Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems
National Research Council

Committee on Aircraft Certification Safety Management

STATEMENT OF TASK

The National Research Council will conduct an independent study that does the following:

  1. Develop an understanding about significant causes of accidents and incidents encountered by civil aircraft (i.e., transports, small airplanes, and rotorcraft) and whether these causes are related to aircraft certification processes, with special emphasis on aspects of continuing airworthiness (i.e., post-type-certification activities) that pertain to aircraft certification. This inquiry will be based on available data from industry, investigative organizations, and regulatory agencies, and it will include factors such as manufacturing standards and airworthiness directives. The study will consider accidents and incidents occurring during the last 10 years, at a minimum. More importantly, the study will consider how accidents can be prevented during the next 10 years.
  2. Develop an understanding about the ability of current aircraft certification processes to identify risks that are well quantified, risks that are qualitatively understood, and latent risks.
  3. Develop an understanding about the risk assessment methodologies used by a representative set of aircraft and aircraft system manufacturers.
  4. Define the key elements of a top-level aircraft certification safety management process that could be used to reduce the risk of aircraft accidents during the next 10 years to a level that is as low as reasonably achievable. Take into consideration expected changes in the commercial aircraft fleet as well as the operational and economic impact of changes to U.S. aircraft certification processes on the aviation manufacturing industry, aircraft owners and operators, flight crews, and regulatory agencies in the United States and internationally.
  5. Identify which elements of the recommended safety management process are applicable to civil transports and describe how the process should be modified for other aircraft types (i.e., small airplanes and rotorcraft).
  6. Define potential barriers to implementing the recommended safety management process and how such barriers may be overcome.
  7. Define a strategy for assessing the impact of the recommended safety management process.
The vast majority of aircraft that will operate during the next 10 years have already been manufactured, or will be manufactured, to already certificated design specifications. In, addition, improvements in standards for initial type certification are typically based on lessons learned from the continuing airworthiness process. Thus, the study will focus on continuing airworthiness issues (i.e., the airworthiness directive system and the role of the Aircraft Certification Service in establishing additional rules for aircraft design certification). The scope of this study does not include other safety-related topics such as the process that the FAA's Flight Standards Service uses to monitor compliance with airworthiness directives; the role of individual offices within the FAA; administrative procedures; training of flight crews; ground-based air traffic management systems; flight operating procedures; or certification or monitoring of pilots, air carriers, maintenance facilities, etc.

The study will consider relevant safety-related efforts by the FAA such as the Safety Performance Analysis System, the National Aviation Safety Management Program, and the Aviation Safety Initiative Review.

The committee will focus on the technical bases for civil aircraft certification standards.


SPONSOR(S): Federal Aviation Administration