NTSB later also  recommended that information about the pilot’s driving record be checked  with the National Driver Register (NDR). The act, which took effect on February 6, 1997, requires that air carriers  conduct background checks on all pilot applicants. Actions to Comply with Background Check Requirements Are Increasing, but Compliance Is Not Always Complete or Timely

Efforts to comply with PRIA have increased since the act took effect in  February 1997, but compliance is not always complete or timely. Required Requests for Pilot Records Increased, but Available Data Are Not Adequate to Determine the Extent of Compliance

As discussed in chapter 1, PRIA, as amended, requires hiring carriers to  request and review information for the past 5 years on a pilot applicant’s  qualifications, performance, and training. According to our analyses of FAA and NDR databases and carriers’  responses to our surveys, the number of requests for background checks  increased steadily from 1997 through 2000. FAA Oversight of PRIA Implementation Has Been Limited

FAA has taken limited steps to oversee PRIA implementation and to  monitor this program as part of its broader responsibility for aviation  safety. In addition, FAA has not issued PRIA regulations because it  has allocated its regulatory resources to other priorities. As  previously discussed, FAA is responsible for overseeing PRIA’s  implementation and has the authority to issue regulations or establish  procedures for carriers to maintain the records needed for FAA to monitor  and enforce compliance with the act. Furthermore, FAA believes that it should  focus its regulatory resources on higher aviation-safety priorities. Recommendations for Executive Action

To assist FAA in overseeing the implementation of PRIA and to enable FAA  to determine whether carriers have conducted the required background  checks on pilots before making final hiring decisions on pilots, we  recommend that the Secretary of Transportation direct the FAA  Administrator to   update FAA’s advisory circular on PRIA to (1) clarify which records to  include in PRIA files that are forwarded to hiring carriers and which  records to exclude and (2) have carriers put in place a system that will  allow the carriers and FAA to check compliance with all PRIA  requirements, especially whether required pilot background checks  have been completed for pilots hired;  incorporate information on PRIA’s Web site that informs pilots of their  rights, including the right to review and correct their records under  PRIA;  revise the Air Carrier and Other Records Request form (FAA Form 8060- 11) to conform with the law’s provisions for notification, review, and  correction of records by pilots; and   incorporate information on PRIA into the handbooks, inspection  guidance, and training for FAA’s operations inspectors. Both groups of carriers found information from other sources,  such as the job interview, the carrier’s flight evaluation of the pilot, and the  results of the carrier’s training program, more helpful.
What GAO Found

The Pilot Records Improvement Act, enacted on October 9, 1996, responded to seven fatal commercial air carrier accidents that were attributed, in part, to errors by pilots who had been hired without background checks. The act, which took effect on February 6, 1997, requires air carriers, before making final hiring decisions, to obtain information for the past 5 years on a pilot applicant's performance, qualifications, and training from the Department of Transportation's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), employers, and the National Driver Register (NDR). The act also includes provisions to protect pilots' rights. FAA oversees compliance with the act and has broad responsibility for overseeing aviation safety. According to GAO's analyses of FAA and NDR databases and carriers' responses to GAO's surveys, compliance with the act has generally increased since it went into effect, but compliance is not always complete or timely. The available data are not adequate to determine industrywide compliance. According to their responses to GAO's surveys, carriers are not always aware of the act's requirements for protecting pilots' rights. FAA has taken limited steps to oversee compliance with PRIA. Under the act and its broad responsibility for aviation safety, FAA can issue implementing regulations, develop guidance, conduct inspections to monitor carriers' compliance, and initiate enforcement actions when it finds evidence of noncompliance. FAA has not issued regulations because it regards the act as self-implementing and believes that its regulatory resources should be reserved for higher agency priorities. Although FAA provided guidance for carriers, it was slow to update the guidance after the act was amended. Although they generally found records useful in making hiring decisions, carriers were divided in their opinions on whether the records were worth the cost. However, both groups of carriers found information from other sources, such as the job interview, the carrier's flight evaluation of the pilot, and the results of the carrier's training program, more helpful.