This report found that FAA’s efforts on aviation weather were unfocused and that the agency had not clearly defined its role in providing aviation weather information. FAA has attempted to address these criticisms by creating an aviation weather directorate and issuing a policy on weather. Instead, this official stated, FAA set its research priorities by reviewing the requests submitted by the national laboratories and contractors to the several offices with responsibility for aviation weather. Panelists Concluded That FAA Had Made Limited Progress in Defining Policy and Exercising Leadership

Three of the recommendations our January 1998 expert panel reviewed addressed FAA’s lack of leadership on aviation weather issues. . .  is a long-term program.” However, panelists also questioned whether the changes cited by FAA demonstrate that it has taken the lead for federal aviation activities. Specifically, several panelists expressed concern that FAA had not developed a plan to implement the new policy. Experts Questioned FAA’s Efforts to Coordinate With Other Federal Agencies

NRC and FAA’s RE&D Advisory Committee raised concerns about FAA’s coordination with other federal agencies involved in aviation weather, especially in the area of research. Experts Saw FAA’s Efforts to Meet All Users’ Needs for Weather Information as Poor

In the reports by NRC and FAA’s RE&D Advisory Committee, experts also raised concerns that FAA was not providing enough consistent weather information and training to aviation users, such as pilots, dispatchers, and air traffic controllers. According to NRC, one of FAA’s goals is to provide consistent weather information to all types of users. Similarly, the advisory committee reported in 1995, “The Administrator should set policies for  training and certification that will lead to enhanced understanding and decision-making regarding weather, taking into account the many significant forthcoming changes in the National Airspace System.”

		FAA Is Developing Aviation Weather Systems and Training for Various Users

FAA weather officials cited the various aviation weather systems it is developing and deploying as evidence that it is meeting the needs of all aviation users. Reports and Panelists Questioned FAA’s Commitment to Funding Weather Activities

Each of the three reports also raised concerns about the amount of funding FAA has provided for weather activities. The RE&D Advisory Committee also stated in 1995 that, because of the low priority given to weather activities, “weather-related programs are inconsistently funded, causing less than acceptable performance.” Finally, in 1997, the advisory committee found that “as a result of the present budget environment, the FAA management has decided to give weather programs a lower priority than other system areas, thereby causing cancellations or significant delays to critical weather efforts.”
The reports discussed several instances that raised questions about FAA’s commitment to funding aviation weather projects that meet users’ needs. For example, from fiscal year 1990 through fiscal year 1998, aviation weather research accounted for 4 percent of the funds allocated to all types of FAA research. We asked for their comments on (1) the original intent of the recommendation, (2) any other actions FAA had taken to address the recommendation, and (3) the adequacy of FAA’s response. Each day, GAO issues a list of newly available reports and testimony.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO examined the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) efforts to implement the weather-related recommendations made by the National Research Council (NRC) and FAA's advisory committee, focusing on: (1) policy and leadership; (2) interagency coordination; (3) meeting different types of users' needs for weather information; and (4) the level of funding provided for weather activities.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the panel of experts GAO convened concluded that FAA had made limited progress in implementing the weather-related recommendations made by NRC and FAA's advisory committee; (2) regarding the first area of concern, policy and leadership, the reports concluded that FAA is the agency best suited for leading federal aviation weather efforts but that it had not accepted that role; (3) the NRC report linked this criticism to the dispersal of responsibilities among several FAA organizations; (4) the reports also concluded that FAA did not have clear policy guidance to define its role in aviation weather activities; (5) since 1995, FAA has attempted to address these twin concerns by creating a new organization to direct aviation weather activities and by issuing a policy that states that FAA takes the responsibility for leading aviation weather activities; (6) GAO's expert panel concluded that because FAA has not yet produced a plan to implement the new policy, its actions did not go far enough to address the concerns that the report originally raised; (7) with regard to the second concern, interagency coordination, the reports questioned the adequacy of FAA's efforts to coordinate aviation weather activities with other federal agencies; (8) concerning the third area--FAA's efforts to meet the needs all types of users--the reports concluded that FAA was not providing consistent information or adequate training; (9) as evidence that it is meeting the needs of all types of users, FAA cited a list of systems it is developing to provide weather information to various users and a list of the training courses it offers; (10) GAO's expert panel expressed continuing concerns about whether the equipment FAA listed would form an integrated system to serve all users; (11) panelists also raised concerns about the training offered by FAA, stating that better training could help reduce disparities in the abilities of air traffic controllers to interpret weather information; (12) with respect to the amount of funding FAA has allocated for aviation weather activities, the reports raised questions about the low level of funding provided to weather-related projects compared with other activities; and (13) GAO's review of FAA's budget information for fiscal year (FY) 1990 through FY 1998 confirms that the agency has allocated less funding for aviation weather during this period than for most other acquisition and research priorities.