Operational Safety Inspections of Public Use Airports

(FAA Program CFDA#None)

Internal Audit Practice Aid

Program Description

Operational Safety Inspections of Public Use Airports is a Federal Program through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Safety Inspections of Public Use Airports are referred to as 5010 Inspections.These5010 inspections of public use airports are conducted by State Transportation Agencies (STAs) on behalf of FAA to ensure public airports are maintained and inspected appropriately. Additionally, many STAs also perform anSTA comprehensive inspection to verify all landing facilities at public use airports are certified by the STA. The inspections are conducted by Flight Safety Coordinators (FSCs). During an inspection FSCs review items such as runways, taxiways and ramps, fuel types, repairs and other services, radio frequencies, flight schedules, wind indicators, the accuracy of declared distances as well as gather information regarding the types of aircraft serviced such as single engine, multi-engine, jet, helicopter, gliders, military and ultra-light. Airport lights are reviewed to ensure they are in working order or in the correct color. This includes all lighting such as approach, visual approach slope indicator, end or runway indicator, centerline lights, threshold lights, runway edge lights, runway lead off taxi lights and taxiway lights. Signs are reviewed to verify whether they are broken or faded. FSCSs ensure that the areas around the landing areas are properly mowed and maintained. Other items reviewed include: windsocks, approaches, pavement quality based upon surface type and condition, pavement and runway markings are appropriate and in good condition, obstructions and debris or other hazards on and around the runway/approaches including controlling obstructions, height above runway end, distance from runway end and obstruction clearance slope, buildings on and around the landing area perimeter, trees and other hazards, and ensure visual approach slope indicators are functioning properly.Available Flight Service Station information is reviewed. A Flight Service Station is an air traffic facility that provides information and services to aircraft pilots before, during and after flights but unlike air traffic controllers, they are not responsible for giving instructions, clearances or separations. The various services provided might include preflight briefings such as weather and Notices to Airmen, filing, opening and closing of flight plans, monitoring navigational aids, collecting and disseminating pilot records and airport surface weather observations, offering traffic advisories to aircraft on the ground or in flight, relaying instructions or clearances from air traffic control, relaying information from or about airborne aircraft to their home bases, providing weather advisories to aircraft in flight, initiating search and rescue missions on missing aircraft and providing emergency assistance.

In an effort to streamline the inspection process and ensure its uniformity, in 2001 the FAA commissioned GCR Technology Process Solutions (GCR), to develop a system that would re-engineer the collection and transmittal process of airport inspection data from a manual operation of hard copies sent by U.S. Mail or Facsimile to a secured web-based transmittal process. The system is known as the 5010web.com system. It is used by Federal and State inspectors for the inspection of non-air carrier airports. The core record set includes an inventory of over 256 data elements for each of the over 5,340 public-use airports in the United States and its territories. This has increased the timeliness of the reporting of the inspection data. It has also allowed more timely publication of facility directories and pilot flight manuals. GCR is responsible for conducting airport inspections or compensating state aviation agencies for their field inspections. GCR validates all inspections, including those from states, to ensure consistency with FAA standards, and transmits the data electronically to FAA headquarters. The FAA conducts all carrier airport inspections, which are the FAA Part 139 airports. FAA uses CCMIS.net for managing inspections of carrier airports.

Statutes and Regulations

FAA Regulations Part 77

FAA Advisory Circulars

State specific Statutes, Regulations and Procedures

Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA#)

There is no CFDA number related to the payments made by FAA to STAs for conducting Operational Safety Inspections of Public Use Airports.

Scope

The scope of this engagement includes a review of the controls over the Inspection of Public Use Airports (5010 Inspections)and related processes.

Audit Objectives

Objective A: Gain an understanding of the 5010 inspection and a state comprehensive inspection process

Objective B: Ascertain the completion of the 5010 inspections and the state comprehensive inspections

Objective C: Verify Controls over the approval of inspection files were followed

Objective D: Verify the entry of the 5010 inspection form and the state comprehensive inspection form into the applicable systems by Aeronautics staff

Objective E: Confirm Aeronautics staff received notification of FAA payment for 5010 inspections performed

Objective F:Ascertain the receipt of payment by the FAA for 5010 inspections performed

Objective G:Evaluate whether the FAA payments for 5010 inspections performed were properly accounted for in the correct fund

Objective H:Assess Aeronautics qualifications and training requirements for the Flight Safety Coordinators

Audit Program

Objective A: Gain an understanding of the 5010 inspection and a state comprehensive inspection process

Step 1: Observe and document a sample of 5010 inspections and a state comprehensive inspection performed at public use airports.

