§44747 Aviation Safety Oversight Measures Carried Out by Foreign Countries

Summary

The FAA Administrator must regularly check how other countries watch over aviation safety when their airlines fly to or from the United States, want to do so, carry a U.S. carrier’s code, or when the Administrator thinks it’s needed. The Administrator works with the Transportation and State Departments and with the foreign country’s authorities. The checks must use a standard method and look at whether the country meets the Chicago Convention and related international safety standards (including the rules in Annexes 1, 6, and 8 in force on the assessment date). If problems are found, the Administrator will tell the country, start final discussions within 90 days to recommend fixes, and then decide if the problems were fixed. If they are not fixed, the Administrator must tell the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of State, notify the foreign country, and may withhold, revoke, or add conditions to that country’s airlines’ authority to fly to the U.S. or use a U.S. carrier code. The Administrator can act immediately if a safety threat exists and must tell the Secretary of State right away so a travel advisory can be issued. When a country remains out of compliance, the FAA will recommend fixes, publish the country’s name on the FAA website, in the Federal Register, and other places, and brief the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate. If the country later fixes the problems, the FAA will update the public listings after consulting the foreign aviation authority and notifying the Secretaries. Countries with no airline activity for an extended time may be removed from public lists after informing those Secretaries. The FAA must use transparent, repeatable data and tools for these checks and make sure its staff are trained to carry them out.