GENERAL AVIATION AND PART 135 ACTIVITY SURVEY
2120-0060
Information Requirement:
Title 49, United States Code, empowers the Secretary of Transportation to collect and disseminate information relative to civil aeronautics, to study the possibilities for development of air commerce and the aeronautical industries, and to make long-range plans for, and formulate policy with respect to, the orderly development and use of the navigable airspace, radar installations and all other aids for air navigation. These data are necessary to assess performance of the Department of Transportation in meeting the strategic goal for General Aviation safety as described in the Flight Plan 2009-2013.
This collection of information also supports the Department of Transportation’s strategic goals of safety and economic growth and trade.
Section 329 (Title 49, United States Code) “The Secretary of Transportation shall (1) collect and disseminate information on civil aeronautics;…(2) study the possibilities of developing air commerce and the aeronautical industry; and (3) exchange information on civil aeronautics with governments of foreign countries through appropriate departments, agencies and instrumentalities of the Government.”
Development Planning
Section 44501 (Title 49, United States Code) “The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall make long range plans and policy for the orderly development and use of the navigable airspace, and orderly development and location of air navigation facilities, that will best meet the needs of, and serve the interest of, civil aeronautics and the national defense, except for needs of the armed forces that are peculiar to air warfare and primarily of military concern.”
Past Information Collection Activities
During the period from 1970 to 1976, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) collected general activity information annually under OMB 04 R0185, Aircraft Registration Eligibility, Identification, and Activity Report, AC Form 8505-73. Part 1 of the form provided aircraft registration revalidation information as required by 14 CFR 47.44 and Part 2 provided the activity and avionics information as requested by 14 CFR 91.53. Due to changes in registration revalidation requirements in 1977, the activity-reporting portion (Part 2 of the form) was separated from Part 1 and an independent survey of aircraft owners was instituted for collecting activity and avionics information. Since 1977, general aviation aircraft data have been collected through the General Aviation and Air Taxi Activity and Avionics Survey, FAA Form 1800-54, OMB No. 2120-0060. The survey covered aircraft used for general aviation as well as commuter air carriers and on-demand air taxis.
Rapid changes are occurring in aviation and avionics technology and in the requirements formulating long-range plans and policies with respect to use of navigable airspace. These changes cause the agency to review its data requirements periodically. A review conducted in 1993 revealed additional requirements and needed changes to the survey. The 13 aircraft types were expanded to 19 to differentiate experimental aircraft and rotorcraft with different engine configurations.
Commuter air carriers, by regulation, are reporting exposure data to the Department of Transportation, using DOT Form 41. To negate this duplication, the collection of commuter air carrier hours flown data was eliminated from the survey. Avionics information for the commuters will, however, continue to be collected since there is no other source. Exposure data for the on-demand air taxis also continue to be collected. To reflect the inclusion of all Part 135 aircraft in the survey, the name of the survey was changed to the “General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey.”
Over the years additional questions have been added concerning landing gear type, airworthiness certificate information and flight hours in public use.
The survey design and procedures remain largely unchanged. The form was redesigned for the CY1999 Survey to be on one 11 x 17 tabloid sheet (equivalent to 4 8 ½ x 11 pages) to improve legibility and readability and allow for optical scanning of the questionnaires. Attachment 1 is the questionnaire for aircraft owners from 2007. Minor modifications to phrasing, sequencing, and design may occur.
To minimize the reporting burden, on-demand and fractional operators of large fleets of three or more aircraft receive a single, specially designed summary questionnaire to allow reporting for their entire fleet of aircraft, instead of each aircraft in their fleet.
Use of Information:
The following statistics have been derived from past surveys and will continue to be in the future.
Number of active aircraft by aircraft type;
Distribution of aircraft by state and FAA region;
Annual hours flown by aircraft type and by use;
Annual operations;
Airframe hours;
Annual hours flown by day/night;
Annual hours flown by weather conditions;
Lifetime airframe hours;
Fuel consumption;
Avionics equipment;
Participation in fractional ownership.
In addition, information relative to aircraft aging, gear type, and the airworthiness certificate are developed from the survey.
Examples of specific uses of the survey statistics include:
General aviation active aircraft and hours flown are the primary exposure measures used throughout the agency in assessing the safety status of general aviation flying and in determining the impact of general aviation on the National Airspace System.
The agency and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) use the exposure data, both by itself and in conjunction with aircraft age, to calculate accident rates, which are used to compare safety over time and safety performance among different aircraft types and configurations.
The agency and the NTSB will use the exposure data for public use aircraft to calculate accident rates for those aircraft. The NTSB is now required to investigate accidents involving public use aircraft. This is a responsibility assigned by Public Law 103-411.
Lifetime airframe hours are used in aircraft fatigue studies for determining mean time failures and establishing aircraft maintenance cycles.
Hours flown and active aircraft information by type of flying is used for safety analyses, forecasting and planning. The hours flown by day/night and weather conditions are required for safety analyses of these kinds of flying.
Fuel consumption data are used for planning, forecasting and for assessing the effect of the agency’s energy conservation programs.
The state in which aircraft are based is used to determine the geographical dispersion of the fleet and to estimate activity by state. Activity by state is also required to support the FAA, and state and local governments for airport master planning.
Data on avionics capability are used for assessing the ability of the general aviation fleet to use the National Airspace System. The availability of avionics data also allows the FAA to determine at which airports various aircraft can land and in which segments of airspace they can fly. These data are used in assessing the economic impact of proposed regulations on the general aviation fleet.
In addition to the FAA, NTSB, and the Department of Commerce, other organizations in federal, state and local governments, as well as the aviation industry, use the data collected in this survey for many other purposes.
