Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program

Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) is a voluntary safety program designed to improved aviation safety through the proactive use of flight-recorded data. The purpose is to enable early corrective action for potential threats to safety. 14 CFR 13.401 codifies protection from punitive enforcement action based on FOQA information and requires operators with FAA approved FOQA programs to provide aggregate FOQA data to the FAA. Aggregate FOQA information provided to the FAA is protected from public release under 14 CFR Part 193. Operators will use this data to identify and correct deficiencies in all areas of flight operations. Properly used, FOQA data can reduce or eliminate safety risks, as well as minimize deviations from regulations. Through access to de-identified aggregate FOQA data, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA can identify and analyze national trends and target resources to reduce operational risks in the National Airspace System (NAS), air traffic control (ATC), flight operations and airport operations. The FAA and the air transportation industry have sought additional means for addressing safety problems and identifying potential safety hazards. Based on the experiences of foreign air carriers, the results of several FAA-sponsored studies, and input received from government/industry safety forums, the FAA concluded that wide implementation of FOQA programs could have significant potential to reduce air carrier accident rates below current levels. The value of FOQA programs is the early identification of adverse safety trends, which, if uncorrected, could lead to accidents. A key element in FOQA is the application of corrective action and follow-up to ensure that unsafe conditions are effectively remediated.

The latest form for Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program expires 2023-06-30 and can be found here.

Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) Program - Existing Program Reporting Requirements

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Transportation - Air Transportation