Gordon’s Committee Asks Questions About NASA Air Safety Study

October 31, 2007, WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon chaired a House Science and Technology Committee hearing on NASA’s management of an aviation safety study that could hold important information for the flying public.

“It was important that this committee meet as soon as possible to get to the bottom of what has been going on here, and what NASA intends to do from this point forward,” said Gordon. “The American public understands the importance of air safety, and our citizens want to be sure that the government and the aviation industry are doing all that can be done to keep the air transportation system safe.”

The National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service, or NAOMS, has received recent attention due to NASA’s refusal to release data collected from 24,000 interviews conducted as part of the air safety survey. NASA had refused to release the survey, claiming it “could materially affect the public confidence in, and the commercial welfare of the air carriers.”

The survey, conducted over more than six years at a cost of more than $11 million, was expected to identify emerging aviation safety problems. Instead, NASA stopped the NAOMS project and has not provided the flying public with the insights gained from the survey.

Gordon called on NASA to release the data, claiming the public has a right to know about the safety of travel in the nation’s skies. NASA Administrator Michael Griffin announced at the hearing that NASA would release the NAOMS data, reversing NASA’s earlier stance.

Several questions regarding the specifics of the release still remain. Gordon said his committee plans to follow up with NASA to make sure the data is made publicly available in a timely manner.

“By 2025, there will be three times as many planes in the air,” said Gordon. “If this study reveals that improvements can be made, let’s get the data and make the necessary changes to ensure safety in our skies.”

America’s aviation system is changing due to new information and communications technologies that are being introduced into the system. The voluntary safety reporting systems of the past may no longer be sufficient for the projected changes. NAOMS was designed to be a new, comprehensive safety measurement and analysis tool that would help ensure that the national airspace remains safe in the coming years.

Gordon gave little credence to NASA’s stated concern that releasing the NAOMS data may undermine confidence in flying among the general public. He noted that other aviation safety data systems are already open to the public.

If it had been rolled out operationally, NAOMS would have integrated continuous survey data from pilots, ground controllers, ground crews and cabin crews to create a complete picture of what is happening in the air safety system nationally.