Safety Standards Guidelines (ICAP)

GSA and the members of the Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP) have developed and adopted a set of common “Safety Standards Guidelines for Federal Flight Programs.” The ICAP-member agencies have agreed to write and enforce their own agency-specific flight program standards based on these guidelines.

Note: With the publication of 41 CFR 102-33, “Management of Government Aircraft,” on November 6, 2002, some of the definitions in Section II of these guidelines were superseded. Check the regulation for the correct definitions.

SAFETY STANDARDS GUIDELINES FOR FEDERAL FLIGHT PROGRAMS

The following guidelines were approved by consensus of the Interagency Committee for Aviation Policy (ICAP) on December 16, 1998 and were revised on December 22, 1999.

I. Preamble:
The guidelines in this document provide federal agencies that own or hire aircraft, except the Department of Defense, with a framework for developing comprehensive flight program standards. The ICAP's intent in publishing these guidelines is to enhance operational safety and effectiveness. Each agency should use these guidelines to develop, implement, and maintain agency-specific aviation flight program standards. Agencies' standards should identify the risks that may not be addressed under the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR), but which are associated with government flight operations. Where FAR or military standards apply, federal agencies will meet or exceed those standards. Where FAR or military standards do not apply, federal agencies will use risk management techniques to create the highest standards for themselves (based on the Safety Standards Guidelines described below). Each agency is solely responsible for managing its own flight program, for writing its own standards (for both owned and hired aircraft) based on the Safety Standards Guidelines, and for instituting a self-oversight program that includes independent inspection services, obtained and managed by the agency.

II. Definitions for the purposes of these standards:
[Note: The definitions in this document should match the definitions in the revised OMB Circular A-126 and FPMR 101-37 when those revisions are approved by proper authority. Until those revisions are approved, the following are the ICAP's proposed working definitions.]

A. Bailed aircraft- means aircraft owned by one entity but under the operational control of another entity for an indefinite period under an agreement that may or may not include financial recompense. (In general practice, bailment has come to refer to Federal-to-Federal transactions. However, an aircraft that a federal agency "borrows" from any entity is considered a bailed aircraft.)

B. Charter aircraft-means an aircraft procured under a one time exclusive agreement that specifies performance and payment. The vendor operates charter aircraft.

C. Contract Aircraft- means an aircraft procured for an agency's exclusive use for a specified period of time by means of a formal contract under which the contractor is responsible for the operation, safety, and maintenance of the aircraft.

D. Owned aircraft-means an aircraft for which title or rights of title are vested with a federal entity.

E. Fleet aircraft- refers to any of the following:

1. Owned aircraft.
2. Aircraft under lease/purchase agreement where the intent is to transfer title to the federal government.
3. An aircraft leased in lieu of ownership for an agreed period of 180 or more days.
4. Any aircraft under exclusive use and operational control of a federal entity for 180 or more days-excludes aircraft operating under full service contracts.

F. Leased aircraft- means an aircraft that the Government has exclusive right (through a financial contract) to use for a specific period of time and that the procuring agency is responsible for the operation and safety of the aircraft. Maintenance responsibility is defined under terms of the contract.

G. Loaned aircraft- means an aircraft owned by one entity, but under the operational control of another entity for a limited period of time under an agreement that does not include financial recompense. (In general practice, a loaned aircraft is owned by a federal agency and is operated by a state, municipality, or other non-federal government entity on a temporary basis. To loan means to furnish property to another for temporary use with provisions that the property will be returned in essentially the same condition and without payment.)

III. Applicability:
These guidelines do not supersede or relieve any agency of the requirement to comply with any existing U.S. and U.S.-ratified international laws, regulations, policies, and directives.

This document and the safety standards guidelines set forth in this paragraph IV apply to the following:

A. Federal agencies who operate owned, leased, bailed, or fleet aircraft (as defined within this document), exclusively in the service to the federal government for the conduct of governmental missions, should establish comprehensive flight program standards based on the guidelines described in paragraph IV below.

