§44735 Limitation on disclosure of safety information

Summary

Prevents the FAA Administrator from releasing certain safety reports, data, or information to the public under section 552(b)(3)(B) of title 5, unless an exception applies. The rule covers items that are voluntarily sent to the FAA and not required by law, items sent under section 102(e) of the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act, and items given to help create or run a safety management system. It specifically covers reports from the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), the Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program, the Line Operations Safety Audit (LOSA) Program, work on safety management systems, and analyses or studies based on those (including the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing Program or any successor). The protection ends if the information is de-identified, meaning all details likely to reveal who sent it are removed. The same protection applies to other Federal agency heads who receive the information from the FAA Administrator. It does not limit the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident investigation powers under chapter 11, including the rule about keeping voluntarily provided safety information confidential under section 1114.