6.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

The primary responsibility for airline safety regulation lies with the Federal Aviation Administration. Congress established the FAA as an agency of the Department of Transportation when it created the department in 1967. It is the successor to the Federal Aviation Agency, an independent agency created by the Federal Aviation Act of 1958.

Aircraft Certification

Federal law requires that all civil aircraft operating in the United States be certified as airworthy by the FAA. There are well over 200,000 licensed civil aircraft in the United States, the vast majority of them privately owned general-aviation aircraft (small planes used primarily for pleasure flying, training, corporate travel and agricultural purposes like crop spraying).

FAA's certification process begins with the design of an aircraft. FAA aeronautical engineers participate in the design process. They also oversee the construction and flight testing of the prototype. If all tests are successfully completed, FAA issues a type certificate for the new aircraft, followed by a production certificate, once FAA is satisfied that the manufacturer has everything in place to properly duplicate the prototype.

The final step in aircraft certification is the issuance of an airworthiness certificate, which essentially is FAA's stamp of approval for each aircraft coming off the assembly line. It attests to the fact that the plane has been properly built, according to an approved design, and that it is safe for commercial service.

The FAA requires that all commercial transport aircraft be designed with built-in redundancies, so they can fly even when a structural element fails. For example, there is more than one way to lower the landing gear, more than one way to communicate with the ground and more than one way to control the aircraft.

Design problems, discovered after a plane is in service, that result in a possible unsafe condition, are addressed through airworthiness directives, or ADs. Through these directives the FAA informs all operators of the aircraft or engine type of the repairs or modifications needed to correct the problem. Usually, ADs are written in consultation with the manufacturer, but unlike manufacturer-generated service bulletins, ADs carry the force of law and airlines must comply with them. If the problem poses an immediate safety hazard, the FAA will direct the airlines to complete the work quickly, sometimes even before further flight. In most situations, however, there is no immediate safety hazard and the airlines are given a specified amount of time to complete the ADs.

Operating Certificates

Federal aviation regulations (FARs) require FAA certification of all airline companies, as well as the equipment they use. Every airline therefore is issued an operating certificate by the FAA. FARs spell out the requirements for engaging in large-plane service. These are operating requirements. The Department of Transportation mandates that financial, insurance and citizenship requirements be complied with before it issues to the airline a second, separate certificate known as the certificate of public convenience and necessity.

Among other things, a commercial operator must have FAA-approved training and maintenance programs, as well as comply with airworthiness certificates for each aircraft. The maintenance program must specify the intervals at which certain aircraft and engine parts will be inspected and, in some cases, replaced. In addition, the maintenance shops the airline intends to use (both its own shops and those of subcontractors) must be certified by FAA and open to inspection, on demand. Records of all maintenance work must be kept and also must be open to FAA inspection. Other requirements address such things as:

· the equipment a carrier must have aboard each aircraft;

· flammability standards for cabin materials;

· floor lighting for emergency evacuation;

· onboard smoking rules;

· the number of flight attendants that must be aboard;

· the content of pre-flight announcements;

· rules for carry-on baggage;

· security procedures;

· aircraft de-icing procedures.