FAA Evacuation Standards
RCED-93-165R: Published: Jun 8, 1993. Publicly Released: Jun 8, 1993.
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Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) emergency evacuation requirements for transport aircraft, focusing on: (1) FAA Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) efforts in developing improved aircraft evacuation timeliness and safety standards; and (2) the impact of a proposed reduction of the emergency evacuation standard on aircraft design. GAO found that: (1) in 1991, FAA established ARAC and its subcommittees to develop new safety performance standards for emergency evacuations and to minimize injuries during emergency evacuation demonstrations; (2) in developing new safety performance standards, FAA needed to evaluate current safety standards to determine whether current evacuation regulations were inconsistently applied, more restrictive than necessary, and inhibiting innovative technology design; (3) to minimize injuries during evacuation demonstrations, FAA needs to determine whether or not full-scale evacuation demonstrations are too restrictive, aircraft which have not previously been tested should be tested, the nature of full-scale demonstrations can cause injuries, test conditions need to be revised to minimize injury potential, and to limit test subject exposure by considering alternative means of obtaining the necessary data; and (4) to reduce the demonstration evacuation time to 60 seconds, aircraft would have to require more or larger passenger exits and reduce passenger capacity.
Apr 9, 2018
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Rail Transit:
Federal Transit Administration Can Strengthen Safety Oversight by Improving Guidance to StatesGAO-18-310: Published: Mar 20, 2018. Publicly Released: Apr 9, 2018.
Feb 28, 2018
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Positive Train Control:
Many Commuter Railroads Still Have Significant Additional Implementation Work and Opportunities Exist to Provide Federal AssistanceGAO-18-367T: Published: Mar 1, 2018. Publicly Released: Feb 28, 2018.
Jan 30, 2018
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Highway and Transit Projects:
Evaluation Guidance Needed for States with National Environmental Policy Act AuthorityGAO-18-222: Published: Jan 30, 2018. Publicly Released: Jan 30, 2018.
Jan 16, 2018
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Commercial Space Launch Insurance:
FAA Needs to Fully Address Mandated RequirementsGAO-18-57: Published: Jan 16, 2018. Publicly Released: Jan 16, 2018.
Dec 21, 2017
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Transportation Security Administration:
After Oversight Lapses, Compliance with Policy Governing Special Authority Has Been StrengthenedGAO-18-172: Published: Dec 21, 2017. Publicly Released: Dec 21, 2017.
Dec 14, 2017
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Transportation Security Administration:
Surface Transportation Inspector Activities Should Align More Closely With Identified RisksGAO-18-180: Published: Dec 14, 2017. Publicly Released: Dec 14, 2017.
Dec 4, 2017
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Auto Recalls:
NHTSA Should Take Steps to Further Improve the Usability of Its WebsiteGAO-18-127: Published: Dec 4, 2017. Publicly Released: Dec 4, 2017.
Nov 30, 2017
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Automated Vehicles:
Comprehensive Plan Could Help DOT Address ChallengesGAO-18-132: Published: Nov 30, 2017. Publicly Released: Nov 30, 2017.
Nov 15, 2017
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Commercial Aviation:
Pilots' and Flight Attendants' Exposure to Noise aboard AircraftGAO-18-109R: Published: Nov 15, 2017. Publicly Released: Nov 15, 2017.
Nov 2, 2017
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Discretionary Transportation Grants:
DOT Should Take Actions to Improve the Selection of Freight and Highway ProjectsGAO-18-38: Published: Nov 2, 2017. Publicly Released: Nov 2, 2017.
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