Objective B: To ascertain the completion of the 5010 inspections and the state comprehensive inspections

Step 1: Obtain the inspection files for inspections performed on landing areas and verify the following:

  1. The state comprehensive inspection forms were completed during the inspection and included any notations necessary and supporting documentation maintained to provide sufficient evidence that all testing was performed of the areas listed in the applicable state comprehensive inspection form.
  1. The state comprehensive inspection form was signed by the Flight Safety Coordinator.
  1. The 5010 inspection formswere completed during the inspection and included any notations necessary and supporting documentation maintained to provide sufficient evidence that all testing was performed of the areas listed below:
  1. General Airport Information- Contact and Ownership Information, Attendance Schedule, Airport Use, Airport Longitude and Latitude, Elevation, Acreage, Right Traffic, Non-Commercial Landing;
  2. Listing of Services Available- This identifies what they have available so it is unique to each airport. Examples include Fuel Types Available, Airplane Repair Services, Bottled Oxygen etc.;
  3. Number Based Aircraft by Type;- Single Engine, Multi-engine, Jet, Helicopters, Gliders, Military, Ultralight;
  4. Facilities-Airport Beacon, Airport Light SKED, Unicom, Wind Indicator, Segmented Circle, Control Tower, Flight Service Station, Flight Service Station on Airport, Flight Service Station Phone Number, Toll Free Number;
  5. Operations- Air Carrier, Air Taxi, General Aviation Local, General Aviation International, Military.
  6. Runway Data- Runway Identification, Length, Width, Surface Type and Condition;
  7. Lighting Approach Aids- Edge Intensity, Runway Mark Type and Condition;
  8. Obstruction Data- Part 77 Category, Displaced Threshold, Controlling Obstruction, Height Above Runway End, Distance from Runway End, Centerline Offset, Obstruction Clearance Slope, Close In Obstruction; and
  9. Declared Distances- Take Off Run Available, Take Off Distance Available, Actual Stop Distance Available and Landing Distance Available.
  1. The 5010 inspection form was signed by the Flight Safety Coordinator.
  1. The inspection file for the applicable landing area contained an airport sketch with updates and changes initialed and dated by the Flight Safety Coordinator.
  1. The inspection file for the applicable landing area contained a completed wildlife management survey.
  1. The inspection file for the applicable landing area contained documentation identifying the deficiencies noted during the inspection which were documented in the Letter of Findings.
  1. The inspection file for the applicable landing area contained documentation identifying the deficiencies which led to the withdrawal of the landing area’s state issued Certificate of Approval, if applicable.

Step 2:Determine whether the Flight Safety Coordinator (FSC) completed the inspection file and Letter of Findings for the applicable landing area in a timely manner.

Objective C: Verify Controls over the approval of inspection files were followed

Step 1:Obtain the inspection files for each applicable landing area and verify management reviewed the file in a timely manner upon receipt from the Flight Safety Coordinator.

Step 2:For the Letter of Findings contained in the inspection file, verify:

  1. The Letter of Findings noted the deficiencies identified during the inspection as documented in the inspection file;
  1. The Letter of Findings was signed by the appropriate party.

Objective D: Verify the entry of the 5010 inspection form and the state comprehensive inspection form into the applicable systems by Aeronautics staff

Step 1:Compare the inspector’s 5010 inspection form for each landing area to the 5010 web system printout for each landing area to verify entry of the inspection results into the 5010 web system.

Step 2:Verify the Airport Certification staff received notification from the 5010 web system administrator (GCS, Inc.) that each 5010 inspection submitted has been deemed complete.

Step 3: Compare the inspector’s state comprehensive inspection form for each landing area to the State generated printout for each landing area to verify entry of the state comprehensive inspection results into the applicable State system.

Objective E: Confirm Aeronautics staff received notification of FAA payment for 5010 inspections performed

Step 1: Obtain the notification Aeronautics staff received from the 5010 web system administrator (GCS, Inc.) detailing the inspections to be paid and the amount of payment for those inspections.

Step 2:Verify Aeronauticsstaff responded to the 5010 web system administrator (GCS, Inc.) confirming the inspections to be paid and the amount of payment for those inspections were correct.

Objective F:Ascertain the receipt of payment by the FAA for 5010 inspections performed

Step 1:Verify the FAA payments for the 5010 inspections were restrictively endorsed by Aeronautics staff.

Step 2:Verify Aeronauticsstaff made a copy of the FAA payment for their files.

Step 3:Confirm the FAA payment received identified the inspections and amount noted in the 5010 web system administrator notification received by Aeronauticsstaff.

Step 4:Verify the Aeronauticsstaff documented the payment received on the 5010 inspection tracking spreadsheet.

Objective G:Evaluate whether the FAA payments for 5010 inspections performed were properly accounted for in the correct fund

Step 1:Verify the FAA payments received for the 5010 inspections are identified in the appropriate State Report.

Step 2:Verify that a copy of the FAA payment was maintained for the State’s records.

Step 3:Obtain verification the FAA payment was logged into the applicable system.

Step 4:Confirm the deposit of the FAA payment was deposited into the appropriate State account

Step 5:Confirm the FAA payment was deposited in a timely manner upon its receipt.

Step 6:Confirm the clearance of the deposit and verify it was for the correct amount.

Step 7: Verify the funds were deposited into the appropriate Fund and were coded properly in the financial accounting system.

Objective H:Assess Aeronautics qualifications and training requirements for the Flight Safety Coordinators

Step 1:Review personnel files and verify the Flight Safety Coordinators meet the following qualifications:

  1. The Flight Safety Coordinatorsare pilots who carry a commercial certificate.
  1. The Flight Safety Coordinators are certified as flight instructors.

c. Flight Safety Coordinators attended the 5010 training camp provided by the FAA at least once every three years.