Our Recent Meeting with the FAA
FlyersRights met with Deputy FAA Administrator Katie Thomson two weeks ago. More meetings will be required to adequately discuss all of the following issues, including meetings with Administrator Michael Whitaker. Administrator Whitaker has yet to meet with any consumer representatives. The 12 issues we raised and our proposed solutions are below. Further details are provided at the end of the list for many of the issues.
In the past few days, the FAA denied expedited treatment of FlyersRights’ FOIA request for the Boeing Quality Control Plan touted by the FAA. The FAA also has a July 15 deadline to initiate a rulemaking activity on seat standards or submit a report to Congress explaining why it refuses. We will be closely monitoring this and other deadlines contained in the 2024 FAA Reauthorization Act.
1. FAA Safety Secrecy & Emergency Evacuation Standards
- Release the 737 MAX recertification documents used by FAA in 2020 under protective orders to representatives of flight crews and passengers under protective orders.
- Expedite consideration and release of the Boeing Action Plan of May 30, 2024 pursuant to the FlyersRights June 28, 2024 FOIA request.
- Send instructions to Boeing and other regulated parties to refrain from labeling submissions as trade secrets or proprietary information fully exempt from FOIA without appropriate justification so that FAA can make reasonable decisions on secrecy. Allow the requesting party the opportunity to respond to regulated party disclosure objections.
- Direct FAA counsel and FOIA staff to follow Attorney General Garland’s FOIA guidelines instructing all agencies to “lean in favor of disclosure.”
- Revise the FAA emergency evacuation standards, as was required by Congress in the 2018 Reauthorization Act and as recommended by the FAA Emergency Evacuation Advisory Rulemaking Committee Report of 2020.
2. Minimum Seat Dimensions and Emergency Evacuations
- Issue an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by July 15, 2024 to fulfill Congress’ 2024 command.
- Place a moratorium on the shrinking of any seat dimension or passenger space beyond what is currently in commercial service by July 15, 2024.
3. DVT Mitigation
- Issue an Advisory Circular or Directive to airlines operating flights over 4 hours to include DVT health risk warnings to passengers.
- Fund studies by medical health researchers and others to better understand the extent of and mitigation of DVT in air travel.
4. Overwriting or Erasing of Cockpit Voice Recordings
- Require preservation of recordings for at least 60 days, when not erased by flight crews, to allow for their use by FAA or NTSB in investigations of safety incidents, occurrences or accidents.
5. Safety Research Funding
- Issue RFPs to non-industry and industry organizations and aviation safety experts using discretionary funds.
- Provide grants to aviation safety organizations using agency funds or funds turned over to the FAA for allocation from federal aviation safety fines and forfeitures.
- Provide travel expenses and per diem compensation to NGO representatives to participate in ARAC working groups and ARAC & ARC meetings.
6. Limitations on Safety Regulation Waivers and Exemptions
- Appoint an ARC or ARAC working group to study and propose limits and procedures.
7. Enforcement of Safety Violations
- Review and tighten existing systems and policies.
8. Boeing Plans for Quality Control Improvement
- Publicly release the plan.
- Work with the Department of Justice to appoint a federal safety monitor that is highly qualified, safety motivated, not associated with Boeing, and without other conflicts.
9. ARAC Representation
- Appoint aviation safety academics, independent safety experts, safety device makers, engineers, inspectors, and air traffic controller representatives to achieve a broader diversity of viewpoints on the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee.
10. Inflight Passenger Disruption Mitigation
- Implement our proposed written warning yellow card solution.
- Implement recommendations to collect data, prevent, mitigate, investigate, and prosecute inflight sexual assault and harassment.
11. Flight Delay and Safety Hazards Due To Airport Congestion
- Appoint an ARC to study and report back to the FAA and DOT within the next 120 days.
12. Consumer Support of FAA Safety Efforts
- The FAA should announce how passenger groups can support and assist major FAA safety initiatives.
Unruly Passengers/Yellow Card Rule
Unruly passenger incidents have decreased from the 2021-2022 peak toward pre-pandemic levels. The number of investigations and prosecutions still exceed pre-pandemic levels, demonstrating a changed approach to safety threats and issues.
Unruly passenger incidents captured widespread media coverage in 2021-2022. Decreased media coverage in 2024 conforms with the data. However, the media does highlight incidents where the flight attendant or airline is at fault or shares responsibility. Written warnings to passengers will remind passengers of the rights and responsibilities of both passengers and the airlines, and will provide passengers with ways to appeal or remedy the situation after the fact.
