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FROM THE FAA It's Easy, Just Change The Rule The repercussions of changing rules can be like either a ripple or a tsunami, the effects felt throughout many industries and lives, not just aviation. I By Stephen M. Carbone n conversations with mechanics, pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight atten- dants, I think the six words I hear most often are, "It's easy, just change the rule." Barney and Andy said it down at Floyd's barber shop and … well, maybe not Andy, but Barney was raising cane and threatening to get out his bullet. Go get Thelma-Lou! But all these folks have the same opinion for sav- ing the world of aviation as we know it: just change rules. To change rules (or regulations) takes an act(ion) of Congress, specifically Title 5 pub- lished by the Office of Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. The FAA, cussions of changing rules can be like either a ripple or a tsunami, the effects felt throughout many industries and lives, not just aviation. Rule adjustment vs. change A recommendation may initiate a rule Considering how slow the wheels of government turn, the changing of a rule isn't a simple matter. adjustment, because not all recommendations rise to rule changes. Most recommendations can be satisfied through other methods, e.g. policy revisions, which are handled internally and meted out to offending certificates with- out affecting everyone else; regional proce- dural modifications can funnel surveillance to saturate a certificate for a local problem. What about statute (law) changes? If the NTSB rec- ommends a statute change, the FAA can't help; only the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government can change statutes. The U.S. Congress assigns rulemaking a branch of the Department of Transportation, gets our marching orders from Congress, who provides funding. Considering how slow the wheels of government turn, the changing of a rule isn't a simple matter. I asked Kim Barnette of AFS-300: what's the price tag to change a rule? It depends on the change; it could take three years and cost $200,000 or two years costing $2,000,000. Complex rulemaking may take many years before completion. Recent events raise the will of government agencies, advocacy groups, and accident vic- tims' families into the headlines; their initia- tives are personal, the importance unquestion- able, and their agendas are to honor those lost; I won't trivialize their motives. But the reper- 30 September 2011 to the FAA, who gathers the professional resources vital to making rule changes, e.g. in FAA Order 1110.139B, which focuses on performance-based rulemaking; changing rules to meet assumed needs. So how does a rule get changed? Let's reference Title 5, Part 1, Chapter 5, subchapter III: the FAA (being a government agency) may "establish a rule- making committee to negotiate and develop a proposed rule." A rule change begins its life as a focus group. In its infancy, a change requires subject matter experts (SME) to study that change's cause and effect, analyze costs to the industry, legal ramifications to all involved (especially the flying public), and if the rule change will continue to be effective down line a few years. Analyzing the cost Now everyone in this industry lives in or near a place known as Beancounterville: all of us account for each action accomplished. Aircraft Maintenance Technology • www.AMTonline.com • www.AMTSociety.org