Comair in partnership with the FAA and union leaders have taken a leap forward in safety trend analysis by implementing its own Flight Operational Quality Assurance Program (FOQA).

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A Joint Comair/ALPA Publication Update

Please see FOQA PROGRAM page 2 �

FOQA gives Comair the ability to analyze information from aircraft flight data recorders to look for trends that create a safety threat to the safe operation of the airline and quantify known threats. To accomplish this, a detailed plan for how to handle this data has been signed between ALPA, the FAA and company managers to insure this FDR FOQA data is not used to identify and discipline pilots.

Only ALPA Central Air Safety Committee “gatekeeper” members will be allowed access to aircraft flight numbers, dates, times or city pairs that could be used to identify individual crew members tied to a specific FDR event. The gatekeeper occasionally may call a pilot to gather more information about a specific flight. The goal is to find out the why behind the data not to lecture individual pilots. We realize that our flight crews are well trained and always strive to fly to the standards to which they

Not every second of every flight at Comair will be monitored, but the goal of the program is to collect and analyze as much data as possible. The FDR on the CRJ 50 is capable of recording 536 different parameters from each flight. The CRJ 70/90 can track 546 parame-ters. The CRJ 50 FDR records 50 hours of data and the CRJ 70/90 records 250 hours. This data is downloaded by maintenance technicians on a routine basis. Comair already has the ability to selectively download this data. The FOQA program makes the download-ing and analyzing of this data routine. Having routine downloads of this data is of enormous benefit to safety analysts because it allows them to find unknown threats. Currently, data is only download-

Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program

are trained to. But sometimes the performance of the aircraft does not match these standards. ALPA Safety Committee gatekeepers are not the pilot police searching for the “bad apple” pilot. Instead, gatekeepers are more like detec-tives searching for FDR data clues that will help identify a bad system

or procedure in need of change at Comair. FOQA programs always bring to light common problems being made by multiple flight crews. Addressing these problems is the goal of the program. It is designed to improve operating procedures and systems. When FOQA is used in conjunction with ASAP a better overall picture of our operation is revealed. The information gathered from these programs, both good and bad, is used to improve our training and procedures. It does not seek out individual pilots.

Aircraft Flight Data Monitoring Arrives at Comair

FDR data will allow FOQA analysts to

identify threats such as:

Airports where unstabilized 1. approaches are common

Conditions leading 2. to lengthy flares and touchdowns

Flap extension speeds3.

Occurrence of GPWS 4. events

Conditions where engines 5. operate near limitations

Specific airport approaches 6. that lead to a high number of go-arounds

Turbulence and wake 7. turbulence events

Rate and amount of 8. rotation at takeoff

January 2011

INSIDE…1 Aircraft Flight Data

Monitoring Arrives at Comair

4 Flight Operational Quality Assurance Program (FOQA) FAQs

“Having routine downloads of this data is of enormous benefit to safety analysts because it allows them to find unknown threats. Currently, data is only downloaded if there is a known safety event.”

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ed if there is a known safety related event. FOQA Analysts can combine different parameters to track an almost unlimited number of different flight and operational issues.

This program is already in place at most U.S. airlines and, like ASAP, it is a voluntary safety reporting pro-gram built on trust that is reinforced by a detailed plan of how this data is tracked and analyzed. Comair managers and union leaders studied other successful FOQA programs at

regional and mainline carriers when writing their implementation and operation plan. The anonymity of the data is the cornerstone of the pro-gram and is essential in maintaining

the trust of all pilots. Big Brother is watching each flight for unusual aircraft performance and operation issues; however, he doesn’t know who is generating this data. Fur-thermore, FOQA data is protected under the provisions of FAR 13.401, and FAR part 139 that specifically protect FOQA data from being used by the FAA for pilot enforcement action.

When a gatekeeper wants to find out why there are problems with a

Please see FOQA PROGRAM page 3 �

No FOQA safety program can be successful without the participation of the pilots and the willingness of management to understand just culture.

Above is a spreadsheet that examines more than 500 parameters from each aircraft’s flight data recorder then these parameters can be plotted on a graph as they occur in UTC time. This is flight data monitoring. The software can be programmed to analyze trends and look for specific events and flag them such as unstabilized approaches, flap overspeeds or other limitation exceedences.

A CRJ 900 turns base to final for Runway 7 in JAX beginning an unstabilized approach. The aircraft’s flight path is recreated using GPS co-ordinates from the FDR and can be superimposed over an approach plate’s map view. Flightscape animation software shows the view of the approach from the flightdeck and outside the aircraft.

FOQA PROGRAMContinued from page 1

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3NOVEMBER 2010FOQA PROGRAM

FOQA ProgramContinued from page 2

specific airport approach or comply-ing with a limitation, a crew may be contacted. But this call is only to help the gatekeeper learn why certain events are commonplace, not to discipline or lecture the pilot. The FDR data and the FOQA computer software tracks, charts and analyzes the data. Additional software that looks like an advanced version of Microsoft’s Flight Simu-lator program is used to animate FDR events. It displays the posi-tion of the flight controls and shows indications on the PFD, MFD and EICAS displays. The course of the aircraft can be superimposed over a three dimensional Google Earth map to trace the aircraft’s flight path through space, touchdown point and taxi path to the gate. The data provides the What, Where and When of any event. But all of this animation and data is useless until a gatekeeper pilot can discover the How and the Why from the pilot who was there.