DOT regulations require written notices in certain situations, such as oversales/denied boarding and domestic bag liability limits, under the theory that a concise, written reminder of the rules of the road will avoid and limit the number of conflicts by informing the passenger the extent of their rights and compensation.
Ask: Implement a yellow card written warning system to de-escalate some potential unruly passenger disruptions before they happen. A written notice of both the passengers’ and airlines’ rights, responsibilities, and ability for redress would accomplish a reduction in the number of incidents, investigations, and prosecutions.
Diverse Viewpoints within ARAC Membership
The advice given by the FAA’s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee could be strengthened and refreshed by the inclusion of more diverse viewpoints that do not currently get considered by the ARAC. The new GSA final rule of May 2024 presents an opportunity for the FAA to update its FACA Membership Balance Plan.
Ask: Expand ARAC membership to include aviation safety academics, independent safety experts, safety device makers, engineers, inspectors, and air traffic controller representatives.
2018 FAA Reauthorization Act
SEC. 577. MINIMUM DIMENSIONS FOR PASSENGER SEATS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, and after providing notice and an opportunity for comment, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall issue regulations that establish minimum dimensions for passenger seats on aircraft operated by air carriers in interstate air transportation or intrastate air transportation, including mini mums for seat pitch, width, and length, and that are necessary for the safety of passengers.
2024 FAA Reauthorization Act
SEC. 519. SEAT DIMENSIONS.
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall—
(1) initiate a rulemaking activity based on the regulation described in section 577 of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 (49 U.S.C. 42301 note);
or
(2) if the Administrator decides not to pursue the rule making described in paragraph (1), the Administrator shall brief appropriate committees of Congress on the justification of such decision.
Seat Prototypes
Imagine all the health risks of “The Skyrider 2.0”, being able to get into the brace position, and then quickly getting out of the plane.
How quickly do you think you can get out of this “Chaise Longue Airplane Seat”?
DOT OIG Report on Emergency Evacuations (September 16, 2020)
https://www.oig.dot.gov/library-item/38012
DOT OIG Recommendations
No. 1 to FAA Closed on 06.30.2022
Develop and implement a systematic process to regularly collect and analyze data on emergency evacuations to determine whether evacuation standards need to be revised or updated based upon current risks.
No. 2 to FAA Closed on 01.27.2022
Develop a policy or procedures to maintain and analyze a record of critical data from aircraft manufacturers' evacuation demonstrations and analyses to identify risks and ensure data used in analyses and computer modeling are accurate and up to date.
ARAC Final Report Recommendations (May 20, 2020), initially published in FAA’s Report to Congress of March 31, 2022
EES-21. “The ARC recommends the FAA implement a process for periodic review of evacuation-related standards based on demographics and anthropometry, such that as those characteristics evolve, the need for changes to the requirements can be anticipated and updated when necessary. The FAA should link this process to research on evacuation, and what the ramifications of changing demographics and anthropometry may mean relative to the existing standards. This should include an effort to baseline the anthropometric factors that could influence the existing requirements.
Most of these dimensional requirements have been in place for several decades. In that time the population has changed and will likely continue to change. For example, the average height of a US male over the age of 19, in a study from 1988-1994, was 69.13 inches. The average weight was 180.7 pounds. By 2018, these values had changed to 68.7 inches and 195.1 pounds, respectively. In fact, the average height of a US male had decreased from 2014 by a fraction of an inch, although weight has continued to increase. Regardless, these changes indicate one set of dimensional requirements might not be suitable in perpetuity. Although the ARC did not identify cases where the regulatory dimensions were inadequate, the fact they are fixed, while the population changes, could eventually lead to issues if nothing is done.”
FAA Response: “The FAA intends to implement a system to capture data regularly and use that information to assess the requirements.”
FAA’s Report to Congress (March 31, 2020): https://www.regulations.gov/document/FAA-2022-1001-3721
FAA Conclusions:
1. The large majority of evacuation events are successful, but areas for improvement exist.
2. With respect to evacuation certification of transport-category aircraft, there have been few “relevant changes to passenger demographics and legal requirements” as described in Section 337(a)(1)(C).
3. With respect to evacuation certification of transport-category aircraft, there have been no “relevant changes to passenger seating configurations, including changes to seat width, padding, reclining, size, pitch, leg room, and aisle width” as described in Section 337(a)(1)(D).
7. With regard to assumptions and methods used in evaluating evacuation standards, no systematic process exists for gathering evacuation data from in-service events when the evacuation event is not classified as an accident, and therefore not formally investigated.
8. With regard to assumptions and methods used in evaluating evacuation standards, regulatory standards that have prescriptive or dimensional requirements may become out of date as population demographics or technologies evolve.
