Emergency Clearance Justification Letter

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		Aerospace Human Factors Research Division (AAM-500) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd. Oklahoma City, OK 73125

September 12, 2008

Taylor Dahl

AES-200

Orville Wright Bldg. (FOB10A)
FAA National Headquarters
800 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC
20591

Dear Taylor,

The attached Emergency Request for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission is necessary to meet the requirements of a Congressional Directive in the 2008 Omnibus Funding Act signed into law by the President in January. The Act requires the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute to conduct a series of studies investigating Flight Attendant Fatigue. This application covers a required field study. Reports of the study series are required to the Congress by December 31, 2009, following review by FAA, DOT, Executive Board, and the OMB. Approval by OMB of this study is required by September 26th. Each day of delay after that is lost to the process of review prior to provision of the report to Congress.

Documentation required to complete this submission could not be completed until this week for the field study. FAA personnel had to put in place a cooperative agreement with a non-profit organization, negotiate a data collection protocol, submit it for Institutional Review Board approval, and work with the airlines and flight attendant unions to identify how volunteers would be recruited. Subjecting this study to the normal OMB approval timeline would ensure we will not meet the Congressional deadline.

Sincerely,

Thomas R. Chidester, Ph.D.

Manager, AAM-500