No FOQA safety program can be successful without the participation of the pilots and the willingness of management to understand just cul-ture. All of us as pilots strive for the perfect flight. When things go wrong we must look at the underlying causes that created the opportunity for unsafe conditions.�

ALPA Central Air Safety CommitteeFOQA GatekeepersCapt. Chris Obertin Cell. 859-322-4276 Chris.Obertin@alpa.org

FO Dave Westrich Cell. 859-380-9938 Dave.Westrich@alpa.org

Aircraft ground tracks can be traced over Google Earth maps. This map depicts aircraft ground tracks departing JFK on the Kennedy One Departure with the Carnarsie Climb off Runway 33L. The CRI VOR has a .5 and 1.0 nautical mile ring to show the ground track used to intercept the 176-degree CRI radial.

Aircraft ground tracks in this illustration show Comair crew’s are turning early enough to avoid the P56 Prohibited Area and staying on the west side of the Potomac River when departing Runway 1 in DCA.

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If an event is witnessed by the FAA or company representative no additional evidence to support a violation or in-fraction would be required. The FAA or line check airman have the authority to address any issues observed with crew members without using FOQA data.

If the FAA or a check airmen discover a pilot

deviation through a FOQA analysis report, can the FDR data be used as evidence of the event?Neither the FAA nor the company has access to identified FOQA data. FAR part 193 and FAR 13.401 protect FOQA data from being used in an investigation to support a possible pilot deviation.

If the FAA hears of a possible pilot course and

altitude deviations can the FDR data be used as evidence of the event?The FAA would have access to ATC radar plots to support their investiga-tion. No access to FOQA data would be required. FAR part 193 and FAR 13.401 protect FOQA data from being used in an investigation to support a possible pilot deviation.

How is FDR data treated if there is an aircraft

incident or accident? In the event of an accident or incident any FDR or DFDR data not in the FOQA database is available and identifiable.

How much FOQA data can the FAA and Comair

management see and how is this information de- identified? Both are permitted free and open access to de-identified aggregate FOQA data, including fleet – specific trend analysis information. This will include a quarterly update of FOQA trend information. Any FOQA data or information shared with the FAA shall be protected from use by the FAA for enforcement purposes in ac-cordance with 14 C.F.R. section 13.401 and shall be protected from public dis-closure in accordance with part 193 and FAA Order 8000.81. Review of such in-formation will be conducted on Comair’s property. Any and all documentation of such information or data will remain on the airline property.�

What is FOQA data?FOQA data is data that has been recorded on the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) or Digital Flight Data Recorder (DFDR) and transferred to the Ground Data Replay and Analysis System (GDRAS), and for the purpose of expla-nation will now be called FOQA data.

What happens if a limitation is exceeded?

If FOQA data is reviewed and an ex-ceedance is observed then an investiga-tion will not be initiated. However, call from a Gatekeeper may be initiated to find out how or why the exceedance occurred.

Can the Company or the FAA use FOQA data for an

investigation?No. However, if an event such as an unstableized approach , go-around or aborted take-off is observed by another crew, ATC, passenger etc., then the company and the FAA have their normal procedures to access the FDR or DFDR as usual. Furthermore, just because date is in the FOQA program, does not exclude the date from being sought out through normal procedures by both the company or the FAA.

How are FOQA and ASAP different?

FOQA and ASAP are both voluntary reporting programs established by the FAA that collect safety data to be ana-lyzed that is protected by FAR part 139 and their respective Letter of Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding. However, FOQA relies on data collected from the aircraft’s FDR. ASAP relies on data collected from pilot descriptions of an event written as a narrative on the computer ASAP reporting form.

Will pilots contacted by ALPA gatekeepers be

asked to participate in ASAP?

NO. ASAP and FOQA are two separate programs. A FOQA gatekeeper is not a voting member of the ASAP Event

Review Committee. Events discovered in FOQA will not be included in ASAP. A pilot may, on rare occasions, be asked to describe the circumstances that led to a FOQA event, but they will not be asked to fill out an ASAP report.

Can the cockpit voice recorder be downloaded

and saved in the FOQA program?

NO. section 25 of our Collective Bargain-ing Agreement limits what the company can do with recorded data. CVR informa-tion will never be used in FOQA.

What happens if a gate keeper discovers a crew

operated a flight recklessly?Neither FOQA or ASAP will be able to protect a pilot that exhibits an intentional disregard to safety by deliberately oper-ating an aircraft in an unsafe manner. The FOQA gatekeeper is under no obligation to report possible FAR violations.

If it is discovered through FOQA that an aircraft

exceeded a limitation and must be inspected, how does the flight remain anonymous?

Maintenance would get only the ship number and limitation exceeded to inspect from the Gatekeeper. No date, time, or flight number would be released.

If the company is immediately alerted to a

significant flight safety event by passengers or the FAA, is that FDR data considered confidential FOQA data?

No. This data, if the event is discovered outside of the FOQA program, is not a part of FOQA and is not afforded the pro-tection of FAR part 193, or FAR 13.401.

If the FAA or a check airman is riding the

jumpseat and sees an unusual flight safety event can he or she request FDR data be used as evidence of the event?

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FOQA FAQsFrequently Asked Questions on Flight Operational Quality Assurance

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