Former FAA Administrator Wants ASAP Back In Place ASAP

Aerospace Industries Association president -- and former FAA administrator -- Marion Blakey weighed in this week on a disturbing trend among US carriers, the abandonment of voluntary safety reporting programs.

Recent decisions by several US commercial airlines to discontinue safety incident disclosure agreements, such as the Aviation Safety Action Program, are troubling, and the parties involved must put safety first and contractual disputes second, Blakey (right) said.

"Programs like ASAP are vital tools in aviation safety and have played a large role in making the last several years some of the safest in history," Blakey said. "These programs should be reinstated as soon as possible."

The voluntary agreements encourage pilots, mechanics, controllers and others to report any incidents that concern the safety of aircraft operation. ASAP has been extremely successful in discovering and identifying safety issues before they lead to accidents, Blakey said.

Programs like ASAP have been used by most airlines since the 1990s. When incident information is reported through a voluntary program, it is analyzed by a team comprised of airline, union and FAA representatives. The team looks for causes and trends and makes recommendations to improve safety.

While this particular issue seems more relevant to Blakey's former job than her current one, she did note AIA member companies "enthusiastically support" programs like ASAP, and "urge airlines and pilot groups to put them back into place without delay."

FMI: www.aia-aerospace.org, www.faa.gov