FAA to Provide Safety Reports on the Internet

WASHINGTON — In a major departure from its role as the final arbiter of air safety, the Federal Aviation Administration will begin providing safety data to Americans who want to form their own judgments about individual airlines.

The agency announced Wednesday that it will provide accident and incident data to the public through a new Internet home page starting Feb. 28 and, beginning Saturday, issue regular press releases about air safety enforcement actions that result in fines of more than $50,000.

The new policy was enacted after widespread criticism of the FAA for withholding information about safety problems at Atlanta-based ValuJet before the crash of one of that airline’s jetliners in the Florida Everglades last year, killing all 110 aboard.

“We want the public to know what’s going on, not just in the skies but in the airports, airline maintenance hangars and the legal arena, as well,” said Linda Daschle, acting FAA administrator.

Proponents of the new policy said that the intent is to crack open the often secretive world of air safety regulation. During congressional hearings on the ValuJet accident, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Wendell H. Ford (D-Ky.) prodded the FAA to open up its safety data to the public.

Wyden was among those welcoming the FAA announcement Wednesday, noting that it will dramatically streamline public access to air safety information.

“In the past,” he said, “when the government knew that an airline had problems with emergency landings, engine shutdowns or smoke and fire in the cabin, for a citizen to get this information, a lengthy process requiring a Freedom of Information Act request was necessary.”

Some air safety experts expressed concern, however, that the new policy will give airlines an incentive to hide safety problems that previously were shared with the FAA.

If the airlines know that potentially damaging information will be posted on the Internet, they may be less willing to make voluntary disclosures that are not required by federal regulations, according to Kingsley Haynes, director of the Institute for Public Policy and an aviation expert at George Mason University in Virginia.

“The question is whether these new policies will encourage behavior that will actually compromise safety,” Haynes said. “You set incentives and people will respond accordingly.”

And whether the public has the time or ability to make judgments about safety based on the FAA data is dubious, air safety experts said Wednesday.

Asked whether individual consumers are in any position to second-guess the FAA in evaluating air safety, FAA spokeswoman Drucella Anderson responded: “Well, what do you think? But the point is that the public has a right to this information.”

The FAA is still deciding exactly what types of information it will put on the Internet, but very broadly it has decided to make available airline accident statistics and airline incident reports, according to Anderson.

Operating under the agency are 3,000 safety inspectors who perform nearly 325,000 inspections every year, as well as 17,000 air traffic controllers who manage flights. Thus, it has accumulated millions of reports through the years on airline operations. It is unlikely all of that will be made available.

The new Web site can be accessed through the general FAA address: www.faa.gov. By this fall, the agency hopes to have a new safety page that compiles data from a variety of sources. Regular announcements of enforcement actions will start on Saturday.

Safety experts have long cautioned that safety comparisons between airlines are difficult, if not impossible. There are so few accidents that comparing accident rates is not statistically valid. And some airlines are more affected by flying short hops and in areas where weather is relatively poor.

FAA officials had considered ranking airlines on safety, which drew sharp opposition from airline executives. United Airlines Chief Executive Gerald Greenwald and Northwest Airlines Chief Executive John Dasburg personally lobbied against such a rating system.

Anderson said that the new disclosure policy will not involve any changes in the way the agency oversees airline safety, disputing some critics who have worried that the new policy will take the heat off the FAA to act quickly in determining whether airlines are meeting minimum standards.

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What FAA Will Offer

Here’s what will be available soon from the FAA:

* The information: FAA enforcement actions for safety and security violations that involve civil penalties of $50,000 or more.

* Start dates: Announcements of enforcement actions will start Saturday. Information will be available on the Internet beginning Feb. 28.

* Address: World Wide Web site is https://www.faa.gov

* By phone: The FAA is considering establishing a toll-free number.