PASS Testifies Regarding FAA Certification Process

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Published: October 30, 2013

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Today, the Professional Aviation Safety Specialists, AFL-CIO (PASS), which represents approximately 3,000 aviation safety inspectors at the Federal Aviation Administration, testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Subcommittee on Aviation, regarding the safety and efficiency of the FAA’s certification process.

Aviation safety inspectors have successfully and efficiently provided oversight of the FAA’s certification process by overseeing and enforcing aircraft and equipment airworthiness requirements, which are designed to ensure a safe and efficient process. Unfortunately, there are a number of factors that are limiting the process including:

• The lack of sufficient aviation safety inspector staffing necessary to provide adequate oversight of the certification process.
• Sequestration has resulted in an FAA hiring freeze, which is preventing the FAA from hiring additional inspectors to handle the increasing workload of inspectors and backfill for the high level of inspector retirements.
• Increased reliance on delegation of critical certification functions without adequate FAA oversight.
• Shutdown resulted in a backlog of aircraft and design approvals, among other delays.

“Aircraft manufacturers depend on FAA inspectors being on the job to process certifications in a timely manner," said PASS President Mike Perrone. These critical FAA employees must be given the tools and resources to continue performing their important work. PASS appreciates efforts being made to improve the certification process. We stand ready to work with the agency and lawmakers to ensure its success."

Click here to view PASS’s testimony.

For more information or questions, please contact Kori Blalock Keller at (202) 293-7277 x110.

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For 36 years, PASS has represented more than 11,000 employees of the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense who install, maintain, support and certify air traffic control and national defense equipment, inspect and oversee the commercial and general aviation industries, develop flight procedures and perform quality analyses of the aviation systems. For more information, visit the PASS website at www.passnational.org.