Compliance Philosophy

Before October 2016, formal enforcement was the only tool available to Aviation Safety Inspectors (ASIs). This time-consuming process could take years to resolve and absorbed a lot of FAA resources better used elsewhere. Enforcement was unsuitable in many cases where the violation was unintentional and the pilot displayed a cooperative attitude and desire to set matters straight.

Fred Simonds

Friday, March 03, 2017 at 12:00 AM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The FAA's Compliance Philosophy marks a shift from a punitive, enforcement-only approach to a cooperative, remedial method focused on identifying and correcting the underlying behaviors that cause regulatory deviations.
The new system encourages pilots to openly communicate and cooperate, taking responsibility for deviations, which typically leads to tailored corrective actions like training rather than traditional enforcement.
This approach has successfully reduced formal enforcement actions, significantly accelerated case resolution, and allows the FAA to collect crucial data for identifying and addressing systemic safety issues.

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We first wrote about the FAA’s Compliance Philosophy in April 2016. This new thinking promised a refreshing, positive approach to how the FAA handles regulatory deviations. Let’s see how it’s working out.