Perceptions and Efficacy of Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Programs among Small-Scale Operators

Details

• Creators:
  Lowe, Shelley E. ; Pfleiderer, Elaine M. ; Chidester, Thomas R.
• Corporate Creators:
  Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Corporate Contributors:
  United States. Department of Transportation. Federal Aviation Administration ; United States. Department of Transportation
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Small aircraft
  • Aircraft operations
  • Air pilots
  • General aviation pilots
  • Aviation medicine
  • Pilotage
  • Human factors
  • Air pilots--Safety measures
  • Airplanes--Piloting--Human factors
  • Aviation medicine--United States
• Publication/ Report Number:
  DOT/FAA/AM-12/1
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  United States
• Corporate Publisher:
  United States. Office of Aerospace Medicine
• Abstract:
  Despite safety and economic advantages, as well as endorsements by the International Civil Aviation Organization, the ; FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board, and Congress, voluntary Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) ; participation has not been fully implemented in the United States (GAO, 2010), particularly among small operators. Pilots’ ; concern about data misuse continues to be one of the primary factors preventing participation in voluntary safety programs. ; Considered in conjunction with pilots’ attitudes and pressure from pilot unions, airlines might find it difficult to justify the ; cost of implementing and maintaining a FOQA program if they are dubious about its benefits or concerned about its risks. ; Increased FOQA participation among small-scale air carriers may depend on demonstrating that significant safety benefits ; can be gained and positive perceptions of the program sustained, with minimal cost to the operator. The current study ; evaluates both attitudinal and operational aspects of a FOQA program maintained by a small-scale government aircraft ; operator. The Perceptions of Flight Operations Quality Assurance (PFOQA) questionnaire was used to systematically ; collect information about pilots’ attitudes regarding FOQA. Questionnaire items were based on concerns and ; recommendations proposed by the Flight Safety Foundation FOQA task force created to identify issues that might hinder ; or prevent the implementation of FOQA. Survey participants were a sample of 83 government pilots drawn from a ; population of approximately 180 Office of Aviation System Standards (AJW) pilots. A time series analysis of FOQA event ; rates was used to determine whether quarterly reports providing feedback to pilots (a cost-effective intervention method) can ; produce significant safety benefits. FOQA exceedances used in the time series analyses were de-identified monthly summary ; data for the Learjet 60 fleet recorded between July 2006 and November 2010. The overlap between the distributions of the ; Positive and Negative Perceptions scales of the PFOQA suggests that the pilot group demonstrated a certain amount of ; ambivalence toward FOQA, recognizing both the value and risks of the program. The results of the time series analyses ; indicated that feedback provided to pilots in quarterly reports produced significant reductions in exceedance rates. A trend ; in the time series data was the pervasive reduction in these exceedances over the course of the program. This was ; encouraging for the AJW operation and should motivate other small operators to pursue FOQA.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/23817/dot_23817_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 728.38 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection ; FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c147bce11c1f1aeebb22d66e55f6836a4d6148d7b5c2ec16a4a541696fee9b310db484211963864c81b92fa46cac529bb0f24c212c635b514078d1d27050d5f4