FAAST Blast — Week of April 13 – April 19, 2014

April 18, 2014
Biweekly FAA Safety Briefing News Update

GA Data Demonstration Project is Underway
Working with industry through the GA Joint Steering Committee, the FAA has started a one-year project to demonstrate the capabilities of the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) program for the GA community.  Voluntary data will be collected from GA pilots within 40 nautical miles of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
 
The FAA and industry are working together through the GAJSC to use data to identify risk, pinpoint trends through root cause analysis, and develop safety strategies. The demonstration project is the next step towards expanding ASIAS, already successfully used in commercial aviation, to the GA community to help identify safety risks and emerging threats. The project will collect public sector and proprietary data which will be protected.  The data will not be accessed or used for FAA enforcement.  The project will also explore potential new voluntary information sources such as digital flight data, pilot safety reports, manufacturer reports, and information voluntary provided from personal electronic devices.
 
FAA Pursues Rulemaking on Third Class Medical Issue
The FAA is beginning a rulemaking project that will consider whether to allow private pilots, in certain instances, to substitute a driver’s license in lieu of a FAA medical certificate. This project is in consideration of a March 20, 2012 petition from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), for an exemption from FAA rules to allow AOPA/EAA members flying recreationally (and according to certain operational limitations and restrictions) to conduct certain operations without having an FAA medical certificate. The FAA is considering whether it can provide any relief to the medical requirement, while maintaining safety, prior to completion of the rule.  
 
More information about the “Private Pilot Privileges without a Medical Certificate” project will be posted soon in the April report on DOT’s Significant Rulemakings site: http://www.dot.gov/regulations/report-on-significant-rulemakings
 
Total Recall
In addition to being able to provide information for the demonstration project mentioned above, flight data monitoring can help improve your flying skills by providing personal flight data, real-time performance indicators, and aircraft health and welfare feedback. To learn more, check out James Williams’ article, “Total Recall,” on page 22 in the latest edition of FAA Safety Briefing (http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/)
 
Got Medical Questions?
Do have questions about your medical certificate or general questions about FAA’s medical certification process? If so you’re in luck. You may send your questions to the FAA Safety Briefing staff to have them anonymously answered by the Manager of FAA’s Aerospace Medical Certification Division in Oklahoma City. We collect your questions and remove any identifying information before passing them along to Dr. Scott. Please send any questions to mailto:[email protected] .
 
Produced by the FAA Safety Briefing editors, http://www.faa.gov/news/safety_briefing/
Address questions or comments to: [email protected].
Follow us on Twitter @FAASafetyBrief or www.twitter.com/FAASafetyBrief