NATA welcomes new compliance philosophy of the FAA

New FAA compliance philosophy has been welcomed the  with a formal statement from the National Air Transportation Association.

Michael Huerta, the FAA Administrator, made an earlier speech emphasizing the organization’s next step in its strategy for risk-based decision making, known as the compliance philosophy.

"NATA applauds the FAA’s recently announced decision to shift their oversight emphasis from enforcement action to safety compliance," NATA President and CEO, Thomas L. Hendricks said.

Hendricks said the importance of improving safety performance through voluntary safety reporting systems is widely recognized throughout industry.

"These systems yield significantly positive impacts to aviation safety by enabling the proactive identification of potential safety risks and hazards," Hendricks said. "Aviation operators have long realized that a focus on compliance is a far more effective way of improving safety rather than solely relying on an enforcement regimen. The FAA now fully recognizes the value of safety reporting systems and the data it generates to improving safety.”

The new philosophy is expected to benefit the airline industry as well as its consumers around the world.

“Initiatives like the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) are strengthened by the agency’s commitment to this new path,” Hendricks said.

Hendricks said the transition will likely take years to fully mature but that Huerta’s advocacy provides a strong message of agency commitment to the policy change.

"[T]he effectiveness of this change requires an open and transparent exchange of information and data between the FAA and the aviation community," Hendricks said. "NATA fully supports this initiative and will continue to work with the agency to fully realize the benefits of this important policy change.”