The survey covers aircraft used for
general aviation as well as commuter air carriers and on-demand air
taxis. Operators voluntarily provide information to the FAA. 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 IFR/IFR
flight plans; • 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.. • 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.
US Code:
49
USC 329 Name of Law: Transportation information
US Code: 49
USC 44501 Name of Law: Plans and Policy
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.