ASIAS: Aviation Safety Information Analysis and sharing

In the past decade the concept of establishing a nationwide safety information sharing initiative has grown from a dream into reality. From roots dating back to the TWA 514 NTSB report in 1974, it has become increasingly clear that safety data sharing is a necessary component of the overall plan to manage safety at the national level. Building from these roots, in 2007 the FAA created the aviation safety information analysis system, which has quickly achieved the acceptance and support of every segment of the aviation community. In the short period since its inception, ASIAS has incorporated scores of safety-related databases, and is developing expertise in connecting the disparate parts of this collection to enable the generation of coherent and meaningful analyses of the "safety state" of the entire national airspace system. These data sources include maintenance safety reports, radar data from enroute facilities, ASDE-X radar data, enforcement investigations, runway incursion data, wildlife incursion and strike data ... the list of sources is extensive, and growing. Also included are the critically important and very sensitive safety reports generated by operators' ASAP and FOQA programs. ASAP reports contain safety information disclosed in voluntary self- reporting by front-line employees such as pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and dispatchers. FOQA contains objective flight data collected by the participant airlines' flight data systems aboard the aircraft they operate. In addition, ASIAS expects to soon incorporate employee self reports from air traffic controllers submitted under their own new ASAP program. This presentation is intended to provide the information necessary for the attendees to understand the background, history and challenges of safety data sharing. In addition, plans for the evolution of ASIAS will be presented.