crime, the goal of the FAA Compliance Program is to facilitate the sharing of safety information across the aviation community, as well as to achieve compliance and reduce safety risk. The program has been well received by the avia- tion community. For one, in May 2018, Jon Beatty, Flight Safety Foundation President and CEO, said, “The Foundation supports the FAA’s compliance philosophy because it seeks to foster the just culture that is essen- tial to robust voluntary reporting; because its objective is to identify safety issues that underlie deviation from standards and to correct them as quickly and effectively as possible; and because the philosophy advocates a problem-solving approach.” As for the strict by-the-book-beat-cop approach, Beatty added, “You would be hard pressed to show that penalties prevent honest mistakes or inadvertent noncompliance. Instead, fear of being penalized is more likely to lead companies and their employees not to report safety-related problems.” This is so true, which is why this move to the Compliance Program is so good. Yet FAA inspectors are still expected to work with the certificated entity to address deviations from procedures, simple mistakes, lack of understanding, or diminished skills, and continue to expect a root-cause analysis and corrective actions, e.g., changes in procedures or training programs, to prevent reoccurrence. In April 2019, the FAA issued Notice 8900.511 Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program (VDRP), and Compliance Program, another positive step. While this is mostly an administrative change, it demonstrates that the FAA is still moving in the right direction. Previously, disclosures accepted under these programs that may have involved a violation were documented in the VDRP/ASAP process and the FAA Enforcement Information System (EIS) by an inspec- tor opening an Enforcement Investigative Report (EIR). Now, the FAA inspector will no longer open an enforce- ment report when the voluntary disclosure is submitted. The FAA still has the ability to open an enforcement case and take administrative action if a violation that is disclosed through ASAP or VDRP doesn’t meet the conditions of these voluntary programs. This should not be a surprise to anyone; this has been a long-time FAA policy for VDRP and ASAP disclosures that are not accepted. However, the fact that the FAA will no longer issue a violation on accepted VDRP or ASAP submissions is a big deal. The FAA and industry have come a long way from what I think of as the “hide and seek days,” when the cer- tificate holder would hide errors from the FAA and not come forward with issues. The FAA might or might not find those issues during an audit. But, if it did, well, then it was punishable. There was no open discussion, much less a joint effort to achieve compliance and improve safety. As I said, the feedback is positive. I can tell you from experience: writing an enforcement case, collecting all the Items of Proof, and working with attorneys to get a case that will hold up is a tall order. I expect most inspec- tors prefer having not just an alternate way, but a more effective way, to achieve compliance. Here’s to the new Community Policing Cop on the Beat! Aviation Business Journal | Summer 2019 35
