FAA PLANS TO ISSUE NEW RULE REQUIRING SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR AVIATION MANUFACTURES
June 5, 2020
On May 19, 2020, the FAA announced that it will issue a rule to require safety management systems for aviation manufacturers, following recommendations handed out by a special committee that examined two Boeing 737 MAX crashes. The FAA aims to release the new rule by the end of 2021.
This action is in response to recommendations contained in a January 2020 report, available here, released by an expert panel named by Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The expert panel, referred to as the “special committee”, recommended that the FAA require manufacturers to have “safety management systems” in place, which is something already required of airlines and is intended as a systematic way to help mitigate risk. The special committee also recommended that the FAA “acknowledge the international profile of operators” of U.S. aircraft and make changes to its certification process to account for “differences in operations, training, and oversight.”
The FAA noted that it will be involved in an International Civil Aviation Organization panel on pilot training standards. The FAA will also work with other countries and international organizations to review current regulations and standards related to the “human-machine interface,” such as pilot interaction with automated systems. New guidance will deal with assumptions about how pilots respond to multiple problems in flight, as the pilots did in the Ethiopian Airlines and Lion Air 737 MAX incidents.
The FAA also wants to re-charter a team of U.S., EU, Canadian and Brazilian experts to recommend ways to address any “regulatory and/or policy gaps” around products like the 737 MAX that are considered updated versions of previous models. Finally, FAA noted that it has created an office to oversee its Organization Designation Authorization program, as mandated by the most recent FAA reauthorization. One of the office’s goals is to “address concerns regarding the potential for undue pressure on ODA units” — which has been a key concern among lawmakers.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6622); Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com or 202-659-6665), or Andy Orr (aorr@eckertsemans.com or 202-659-6625).
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