Additional US airlines are expected to establish voluntary flight operations quality assurance (FOQA) programmes following publication of the final rule prohibiting use of the collected data for enforcement action. An exception is made in the case of deliberate or criminal violations of safety regulations.
Ten US airlines are already operating FOQA programmes and at least six other carriers are expected to follow suit now that the US Federal Aviation Administration has published the final rule protecting the data from public disclosure. The voluntary FAA-industry effort, which has been under way since 1995, now encompasses over 1,500 aircraft of 13 types and has already resulted in safety improvements.
Under a FOQA programme, the airline routinely collects and analyses information from aircraft digital flight data and optical quick-access recorders. The data is also supplied to the FAA, to be combined with that from other airlines in an effort to detect wider safety trends. This raised the spectre of federal enforcement action, and possible public disclosure under the US Freedom of Information Act, and necessitated the new rule protecting the data. The rule applies only to FAA-approved FOQA programmes.
Source: Flight International