B. Agencies who charter or contract for aircraft (as defined by this document), exclusively in the service to the federal government for the performance of a governmental mission, should require the vendor or contractor to comply with (1) the civil standards applicable to the type of operation conducted and/or
(2) comprehensive flight program standards based on the guidelines
described in this document.

This document and the safety standards guidelines set forth in paragraph IV of this document do not apply to the following:

A. Aircraft owned by the armed forces or operated on behalf of the United States Government by armed forces personnel (including the Reserves) and to aircraft owned by the National Guard or operated by National Guard personnel for the National Guard of a State, Territory, Puerto Rico, or the District of Columbia, or Civil Reserve Air Fleet Program.
B. Loaned aircraft (i.e., owned by a federal agency but operated by and on behalf of the loanee) unless (1) the aircraft is used for a federal government mission and
(2) requirements for applying these standards are established in a Memorandum of Agreement governing the loan.

IV. Comprehensive Safety Standards Guidelines to promote safety and reduce or eliminate accidents:
Federal agencies should apply the following standards guidelines to all areas of their flight programs, including management/ administration, operations, maintenance, training, and safety. In each of those areas, agencies should implement agency-specific standards by developing written policies and procedures (as appropriate for the sizes and types of their aircraft and scopes of operations of their missions) for the following elements:

A. Management/Administration:

1.A management structure responsible for the administration, operation, safety, training, maintenance, and financial needs of the operation;
2.Roles, responsibilities, and authorities of assigned managers, pilots, maintenance personnel, flight crewmembers, flight safety personnel, and dispatchers (as applicable);
3.Record keeping procedures to record and track flight crewmember flight and duty time and training;
4.Record keeping procedures to record and track maintenance personnel duty time and training.

B. Operations:

1.Basic qualifications and currency requirements for the pilots, crewmembers, maintenance personnel, and other mission related personnel, as required by (applicable to) the agency's mission;
2.Pilot and crewmember duty time and flight time limitations;
3.Compliance with owning agency or military safety of flight notices and operational bulletins;
4.Flight following to provide for timely notification of management and initiating search and rescue operations in case of a lost or downed aircraft;
5.Appropriate emergency procedures and equipment and, if Aviation Life Support Equipment (ALSE) is required by the agency for a specific mission, then a program for ensuring the ALSE is inspected and serviceable.

C. Maintenance:

1.Aircraft maintenance and inspection programs to ensure safety of flight in accordance with either applicable military programs, manufacturers' programs, agency-prescribed programs, or civil programs;
2.Compliance with owning agency or military safety of flight notices, FAA airworthiness directives, or mandatory manufacturers' bulletins applicable to the types of aircraft, engine(s), propeller(s), and appliances;
3.Operation of aircraft with inoperable equipment;
4.Applicable technical support, including appropriate engineering documentation and testing, for aircraft, powerplant, propeller, or appliance repairs, modifications, or equipment installations;
5.Quality control for the purchase and acquisition of replacement parts, assuring that parts purchased or acquired have the necessary documentation to determine airworthiness;
6.Record keeping procedures to record and track maintenance actions; inspections; retirement life components and parts; and the flight hours, cycles, and calendar times for Flight Safety Critical Aircraft Parts (FSCAP,i.e., DoD surplus/excess).

D. Training:

1.Initial and recurrent training appropriate for the responsibilities and necessary operational skills of all aviation personnel and relevant to the types of operations/missions conducted by the agency.

E. Safety:

1.Risk analysis and risk management to identify and mitigate hazards and provide procedures for managing risk to an acceptable level; internal and external assessments and oversight to verify that the standards elements called for by this document are implemented;
2.A system for communicating and reporting hazards, incidents, and accidents and disseminating safety/accident prevention (and other) information;
3.An accident response plan;
4.Notification to NTSB and GSA of accidents and incidents defined by Title 49 CFR Part 830;
5.Aviation safety awards program.