An enlightened safety program has been in use by the FAA in partnership with NASA for nearly 50 years. The voluntary and confidential Aviation Safety and Reporting System (ASRS) has been a boon to air safety. It was born out of the 1974 crash of a TWA jet on approach to Dulles in bad weather, where the jet met up with the terrain of Mt. Weather as a result of at-best ambiguous ATC language and definitely imprecise instrument flight procedures. The program provides for pilots, controllers, mechanics and others to make confidential reports to the ASRS within NASA, insulating the reports from the sometimes draconian regulation enforcement arms of the FAA, and thereby providing a steady stream of reports that highlight aviation safety issues in nearly real-time.
The “carrot” enticing those in the industry to submit voluntary reports is that in many if not most cases, the reporting person can’t be subject to an FAA enforcement sanction (e.g., suspension or revocation of a certificate) even if a regulation has been broken. If the report is made within 10 days of the event, the action is inadvertent and not deliberate, and the action is not criminal, there can be a finding of a violation but no penalty can be assessed. This immunity can only be used once every five years.
ASRS So Far
More than 2 million reports have been received by NASA and there has never been a breach of confidentiality. Roughly 400 or more reports come in every day, the great majority of these from airline crews. FAA is forbidden from using ASRS information against those who report under ASRS. The result is that this is a robust system with ASRS analysis regularly being shared with FAA, NTSB, airlines, airports and other users through safety alerts on specific items and in a monthly newsletter. We as aviators shouldn’t lose this valuable resource of both safety data and immunity from penalty. We can’t take it for granted.
In May 2025, NASA published a notice in the Federal Register asking for comments within 60 days about the continuation of ASRS. Suspicious minds were worried that this might be a not-very-subtle effort by the Administration to close down ASRS. That probably isn’t the case because periodic notices of this sort have been published for many years under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, and ASRS has continued.
But still, we live in “interesting” times when the past is no guarantee of what will happen tomorrow. We aviators shouldn’t sit on our hands and do nothing. Lawyers have a phrase for working to box in administrative agencies from making undesirable changes: it’s called, “making a record”. Put on the record facts and positions that the commenter finds helpful to her or his position. Make it tough for an agency to chart a different course.
Where Does ASRS Fit?
What can we do? NASA is ostensibly looking for comments on whether ASRS fits NASA’s role, whether the estimate of about 30 minutes’ time to fill our an ASRS report is about right, ways to enhance the quality and usefulness of the information collected and how automation can be used to minimize the burdens on us, the users. I’d suggest sending in those comments. Tell them that the middle name of “NASA” is “Aeronautics” and a major part of aeronautics is aviation safety. The 30 minutes to complete the form (paper or online) is about right and ASRS has honed the form for collecting and collating this data from reporters quite well over the years. Also note that ASRS already allows for online completion and submission of the reporting form and this is about as easy as can be (maybe there can be an app for that?). And include a statement that the ASRS is a program that works beautifully and is an integral part of how individual aviators can make a direct contribution of aviation safety. We can each make the system better.
Comments are due by July 7, 2025. Provide yours by going to https://www.regulations.gov/document/NASA_FRDOC_0001-0962 and clicking on “Comment” button. You can also read what others have submitted under the Comment tab. The full Federal Register listing is here: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-05-05/html/2025-07779.htm
