Flying Life-The FAA: Naughty or nice?
When the FAA really is here to help
As pilots, we tend to view the FAA as our own Barney Fife culture, where operators are subject to investigations and violations even when our unintentional mistakes have very little impact on public safety. Take, for example, the sleep apnea regulation, which has caused a financial and professional nightmare for many pilots who have never had a problem with fatigue. Add to that the unpleasant business of ramp checks and incident investigations, and it can feel as if we have a largely punitive system that does little to promote a healthy relationship between pilots and their regulators.
The bureaucratic red tape is another common complaint. One of my friends recently had a heck of a time when he inadvertently let his aircraft registration expire. The letter from the FAA stated that he would have to reregister to receive a different tail number since the old one was no longer valid. My friend tried in vain to call various FAA phone numbers but simply could not get anyone to help him find a solution that would not require repainting his airplane. Finally, he checked his mailbox one day only to find that he had received a new registration certificate—with the original tail number! There was no other paperwork, no phone call from a friendly customer service rep announcing the change, just the renewed certificate. In the competitive business environment of the United States, where we are accustomed to dealing with companies’ “fully satisfied or your money back” guarantees, it can be frustrating to deal with an organization that doesn’t always try to satisfy the taxpaying customer.
However, in that old Christmas spirit of letting bygones be bygones, I wonder if we should consider other factors before settling on an opinion of an organization that was created to help make us safer. Let’s not forget that many FAA employees are pilots themselves, and they actually have walked in our shoes. A former FAA inspector told me a story of a ramp check he conducted where the pilot could not produce his medical certificate. Rather than issuing a violation, the inspector verified that the pilot held a medical, then helped him obtain a temporary copy of the certificate so he could be in compliance for his next flight. Now that sounds a lot more like the practical Andy Griffith than Barney Fife, if you ask me.
The current generation of safety inspectors doesn’t seem to be out to get us. In 2015, the FAA rolled out plans for a new compliance philosophy designed to make the national airspace system safer by preventing accidents, rather than focusing on punitive actions against operators post-accident. Instead of primarily using enforcement action—violations and revocation of certificates—the FAA’s focus is on open sharing of information that can lead to “solution-oriented system improvements” such as “on-the-spot correction, counseling, or additional training”—good news for those of us who are genuinely interested in making our industry safer.
As a member of the FAA Safety Team, I can attest to the fact that the FAA promotes continuing education for pilots through various outlets such as the Wings program, courses on www.faasafety.gov, and quarterly seminars where people like yours truly speak on the safety issues that are most relevant to local folks. We also have NASA’s Aviation Safety Reporting System (see “Flying Life: What are you afraid of?” September 2018 AOPA Pilot), which is a great, anonymous way to be part of the data-sharing solution while potentially getting some benefits. Also, as a designated pilot examiner, I frequently interact with the FAA and can honestly say that most inspectors have a genuine desire to help operators stay in compliance and operate safely.
While we’ve all had our run-ins with difficult inspectors, I think it’s fair to say that in any organization, there will always be certain individuals who just don’t play well with others. Yes, it can be frustrating that an understaffed and underfunded FAA has customer service tactics that are less than helpful at times. But considering that we are lucky enough to operate in one of the freest and safest airspace systems in the world, I’d say the FAA is doing a tough job extremely well. Next time you hear, “We’re from the FAA and we’re here to help,” consider they might actually mean it. AOPA
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