A safety program created by the Federal Aviation Administration and embraced by the Medallion Foundation and four Alaskan carriers is setting the path for safer flights in Alaska.
The Aviation Safety Action Program, or ASAP, is proving to be a success with both the aviation carriers involved and the FAA, according to Kent Adams with the Medallion Foundation.
The ASAP program takes the place of a disciplinary action by the FAA, and allows carriers a corrective action for volunteering information.
“For example, a pilot deviated from an air traffic control specified altitude; in the past they could receive a reprimand from the FAA,” Adams said. “Now if this happens — and the pilot self-reports it — with some explanation, the information is reviewed by the carrier and the FAA to see that it doesn't happen again.”
The premise of the program is to get the carriers involved to report incidents that could violate regulations and could create an accident or injury before, during or after a flight.
“This is an amnesty type program,” Adams said. “The impetus is to get carrier employees to report the information with no retribution by the FAA to the individual or the carrier.”
Adams said the carriers' pilots, crew, mechanics, dispatchers and flight attendants may all report infractions.
According to Adams, the Medallion Foundation made a request to the FAA to start the test program.
The foundation, a nonprofit created to improve commercial and general aviation safety in Alaska, began working with the FAA after the two agreed on a memorandum of understanding. The ASAP program started between the two entities in March 2005 for an 18-month demonstration phase with the Medallion Foundation acting as the facilitator for the program in Alaska.
According to Adams, there are four Alaska carriers participating in the program: Peninsula Airways, Frontier Flying Service, Era Aviation and Warbelow's Air Service. Nationally there are 48 carriers participating.
“We found that self-reporting worked in ways that the carriers had never imagined,” Adams said. “Ninety-five percent of the events were not known by the carriers, and the FAA had about 5 percent of the what was really happening.”
Dick Harding, vice president of operations for Pen Air, concurred. “We found out things about our operation that we would have never heard about until the FAA came knocking,” he said. “This allows an employee to make a report about insidious little things that can lead to problems or even accidents.”
Harding believes creating an atmosphere of immunity encourages people to submit information.
The information is entered into a database and can be reviewed by management and the FAA. Currently in Alaska, each carrier may review its company's reports by employees, but not other carriers.
“Until we have five carriers in the system, the information can't be shared,” Adams said.
As more carriers enter the program the information will be sterilized so it won't reflect any one carrier,” according to Harding.
Harding said getting the program off the ground was difficult.
“Kent was overwhelmed with the program, so Jerry Dennis (executive director of the Medallion Foundation) went to the FAA and asked for the test program,” Harding said.
The program information can point out deficiencies in safety programs that can be re-written or modified. Once more carriers participate, the information will be shared to further enhance safety among the carriers.
“This is a very popular program with the Part 121 carriers, but we hope to expand the program to Part 135 operations in the future,” Adams said.
Part 121 carriers are those with 10 or more seats. Part 135 carriers carry fewer than 10 passengers.
The Medallion Foundation, the Capstone Program and other FAA safety programs are credited not only with saving lives by avoiding crashes, but have served to reduce insurance costs to Alaska-based carriers, according to the Alaska Air Carriers Association.
The FAA was contacted by the Journal for information about this story, but declined comment or to be interviewed.
Rob Stapleton can be reached at
rob.stapleton@alaskajournal.com.
