Interior’s Aviation Accident Rate Has Improved Dramatically Since OAS’s Safety Program Was Established

Since 1975 Interior’s aviation accident rate has been cut in half, from 18.8 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in fiscal year 1975 to 8.7 accidents per 100,000 flight hours in fiscal year 2001. OAS officials attribute the department’s reduced accident rate, in part, to the implementation of a standard aviation operating policy. These standards exceed the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) requirements. OAS recovers its costs from users by charging for its services. Additionally, OAS did not include in its calculations all the costs that needed to be considered in setting rates. The 2001 study found that all but 1 of the 89 aircraft reviewed to be cost effective. Recommendations for Executive Action

To ensure that all program costs are fully recovered and to improve the rate-setting process, we recommend that the secretary of the Department of the Interior   direct OAS to obtain forecasts of future usage from the bureaus and use these forecasts, as well as other relevant information, to set rates; and   direct OAS and the bureaus, upon completion of the rate-setting process and calculation of associated payments, to determine whether the rates recovered all costs and, if not, whether adjustments in the process used to calculate the rates are necessary. 4.
What GAO Found

The Department of the Interior has cut its aviation accident rate in half since 1975--from 18.8 accidents to 8.7 per 100,000 flight hours. The department's lower accident rate can be attributed to the implementation of a standard aviation operating policy and to aviation safety standards that exceed the Federal Aviation Administration's requirements. The Office of Aircraft Services (OAS) has not fully recovered aviation program costs. From fiscal years 1999 to 2000, OAS has charged bureaus about $4 million less than actual costs, representing an undercharge of about two percent. OAS set rates that were based on flight hour projections of actual usage that turned out to be low, and OAS did not include all the cost elements that needed to be considered. Periodic monitoring of the rates and actual costs would ensure that all costs are recovered. OAS has yet to develop a more cost-effective approach for using aircraft. To cut costs, OAS has reduced its staffing levels by 24 percent since 1992.