FAA Has Separate Processes for Approving Ground Systems and Certifying Aircraft Equipment

FAA has separate processes for approving ground systems and certifying  aircraft equipment for safe use in the national airspace system. FAA’s  process for approving ground systems, such as radar systems, is done in  accordance with policies and procedures in FAA’s Acquisition Management  System. This process involves a determination by FAA’s Air Traffic  Organization regarding whether a vendor is in compliance with contract  requirements and/or FAA operational requirements, followed by a rigorous  test-and-evaluation process to ensure that the new system will operate  safely in the national airspace system. In contrast, the process for certifying  aircraft equipment, which is usually developed by private companies, is  done in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations, with FAA serving as  the regulator. If an ATC system has both a ground system and aircraft  equipment, as was the case for 3 of the 5 systems we reviewed, then the  system must go through both processes before it is approved for safe use in  the national airspace system. FAA Faced Challenges in Approving Several ATC Systems

FAA faced challenges in approving systems for safe use in the national  airspace system that contributed to cost growth, delays, and performance  shortfalls in deploying these systems. We identified three specific challenges through the review of 5 ATC systems and our past work. These  challenges are the need to  involve appropriate stakeholders, such as users and technical experts,  throughout the approval process;   ensure that the FAA offices that have responsibility for approving  ground systems and certifying aircraft equipment effectively coordinate  their efforts for integrated systems; and  accurately estimate the amount of time needed to meet complex  technical requirements at the beginning of the design and development  phase. FAA Has Taken Action to Improve Its Process for Approving ATC Systems

FAA has taken action to address two of the three management challenges  that we identified. FAA stated that coordination  would improve because as part of the new Safety Management System  the agency plans to realign its organizational structure to create a formal  link between the Air Traffic Organization and the Office of Regulation  and Certification. FAA expects full implementation  to take 3 to 5 years. We are reserving judgment on whether this change  will fully address the challenge because of the early state of this effort  and because FAA’s problems with internal coordination when approving  ATC systems are long-standing. In addition, because FAA has  historically faced internal and external coordination challenges in  approving ATC systems for safe use in the national airspace, we believe  that as FAA moves forward with the agency’s new Safety Management  System, it should, in the interim, develop plans that describe how both  internal and external coordination will occur on a system-specific basis. Recommendation for Executive Action

To ensure that key stakeholders, such as air traffic controllers,  maintenance technicians, and technical experts, outside FAA’s acquisitions  offices and Office of Regulation and Certification, are involved early and  throughout FAA’s ground system approval process and to ensure better  internal coordination between FAA’s offices responsible for approving  ground systems and certifying aircraft equipment, we recommend that the  Secretary of Transportation direct the Administrator of FAA to develop  ATC system-specific plans early in the approval process that specify how  and when the approving and certifying offices within FAA and other  stakeholders, including controllers, maintenance technicians, technical  experts, and industry representatives, will meet to ensure coordination. 2.) 3.) However, the partnership was not able to develop a  system that FAA believed would operate safely in the national airspace  system.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) process for ensuring that air traffic control (ATC) systems will operate safely in the national airspace system is an integral part of the agency's multibillion-dollar ATC modernization and safety effort. GAO was asked to review (1) FAA's process for approving ATC systems for safe use in the national airspace system; (2) challenges FAA has faced approving ATC systems and how these challenges affected the cost, schedule, and performance estimates of the systems; and (3) actions FAA has taken to improve its process for approving ATC systems.

What GAO Found

FAA has separate processes for approving ground systems and certifying aircraft equipment for safe use in the national airspace system. FAA's process for approving ground systems, such as radar systems, is done in accordance with policies and procedures in FAA's Acquisition Management System. Approving ground systems, which are usually developed, owned, and operated by FAA, typically involves FAA's Air Traffic Organization determining whether a vendor is in compliance with contract requirements, followed by a rigorous test-and-evaluation process to ensure that the new system will operate safely in the national airspace system. The process for certifying aircraft equipment, which is usually developed by private companies, is done in accordance with Federal Aviation Regulations, with FAA serving as the regulator. If a system has both ground components and aircraft equipment components, then the system must go through both processes before it is approved for safe use in the national airspace system. FAA has faced challenges approving systems for safe use in the national airspace system that contributed to cost growth, delays, and performance shortfalls in deploying these systems. We identified three specific challenges through the review of 5 ATC systems and our past work. These challenges are the need to (1) involve appropriate stakeholders, such as users and technical experts, throughout the approval process; (2) ensure that the FAA offices that have responsibility for approving ground systems and certifying aircraft equipment effectively coordinate their efforts for integrated systems; and (3) accurately estimate the amount of time needed to meet complex technical requirements at the beginning of the design and development phase. FAA has taken some actions to address two of the three challenges we identified. However, FAA has not taken action to fully involve all stakeholders, such as air traffic controllers and technical experts, throughout the approval process. FAA officials believe that the agency's new Safety Management System will help ensure that the ground system approval and aircraft certification processes are better coordinated. FAA stated that coordination would improve because, as part of the new Safety Management System, the agency plans to realign its organizational structure to create a formal link between the Air Traffic Organization and the Office of Regulation and Certification. FAA expects full implementation of this system to take 3 to 5 years. We are reserving judgment on whether this change will fully address the challenge because of the early state of this effort and FAA's long-standing problems with internal coordination when approving ATC systems. As such, we believe that FAA should, in the interim, develop specific plans that describe how both internal and external coordination will occur on a system-specific basis.