1.) 2.) Specifically, they asked us to determine (1) to what extent addressing the safety problems selected by the Safer Skies initiative will help reduce the fatal accident rate; (2) what progress the initiative has made in identifying and implementing interventions to address each of these safety problems; (3) what progress the Safer Skies initiative has made in assessing the effectiveness of those interventions; and (4) how FAA is coordinating the Safer Skies initiative with other safety activities conducted throughout the agency, in partnership with the aviation industry, and by other federal agencies. In general aviation, the initiative will address six problems that appear to be among the most common causes of fatal accidents for this type of operation, according to available accident data. The goal in general aviation is to reduce the number of fatal accidents to 350 in 2007, which represents about a 20-percent reduction. Finally, the initiative addressed four problems in cabin safety. To date, safety improvement efforts by FAA and the Safer Skies initiative have focused on past accidents and incidents, which may not be entirely predictive of future ones. The Safer Skies Initiative Addresses Major Safety Problems in Commercial Aviation

The Safer Skies initiative plans to address six safety problems that accounted for 79 percent of the fatal accidents in commercial aviation in 1988-97. 3.) 4.) The Safer Skies Initiative Adopted a Goal of Reducing Fatal Accidents in General Aviation to 350 in 2007

Although both the White House and congressional commissions on aviation safety called for an 80-percent reduction in the nation’s fatal accident rate, FAA and the Safer Skies initiative applied this goal only to commercial aviation and adopted a less aggressive accident reduction goal for general aviation. The Safer Skies Initiative Has Made Progress in Selecting and Implementing Interventions

Joint FAA and industry teams have started work on 13 of the 16 problems being addressed by the initiative. Table 7 shows the status of the work on each of the 12 safety problems to be addressed in commercial and general aviation as of April 1, 2000. Many of the safety problems that the initiative addresses are long-standing ones that have been studied extensively in the past. The Safer Skies Initiative Has Not Yet Developed Performance Measures to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Most Interventions

Of the five Safer Skies teams that have begun implementing interventions, only one has developed a performance measure to evaluate whether the interventions it has selected are helping to reduce the safety problems that cause fatal accidents and are worth what they cost. However, our review identified three coordination problems that could undermine the implementation and evaluation of Safer Skies interventions. First, although FAA officials have repeatedly committed to funding interventions agreed upon by all parties working on the initiative, skepticism still exists among some participants as to whether this commitment can or will be honored. It also remains unclear what process will be used, if funding is limited, to reprioritize available resources to ensure funding for interventions that emerge later but have greater potential for reducing the fatal accident rate.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Safer Skies Initiative, focusing on: (1) to what extent addressing the safety problems to be addressed by the initiative will help reduce the fatal accident rate; (2) what progress the initiative has made in identifying and implementing interventions to address each of these safety problems; (3) what progress has been made in assessing the effectiveness of those interventions; and (4) how FAA is coordinating the Safer Skies initiative with other safety activities conducted throughout the agency, in partnership with the aviation industry, and by other federal agencies.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) the Safer Skies initiative addresses the safety problems that have contributed to fatal accidents in the past, and in conjunction with other safety problems, it can be expected to reduce the fatal accident rate and thus enhance the safety of the nation's air passengers; (2) in commercial aviation, the initiative addresses safety problems that accounted for over three-quarters of the fatal accidents in those operations in 1988-1997; (3) in general aviation, the Safer Skies initiative plans to address safety problems that appear to be the most common causes of fatal accidents; (4) the initiative has adopted a less aggressive goal in general aviation of reducing the number of fatal accidents to 350 in 2007, which represents about a 20-percent reduction; (5) the initiative addressed four safety problems in cabin safety; (6) to date, safety improvement efforts by FAA and the initiative have focused on reducing the causes of past accidents and incidents, which may not be entirely predictive of future ones; (7) as of April 1, 2000, Safer Skies teams had started work on 13 of the 16 safety problems and had begun implementing interventions for 5 of these--2 in commercial aviation and 3 in cabin safety; (8) since most of the interventions developed under the Safer Skies initiative are in early implementation stages, little progress has been made in evaluating their effectiveness; (9) of the five Safer Skies teams that have begun implementing interventions, only one has developed a performance measure to evaluate whether the interventions it has selected are helping to reduce the safety problems that cause fatal accidents and are worth what they cost; (10) FAA has coordinated extensively with aviation experts from industry, other federal government agencies, and its own staff, but GAO's review identified three coordination problems that could undermine the implementation and evaluation of Safer Skies' interventions; (11) although FAA officials have repeatedly committed to funding interventions agreed upon by all parties, skepticism still exists among some participants as to whether this commitment can or will be honored; (12) furthermore, if funding is limited, it remains unclear what process will be used to reprioritize available resources to ensure funding for interventions that emerge later but have greater potential for reducing the fatal accident rate; and (13) the Safer Skies initiative, FAA, and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have not agreed on how they will measure progress in achieving the accident reduction goal for commercial aviation.