Aviation Safety

Changes Needed in FAA's Service Difficulty Reporting Program Gao ID: RCED-91-24 March 21, 1991

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO evaluated the effectiveness of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Service Difficulty Reporting (SDR) program, focusing on: (1) the usefulness of SDR data to FAA and airline personnel; (2) factors affecting SDR usefulness; and (3) changes needed to improve the program.

GAO found that: (1) most users were dissatisfied with SDR and believed that it should not be continued unless FAA made major improvements; (2) airline reporting to the program varied significantly because of vague reporting requirements and concerns over public access to malfunction reports; (3) inadequate data, poor timeliness, and lack of analysis resulted in low-quality SDR data; (4) FAA management's inattention contributed to SDR ineffectiveness; (5) airlines and FAA relied on manufacturers' data for safety information; and (6) a reliable SDR program could assist FAA in effectively allocating its limited inspection resources, and help Department of Transportation (DOT) analysts in reviewing activities related to airline flight delays. GAO also found that changes for improving the effectiveness and utility of SDR included: (1) continued FAA management and improvement of SDR in the short term; and (2) such long-term proposals as development of a manufacturer-based, global reporting system or management of SDR by an independent entity.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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