DOT ISSUES RECOMMENDATIONS TO FAA ON RISK ASSESSMENTS AND CERTIFICATION PROCESSES
June 28, 2023
On April 26, 2023, DOT’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) issued a report including recommendations for the FAA to improve its risk assessments, and the oversight of and certification processes for civilian aircraft manufactured and operated in the U.S. The report was requested by DOT’s former Secretary and the U.S. Congress in response to two Boeing 737 MAX fatal accidents that occurred in 2018 and 2019. In the report, OIG noted that it found that FAA took steps to follow its post-event risk assessment processes following the accidents, but that it could still improve these processes. Based on this, OIG suggested seven recommendations for improvement, including but not limited to: (1) documenting the process by which key safety decisions, such as a potential grounding of an aircraft fleet, are made when the Agency identifies that urgent action is necessary, (2) revising the Transport Airplane Risk Assessment Methodology (“TARAM”) handbook to incorporate current safety data, including available international data when appropriate, (3) formalizing training requirements for engineers responsible for completing TARAM analysis and managers responsible for reviewing the analysis, and (4) incorporating integrated System Safety Assessments into regulations or FAA guidance for future transport category airplane certification projects.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com 202-659-6665).
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