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Open Recommendations (33 total)

Drones: FAA Should Improve Its Approach to Integrating Drones into the National Airspace System

GAO-23-105189
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should develop and document a formal lessons-learned process for its drone integration activities that includes all six key practices for a lessons-learned process. (Recommendation 3)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 10, 2023, the Department of Transportation concurred with the recommendation and said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to develop a lessons learned process that will be applied to all future drone integration activities. The process will be documented in FAA's Drone Integration Strategy which FAA plans to finalize by June 30, 2024.

Drones: FAA Should Improve Its Approach to Integrating Drones into the National Airspace System

GAO-23-105189
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3 Open Recommendations
1 Priority
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration
Priority Rec.
This is a priority recommendation.
The Administrator of FAA should develop a drone integration strategy that includes all seven elements of a comprehensive strategy. (Recommendation 1)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 10, 2023, the Department of Transportation concurred with the recommendation and said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to develop a drone integration that includes all seven elements of a comprehensive strategy. FAA will coordinate across the agency and collect input from different FAA offices to develop the drone integration strategy. FAA plans to issue this strategy by June 30, 2024.
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should implement the formal lessonslearned process it develops for its ongoing drone integration activities, including Part 107 waiver reviews and the BEYOND program. (Recommendation 4)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 10, 2023, the Department of Transportation concurred with the recommendation and said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to develop a lessons learned process that will be applied to all future drone integration activities, including Part 107 waiver reviews and the BEYOND program.
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of FAA should evaluate its current documentation to identify options to more clearly communicate how applicants can satisfy drone operational request requirements, and communicate FAA's internal process for reviewing and approving operational requests. (Recommendation 2)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
In the 180-day letter GAO received on July 10, 2023, the Department of Transportation concurred with the recommendation and said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to review its current outreach, and tools for communicating FAA's process for reviewing and approving operational requests. FAA plans to develop a strategy for better communicating drone operational request requirements. The strategy will be developed by December 30, 2023, with plans to implement and adjust annually.

Aviation Safety: FAA Should Strengthen Efforts to Address the Illegal Practice of Intentionally Aiming Lasers at Aircraft [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 26, 2022]

GAO-22-104664
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The FAA Administrator should work with FBI and FDA to explore re-establishing an interagency working group on outreach to educate the public on the hazards of lasers and the illegality of aiming lasers at aircraft. (Recommendation 3)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
As of March 2023, FAA stated it plans to establish a working group with the FBI and FDA to collaborate on laser safety outreach. The group will consist of representatives engaged in outreach from the three agencies.

Aviation Safety: FAA Should Strengthen Efforts to Address the Illegal Practice of Intentionally Aiming Lasers at Aircraft [Reissued with revisions on Aug. 26, 2022]

GAO-22-104664
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2 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The FAA Administrator should determine what information from pilots and crewmembers would be most useful for investigating laser incidents, and how best to collect the information and to share it with law enforcement. (Recommendation 1)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
The Department of Transportation concurred with the recommendation and said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will review its information collecting process, revise the pilot reporting questionnaire, and develop a procedure to collect and share this information with law enforcement in 2023.
Federal Aviation Administration The FAA Administrator should improve its quarterly reports to Congress on laser incidents by routinely seeking information from other agencies on related federal investigation and enforcement actions and disclosing, in those reports, any limitations with the data. (Recommendation 2)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
The Department of Transportation concurred with the recommendation and said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will begin meeting with the Department of Justice, Executive Office of the US Attorneys, to request that Federal information related to laser prosecutions be provided to the FAA on a quarterly basis starting December 2022. FAA plans to include this information in quarterly reports beginning March 2023.

Federal Personal Property: Better Internal Guidance and More Action from GSA Are Needed to Help Agencies Maximize Use of Excess

GAO-22-104626
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration should ensure that internal guidance on considering excess personal property incorporates, at a minimum, relevant roles and responsibilities, when it is practicable to check for and obtain excess property, and how to evaluate the suitability of excess property for meeting agency needs. (Recommendation 3)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concurred with this recommendation and said it would take steps to implement it. In January 2023, FAA said it had updated its personal property guidance to include information on evaluating the suitability of excess property for meeting agency needs and on when it is practicable to check for and obtain excess property. FAA's response did not include actions that address roles and responsibilities in its property management guidance or practicability and suitability in its purchase card guidance. We are coordinating with FAA and when we confirm what other actions FAA has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.

Aircraft Noise: FAA Could Improve Outreach Through Enhanced Noise Metrics, Communication, and Support to Communities

GAO-21-103933
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration should, related to post-implementation outreach, provide clearer information to airports and communities on what communities can expect from FAA, including the technical assistance FAA can provide. (Recommendation 3)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
As of February 2023, FAA stated that it is currently updating its guidance to airports and communities on what they can expect from FAA in the post-implementation process related to noise.

Aircraft Noise: FAA Could Improve Outreach Through Enhanced Noise Metrics, Communication, and Support to Communities

GAO-21-103933
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1 Open Recommendations
Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Federal Aviation Administration The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration should identify appropriate supplemental noise metrics, such as the "number above" metric, and circumstances for their use to aid in FAA's internal assessments of noise impacts related to proposed PBN flight path changes. (Recommendation 1)
Open

 Actions to satisfy the intent of the recommendation have not been taken or are being planned.
As of February 2023, the FAA has said it is conducting a noise policy review and plans to consider whether and under what circumstances supplemental, companion, or alternative noise metrics are appropriate to inform research and policy considerations. FAA plans to conduct stakeholder and community engagement and seek public comments regarding policy options in 2023 to inform future changes to the noise policy.
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