14 U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 13 Investigative and Enforcement Procedures

Why Should You Attend:

The various sub-parts of Title 14 (Aeronautics and Space) Part 13 deal with investigative and enforcement procedures for the nation’s aviation regulatory authority, the Federal Aviation Administration.

This webinar will start with a broad overview of the statute to acquaint those who are unfamiliar with the major provisions. It will demonstrate forms and processes generated throughout a formal FAA investigation and subsequent pathways of administrative disposition, civil penalties, seizure of aircraft, certificate action directed toward a violator, orders of compliance/cease and desist/denial, and criminal penalties. Toward the end of the session, it will present Rules of Practice for FAA hearings and Civil Penalty actions, including appearance before an administrative law judge for final adjudication. Finally, it will briefly discuss aspects of civil monetary penalty inflation adjustment and the prohibition against FAA use of FOQA data for enforcement purposes.

This session will provide the attendee with an opportunity to learn appropriate actions to address a variety of situations that may arise during the irregular operation of a corporate or commercial aviation entity through the course of business.

Learning Objectives:

• How to deal with an FAA Letter of Investigation from the corporate or commercial air carrier perspective.
• Participation as a party to the FAA investigation.
• Understanding the FAA’s obligations and alternatives available for enforcement action.
• What to expect in a formal hearing before an administrative law judge.
• Potential outcomes depending upon circumstances surrounding a violation and the regulated entity’s history of compliance.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• FAA investigative procedures
• FAA administrative actions
• FAA legal enforcement actions
• Rules of Practice for FAA hearings
• FAA formal fact-finding investigations under an Order of Investigation
• Rules of Practice in FAA Civil Penalty Actions
• Civil Monetary Penalty Inflation adjustment
• Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) program.

Who Will Benefit:

• Director of Maintenance on the Operator’s Certificate
• Director of Quality on the Operator’s Certificate
• Chief Pilot (and/or Assistant Chief Pilot) on the Operator’s Certificate
• Director of Safety on the Operator’s Certificate
• Principal Investigators at Corporate or Commercial Operators
• Corporate or Commercial Aviation Risk/Compliance Managers
• Administrative Managers
• Regulatory Compliance Associates and Managers
• Corporate and commercial aviation maintenance Personnel

Instructor Profile:

Mont Smith, is an aviation safety compliance expert with 40 years of experience in military, general and commercial aviation. Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut and a Master’s Degree in Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida in Pensacola, Florida. He has attended the Safety Officer Certificate Course at the University of Southern California and the Crash Survival Investigator Certificate Course at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. As the prospective Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak, Alaska, he attended the Aviation Command Safety Course at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California. After retirement from the Coast Guard as Captain, Mr. Smith flew an Emergency Medical Services helicopter for Mercy Air Hawaii for three years. Employed by Hawaiian Airlines as Senior Director, Safety and Compliance, Mr. Smith served for five years as Part 119 Director of Safety on the Operating Certificate of the air carrier during a period of rapid expansion of the airline. During his tenure, the Hawaiian Airlines Aviation Safety Action Program was successfully inaugurated.

Mr. Smith subsequently served as the Director of Safety for the Air Transport Association (now named “Airlines for America”) where he facilitated a 23-airline Safety Council, Flight Safety Committee, Ground Safety Committee, and A4A/Airline/OSHA Alliance. As a member of the Commercial Aviation Safety Team, Mr. Smith contributed to the selection of CAST as a recipient of the 2008 Collier Trophy. He has received letters of appreciation from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Airline Pilots Association. Mr. Smith holds the Air Transport Pilot (ATP) rating in both Landplane/Multi-engine and Rotorcraft/Helicopter with type ratings in the Gulfstream I executive transport, Lockheed Hercules turboprop cargo aircraft, Dassault-Breguet Falcon 200 jet, and Sikorsky S-61 heavy lift helicopter.

Topic Background:

The FAA has publicly gone on record at commercial aviation industry-wide safety meetings since 2011 as stating a preference for incentivized voluntary compliance and non-punitive reporting as opposed to enforcement through a variety of “systems safety” initiatives currently undergoing Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review. These programs include Safety Management Systems for Part 121 commercial operators mandated by the International Civil Aviation Organization since January 2009 (guidance in FAA Advisory Circular 120-92A but rule yet to be implemented in the U.S.), an upgraded FAA Advisory Circular 120-66C on Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAPs), and FAA Advisory Circular 120-103A that outlines steps for FAA approval of a Fatigue Risk Management System (FRMS). These components (once formally adopted) and viewed against 14USC117, the Commercial Aviation Flight/Duty Time Rule adopted on January 4, 2014 – along with an aggressive training program for 5,200+ FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors – may greatly assist in completing the intended transformation strategy. However, until this transformation occurs and even afterward, in the event of discovery of a regulatory violation not afforded relief under the provisions of a conditional law enforcement incentive program, the industry must maintain an intimate familiarity with existing rules of FAA investigation and enforcement.

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