Pilots and others in the aviation industry have about three weeks to get comments in on the value of two voluntary safety reporting systems. As J. Scott Dyer reports in Aviation Consumer Magazine, the request was put in the Federal Register on May 5 and some fear that if there isn’t sufficient support voiced, the days of the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) and the lesser known Confidential Close Call Reporting System (C3RS) could be numbered. In the story, Dyer says similar comment opportunities prompted by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 have been published before and nothing ever came of them, but he said given the politics of the day nothing should be taken for granted. Comments are due July 7 and can be provided online here. As of Monday, only 19 comments had been left.
In each of those programs, pilots can report dangerous aviation incidents without fear of sanction from the FAA as long as the mishaps were accidental and not criminal in nature. Hundreds of reports flood in each day and they are analyzed to detect trends in aviation hazards and to develop strategies to mitigate them. It’s believed that without that confidential amnesty, the data would dry up.
I did my part, submitted a comment!