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REMARKS FOR
THE HONORABLE MARY PETERS
SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
INDEPENDENT REVIEW TEAM REPORT ON AVIATION SAFETY
WASHINGTON, D.C.
SEPTEMBER 10, 2008
10:30 AM
Good morning. Thank you all for being here today to talk about the safety of
America’s aviation system.
There is no higher priority than safety for the U.S. Department of
Transportation and for all of our agencies. Certainly this is true of the
Federal Aviation Administration, which has had a determined and persistent focus
on safety from its inception.
Over the past 50 years, the men and women of the FAA have diligently served the
American public. Working with airlines, manufacturers, planners, pilots and
engineers, they have made the U.S. aviation system the gold standard of safety
worldwide.
Still, we cannot afford to allow any sense of complacency to set in. As the
crash in Madrid last month tragically reminded us, the stakes are simply too
high.
So when a series of high-profile events earlier this year raised real and
legitimate questions about the U.S. aviation safety program, I asked an outside
team of aviation and safety experts to conduct an independent review of the
FAA’s approach to safety. And I asked them to report back within 120 days on how
we can do an even better job of safeguarding the skies.
Today, they are here to present their recommendations.
Let me say publicly how very grateful I am to each of the distinguished members
who served on the Independent Review Team – Edward Stimpson, William McCabe,
Malcolm Sparrow, and Carl Vogt, who are here today, as well as Randolph Babbitt,
who because of prior commitments overseas was unable to participate in this news
conference but whose contributions were significant.
I also want to recognize and thank Cliff Eby, who, in addition to his duties as
Deputy Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, served as Executive
Director for the Independent Review Team.
The five members of this team are among the most respected and accomplished in
their fields. They represent a broad and diverse spectrum of interests, and they
have served Presidents of both parties. We are very fortunate that they were
willing to devote their time, and their expertise, to finding ways to make our
safety program even better.
Although the timeframe was short, their work was thorough. The team interviewed
hundreds of experts both within the FAA, and outside the agency. They met with
FAA employees, managers and career inspectors, and union representatives. They
spoke with Members of Congress, and they visited the nation’s airlines to better
understand their safety management programs.
They touched on the workload of our inspector force and they examined the very
nature of our regulatory approach to aviation safety.
And the comprehensive blueprint for safety they have produced will help make a
good system even better.
At this time, I would like to invite former U.S. Ambassador to ICAO Edward
Stimpson, who chaired the Independent Review Team, to present its key findings
and recommendations. [Ambassador Stimpson presents report]
Thank you, Ambassador Stimpson, and again, thanks to the entire review team for
an outstanding report.
Your work confirms what the data unquestionably demonstrates – that the FAA’s
fundamental approach to aviation safety has generated unprecedented results.
But that’s only part of the story. Your work further confirms there is always
room for improvement. And your report pinpoints where improvements must be made.
The 13 recommendations in this report will improve both the intensity and the
integrity of the FAA’s safety program, and I am here to announce that I have
directed the FAA to begin moving forward on all 13 recommendations.
By the end of the year, as recommended, the FAA will have guidance to ensure
that airworthiness directives and their deadlines are fully understood by both
field offices and airlines.
The recommendations also call for more rigorous and systematic oversight of the
FAA’s voluntary disclosure program, which the report recognizes as the backbone
of a modern safety system. Already, the FAA has changed its procedures to
require senior managers to review voluntary disclosure reports. Moving forward,
they will be using a new automated data system to help us track and ensure
compliance.
The Independent Review Team recommends new safeguards against FAA personnel
developing overly cozy relationships with the airlines they regulate through
regular audits of field offices where the managerial team has been in place for
more than three years. Today, I am directing the FAA to establish a schedule for
these vital reviews. The intent is clear: Make sure everyone understands that
the only customer that matters in the end is the flying public.
Consistent with recommendations to improve the FAA’s safety culture, I also am
announcing that the FAA will develop a new training program for safety managers
and inspectors. Within six months, the FAA will have training underway to ensure
the same consistent and effective safety practices are followed whether in
Dallas, Detroit, or Denver. We must encourage initiative and sound judgment,
while discouraging complacency and inconsistency.
And by this time next year, the FAA will have the results of the recommended
time-and-motion study to guide them in establishing the right balance between
the time inspectors spend inputting and analyzing data and the time they spend
in the field. Understanding safety data is essential, but making sure it is
accurate is vital.
In closing, I am accepting the Independent Review Team’s report in its entirety,
and instructing Acting Administrator Sturgell to move full throttle ahead on the
recommendations. We know that implementation of these recommendations will
overlap into the next Administration. But we are committed to leaving a plan in
place so that those who follow us can finish the work.
The mark of an effective safety system is its ability to constantly improve and
adapt. Today, the Independent Review Team has delivered a blueprint that will
assure continued safe skies ahead for America. It is my hope and expectation
that this report will be cited as one of the reasons when, years from now,
people ask why our skies have been so safe for so many for so long.
Thank you, and now, we will be happy to answer your questions.
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