Federal agencies that own or hire aircraft must report to GSA certain information about those aircraft, following direction in 41 CFR 102-33, “Management of Government Aircraft.”

GSA operates the Federal Aviation Interactive Reporting System (FAIRS) to collect information that the agencies report on their aircraft inventories and the cost and usage of both owned (i.e., federal) and hired (i.e., commercial aviation services—CAS) aircraft. FAIRS is a highly secure system with strictly limited access.

To collect information on the safety of federal aircraft, GSA operates the Federal Aviation Accident and Incident Reporting System (AAIRS), which is also a limited-access system.

In addition to reporting safety data through AAIRS, agencies must also report all accidents and incidents to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following the rules in 49 CFR 830.

In planning to use government aircraft, federal agencies are required by OMB Circular A-76 to conduct studies comparing the cost-effectiveness of using federal or CAS aircraft to accomplish a mission. Agencies should send copies of the A-76 studies to GSA’s Aircraft Management Policy Division.