I'm Chris Rocheleau from the FAA's Office of Aviation Safety.
You know, the traveling public expects aviation
to be the safest mode of transportation around the world.
And the FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment Program called IASA
is one of its proven long standing methods to make sure those expectations
are met through this shared commitment among the FAA and civil aviation
authorities around the world.
The IASA program helps identify areas to strengthen aviation
safety oversight and to meet ICAO standards.
Our work is focused on countries who have air operators
that serve the United States or where a U.S.
operator partners with an international operator.
This program is just one way we create and strengthen global relationships
in order to keep aviation at the highest levels of safety.
We hope you find the following overview helpful
in providing a better understanding of the IASA program.
Thank you.
To understand the International Aviation
Safety Assessment Program or IASA, we have to turn back the clock.
First to 1944 Chicago,
where the Convention on International Civil Aviation established
the ICAO the International Civil Aviation Organization.
A specialized agency of the United Nations
in charge of coordinating international travel.
Now a bit of a jump to 1992 the year the FAA's IASA program was established.
At that time greater focus was placed on foreign air carriers
safety oversight and as code shares and alliances were formed with U.S.
air carriers.
As these relationships were formed the FAA wanted to ensure
aviation safety kept pace and remained strong.
The IASA program was formally established in the Federal Register
August 24th 1992 with the purpose
of ensuring that all foreign air carriers operating to or from the U.S.
or codesharing with a U.S.
carrier are properly certificated and subject to safety oversight provided
by a competent civil aviation authority in accordance with ICAO's standards.
It is with that clear purpose the U.S.
works with countries whose air carriers seek to or operate in the U.S.
Throughout the IASA process we recognize our shared commitment to strengthen
aviation safety oversight to comply with ICAO standards and of course, meet
the safety expectations of the flying public.
In this regard the FAA values its engagement
with the country's civil aviation authority before, during and after.
The FAA regularly communicates issues it identifies and works
with the country on how to address those issues.
The FAA normally utilizes
a four person IASA team to conduct an initial assessment or reassessment
consisting of a team lead, an operations inspector,
an airworthiness inspector and an attorney.
Teams assess a country's ability to adhere to ICAO's safety standards.
Specifically there are eight critical elements of a safety oversight system
as they relate to ICAO annexes 1,6 and continuing air worthiness of
Annex 8.
Personnel licensing,
operation of
aircraft, and continuing air worthiness of aircraft.
The IASA teams check anything from availability of training centers
to ensure qualified and trained personnel, access to technical guidance
and resources, and how a country resolves safety concerns.
In total, there are over 30 questions and checks
that correspond to an ICAO's standard and recommended practices.
This ICAO checklist is available to the public on the FAA's website.
The IASA teams assess
each country as to how they fit into one of two categories.
Category one, do they comply with ICAO standards for oversight.
Or Category two, the country does not comply with ICAO standards for oversight.
A country's assessed category is then made public.
However, if a country already has a category
one with established service to the U.S.
and it is reassessed as a category two,
then some mitigations are put in place.
First, their level of service to the U.S.
would be frozen.
Second, codesharing with another U.S.
airline would only be permitted one way.
No U.S.
carrier codes will be allowed on foreign carriers.
Through the implementation of the IASA program, the FAA has seen
tangible improvements in the level of international aviation safety oversight.
Overall, the IASA program contributes to a larger global aviation safety system
through engagements, education and accountability.
When the IASA program first began, the FAA determined that over
66% of assessed countries with operators seeking U.S.
service did not meet ICAO standards.
Now, 90% of countries with an IASA rating are Category one.
That improvement is something the global aviation community can be proud of.
Suffice it to say,
as the IASA program continues, the FAA's goal is to bring
the percentage of countries with a Category one rating even
higher, allowing for greater levels of safety.
The FAA also seeks to create or enhance lasting relationships among civil aviation
authorities and strengthen our collective safety mission.
For more information about the IASA program, including category
results of countries, please visit WWW dot FAA dot gov.
Thank you.