Electronic or Other Technological Data Collection Techniques
In response to the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), the collection may be conducted 100% electronically. Since CY2000, an Internet component has been added. This puts no extra burden on the respondents but, in fact, allows them another option with which to answer the survey. Internet response rates are steadily increasing, and in 2007 was 23%, comprising 49.5% of all completes. The respondents are free to respond by mail instead. The Internet option is open throughout the survey period.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
Reviews of various data systems with FAA and the Departments of Transportation and Energy were conducted to identify possible duplicate or similar data. Reviews of data availability with various institutions in the aviation community, including aviation special interest groups and manufacturers are conducted to identify any duplication of data. Once any duplication is discovered, the data is dropped from the survey.
Burden on Small Businesses
The information collection requirement has been designed to minimize the burden on all respondents. Small business owners who also are general aviation aircraft owners could be sampled in the survey. However, their probability of being sampled and included in the survey is the same as any aircraft owners. This survey imposes no special burden on small business.
Consequences of Less Frequent Reporting
For program evaluation, safety assessment, and accurate forecasting as well as long-range planning, the FAA needs up-to-date aircraft operational as well as avionics information.
Special Circumstances
There are no special circumstances inconsistent with 5 CFR 1320.5(d)(2).
Consultation Outside of the Aircraft
The Notice of Intent to Request Renewal from the Office of Management and Budget of this survey was published in the Federal Register June 19, 2008, vol. 73, no. 119, page 34975. A copy of the announcement is attached. No comments were received.
In the spring of 1998, the FAA initiated the “Safer Skies Agenda”. This program, a partnership with the aviation community, uses a data-driven approach to analyzing aviation accidents in key areas, and recommends specific interventions to reduce General Aviation and commercial (airline) accidents. To address these issues, the “Safer Skies” General Aviation Joint Steering Committee (JSC), comprised of members of the GAC, FAA and NASA, established the General Aviation Data Improvement Team (GADIT). The team is composed of representatives from the NTSB, FAA, and several General Aviation organizations. The GADIT produced their Activity-Data Task Report on June 15, 2001, which recommended improvements to the GA Survey. These included: better definition of Use categories; increase the sample size to improve precision of the estimates; provide better guidance to fixed base operators regarding operational use data; periodically survey all operators within a given Use category to determine special characteristics; periodically survey larger samples of certain aircraft make/models; improve the infrastructure to handle more accurate survey (possibly through incremental; automatic; electronic reporting); and include an option for survey response via the Internet.
Payments
No payments or gifts are given to the respondents.
Confidentiality
Aircraft registration (N-number is used to identify the aircraft; the name and addresses of the aircraft owners are used for mailing. The N-number and owner’s name are contained in the Aircraft Registration Master File, which is available to the public upon request. To increase public support, in the survey cover letter, which is signed by the FAA Administrator, and on the questionnaire itself, it is emphasized that the information obtained in the survey will be used for statistical purposes only and will not be published or released in any form that would reveal specific information reported by an individually identifiable respondent.
At the conclusion of the survey cycle, the forms are stored in a secure storage facility. The contract covering the conduct of the survey requires that the contractor maintain the confidentiality of all survey responses.
11. Sensitive Questions
This information collection does not include any questions of a sensitive nature or that would commonly be considered private.
12. Estimate of Information Collection Burden
Annual Burden Hours
Approximately 39,000 of the sampled aircraft owners respond to the survey. The time for completing the questionnaires averages approximately 20 minutes. Therefore, the average annual reporting burden for the survey is estimated to be:
Total Annual Burden = (39,000 x 20/60) = 13,000 hours
Annual Respondent Cost
Assuming a cost of $45 per hour1, the total annual cost is estimated to be
Total Annual Cost = 13,000 hours x $45.00 per hour = $585,000
Total Respondent Cost Incurred to Collect Information
Other than the 20 minute burden to complete the survey, the respondent will have no additional capital, start-up or maintenance cost associated with completing the survey questionnaire. The information is in existing records maintained for other purposes such as the aircraft logbooks.
Cost Estimate
The estimated costs to the Federal Government are as follows:
Item Amount
Direct Labor
Project Manager: $82,079
Task Team Leader: $234,409
Planning Analyst 1: $2,354
Data Collection Coordinator: $94,813
Analyst: $17,708
Support Staff (1): $938
Support Staff (2): $938
Total Direct Labor $433,239
Other Direct Costs
Materials/Supplies: $362
Subcontractors: $72,065
Employment Agency Labor: $22,658
Travel and Related Costs: $ 7,903
Other Direct Cost Total $102,988
Total Cost $536,227
Change of Burden
Any increase in the burden is caused only by a re-estimation of the number of respondents. The increase in the size of the survey sample is based largely on improvements recommended by the General Aviation Data Improvement Team (GADIT). The total annual burden of 13,000 hours is an increase of 3,000 hours over the current inventory of 10,000 hours.
Information Collection Schedule
Schedule Completion Date
Internet invitation postcard Mar 2009
First mailout Apr 2009
Second mailout May 2009
Third mailout Jun 2009
Cut-off for returns Aug 2009
Survey data processing and analyses Aug 2009
First Draft of survey final report Sep 2009
Camera-ready copy of survey final report Oct 2009
Printing and distribution Dec 2009
Approval Not to Display Expiration Date
The FAA is not seeking that approval.
Exception to the Certification Statement
There are no exceptions
1 FAA Report Economic Values For FAA Investment And Regulatory Decisions, A Guide, Revised Oct. 3, 2007, Adjusted for inflation
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | GENERAL AVIATION/AIR TAXI ACTIVITY |
| Author | Darryl Bertolucci |
| Last Modified By | Taylor CTR Dahl |
| File Modified | 2008-11-12 |
| File Created | 2008-11-12 |