Government's Role In Aviation Safety
Governments play a central role in aviation safety and have done so from the industry's earliest days. In the United States, Congress passed the Air Commerce Act in 1926, an essential development in the creation of the airline industry. The Air Commerce Act put the government in the business of establishing air routes; developing air navigation systems; licensing pilots, mechanics and aircraft; and investigating accidents.Those are all roles the U.S. government and other governments around the world continue to perform today.
In addition, governments are responsible for keeping aircraft safely separated, both in the air and on the ground, through air traffic control (ATC) authority and services. Some governments - notably those of Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain - have delegated ATC to private entities. The construction and operation of major airports is another governmental function, generally performed at the local level. However, airport safety standards - for example, minimum separation requirements for runways - usually are set by national regulatory agencies.
Ensuring safety around the world
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) writes and enforces all the rules and regulations for aircraft manufactured or operated in the United States. It also operates the U.S. air traffic control (ATC) system. However, it does not lead accident investigations. That is a function of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent federal agency. Both the FAA and the NTSB are recognized around the world for their aviation expertise, and many foreign governments follow their lead on aviation matters.
European countries have their own aviation regulatory authorities, plus a representative on a pan-European aviation organization called the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA). The JAA has no legal jurisdiction over airlines, aircraft manufacturers or airports, although discussions have been held about replacing the JAA with a European Aviation Safety Agency that would have such authority under the auspices of the European Union. The JAA's primary mission is to harmonize European aviation regulations. The JAA also has been holding harmonization discussions with the FAA. European countries do not have separate government agencies like the NTSB for accident investigations. Their civil aviation authorities investigate accidents, although investigators have some degree of separation from the rest of the organization.
Countries in other parts of the world likewise tend to combine regulatory, ATC and accident investigation functions in a single national agency. In some cases, the country's air force handles accident investigations.
Regulatory standards
On safety matters, aviation is highly regulated. There are safety standards for airplane products, airline operations, airports, and airline personnel such as pilots and mechanics whose jobs can affect the safety of flight. Airplane manufacturers and airline operators typically exceed government standards.
In the United States, all aviation standards are established through Federal Air Regulations (FAR). FARs are written and enforced by the FAA, which issues certificates to aircraft, airlines, airports and airline personnel that meet its requirements.
Types of certificates
Airplane certificates
- When manufacturers design a new airplane they must obtain a "type certificate" from government regulators certifying that the design is airworthy. A type certificate is awarded only after a prototype of the design successfully completes a rigorous test program. A manufacturer also must have a "production certificate" before it can begin manufacturing airplanes for customers. Obtaining a production certificate requires a manufacturer to demonstrate that it has the facilities, equipment and quality-assurance processes needed to successfully duplicate a prototype. Finally, each aircraft coming out of a factory needs an "airworthiness certificate" before it can enter service. It certifies that the airplane has been properly built and flight tested.
Operating certificates
- An airline must have an operating certificate to provide air service of any kind. In the United States, operators of large commercial airplanes such as the ones produced by Boeing must have a Part 121 certificate - a reference to Part 121 of the FARs that states the FAA's requirements for such operations. Airlines must have an FAA-approved training program for flight crews. They must have an approved maintenance program that specifies the intervals at which aircraft components will be inspected and replaced. Other requirements address the safety equipment an airline must have on board each of its aircraft, the number of flight attendants that must be on each flight (this varies by aircraft type), rest requirements for flight crews, the content of pre-flight safety announcements, and de-icing and security procedures, to name just a few.
Certification of airline personnel
- As with aircraft and airlines, many of the people who work in aviation must be certified, or licensed, to do their job. Airplane mechanics, pilots and dispatchers are among those who need such a license and must complete extensive training programs to get one. For some, such as pilots, there are annual training and medical requirements.
Airport certificates
- Government regulatory agencies also set minimum safety requirements for airports. The requirements cover such things as the number and type of fire fighting vehicles an airport must have, runway lighting, and storage facilities for hazardous substances such as fuel.
Enforcing the rules
Governments enforce aviation safety regulations in many ways. Government pilots go for "check rides" to observe pilots while they are flying. Other regulatory officials review airline training programs or audit maintenance records. There also are regulators who audit production facilities and ones that test airport security. Government regulators have the power to levy fines if violations are found. They also have the power to revoke the certificates they issue, although such actions are rare because certificate holders are quick to remedy problems.
Regulatory agencies assign a principal maintenance inspector, a principal avionics inspector, a principal operations inspector and a principal security inspector to each airline. These inspectors are responsible for ensuring airline compliance with all government regulations. Agencies also assign engineers and quality inspectors to aircraft design and manufacturing facilities for the same purpose.
Working together
To ensure continued airworthiness for in-service aircraft, government regulators monitor airline reports to manufacturers about any problems that they discover. They also monitor the service bulletins manufacturers issue to their customers and convert those advisory bulletins into mandatory airworthiness directives (ADs) if they affect safety of flight. Some ADs demand immediate action on the part of airlines and/or manufacturers. Others allow more time to complete an action, based on the regulators' assessment of the risk.
Governments also work jointly with industry to analyze safety data for trends and develop strategies for addressing the major accident categories. The FAA calls its program "Safer Skies." It is supported by the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, a government-industry partnership that brings together airlines, engine and airframe manufacturers, pilots, controllers, and representatives from the FAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Department of Defense to work on enhancing safety. Other organizations active in safety are the privately supported Flight Safety Foundation, the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Association, the JAA and the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is affiliated with the United Nations.
Air traffic control
With few exceptions, governments build, maintain and operate the air traffic control (ATC) systems that keep aircraft of all types safely separated both in the air and on the ground. The single biggest ATC system is in the United States and is run by the FAA. About 15,000 controllers work for the FAA.
All commercial airplanes moving over the world's major landmasses are under positive air traffic control, meaning they are under continuous surveillance and their flight crews cannot change heading or altitude without clearance from a controller. Flight crews must file a flight plan with ATC before leaving an airport gate. The plan must include the destination airport, the route the crew intends to follow, the amount of fuel on board, and alternate airports the crew could use in the event of an emergency or a problem at the intended destination. Depending on weather and traffic, ATC may accept a flight plan as submitted or it may give a crew new routing instructions before or during a flight.
ATC facilities
There are several types of controllers and ATC facilities, each with a slightly different function. Controllers working in the airport towers familiar to most travelers monitor and direct aircraft while they taxi to and from gates and during landings and takeoffs. Controllers in regional radar facilities monitor and direct traffic during the climb and descent phases of flight - that is, right after they take off and right before they land. There are fewer of these facilities than towers because many of them handle traffic moving to and from several airports. A third group of controllers working in "en route centers" takes over in between, monitoring and directing traffic during the cruise phase of flight. The United States is divided into 21 sectors of air space, each with its own center. As airplanes move across sectors, they are "handed off" from one controller to another.
Airline and ATC operations currently rely heavily on ground-based technologies: radar and transponders for surveillance, radios and telephones for communication, and radio signal transmitters for navigation and landing. Future systems are likely to use satellites to accomplish these same tasks more efficiently, affordably and safely.