[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 1998)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 26706]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12749]
[[Page 26705]]
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Part V
Department of Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
Federal Aviation Administration
_______________________________________________________________________
14 CFR Part 108
Certification of Screening Companies; Proposed Rule
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 92 / Wednesday, May 13, 1998 /
Proposed Rules
[[Page 26706]]
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Aviation Administration
14 CFR Part 108
[Docket No. 28852; Notice No. 97-3]
RIN 2120-AG31
Certification of Screening Companies
AGENCY: Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). DOT.
ACTION: Advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM); withdrawal.
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SUMMARY: In early 1997, the FAA sought public comment on issues
relating to FAA certification of screening companies and other
enhancements to air carrier screening of passengers, property, and
baggage. The FAA issued the advance notice in response to a
recommendation made by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety
and Security, and to a requirement in the Federal Aviation
Reauthorization Act of 1996. The Reauthorization Act requires the FAA
to certify companies providing security screening and to develop
uniform performance standards for providing security screening
services. The FAA is currently developing, field testing, and
evaluating an automated screener testing system which will provide
uniform data regarding screener performance. The FAA plans to propose
to require performance standards as an integral part of the
certification of screening companies rule, develop and incorporate the
specific standards in a security program, and measure subsequent
company performance based on the data that this system provides.
Therefore, the FAA is withdrawing the ANPRM to allow this automated
system to be adequately field tested and evaluated before proceeding
with rulemaking.
DATES: This withdrawal is effective May 13, 1998.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Kris Mason, Office of Civil
Aviation Security Policy and Planning, ACP-100, Federal Aviation
Administration, 800 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 20591,
telephone (202) 267-8184.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Following the tragic cash of TWA 800 on July 17, 1996, the
President created the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and
Security (the Commission). The Commission issued an initial report on
September 9, 1996, with 20 specific recommendations for improving
security, one of which was the development of uniform performance
standards for the selection, training, certification, and
recertification of screening companies and their employees.
On October 9, 1996, the President signed the Federal Aviation
Reauthorization Act of 1996, Pub. L. 104-264 (the Act). Section 302
provides:
The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration is
directed to certify companies providing security screening and to
improve the training and testing of security screeners through
development of uniform performance standards for providing security
screening services.
Discussion of Comments
In response to the Congressional mandate and to the Commission
report, the FAA published an ANPRM on March 17, 1997, (62 FR 12724)
requesting comments on certification of companies providing security
screening. The FAA received 20 comments from the public on the ANPRM,
which are briefly summarized below.
While commenters disagreed on several issues, including the level
of oversight responsibility air carriers should have over certificated
screening companies, commenters generally agreed that national
standards for security screening operations are needed. Approximately
one-third of the commenters stated that certification of individual
screeners would have a greater impact on improving safety than
certification of screening companies. Most of these commenters also
stated that the certification of individual screeners would improve
screener professionalism and performance.
Approximately half of the commenters agreed that air carriers
conducting screening operations should be subject to the same standards
as certificated screening companies. A majority of commenters stated
that the same screening operation requirements that apply to U.S.
carriers should apply to foreign carriers providing services in this
country. Several commenters disagreed with any proposal by the FAA to
regulate joint-use checkpoints and checkpoint operational
configurations.
Reason for Withdrawal
While certificating companies providing security screening can
result in many important changes to the way that carriers and screening
companies conduct screening in the U.S., a critical step in this
process is having a reliable and consistent way to measure the
screeners' performance. By measuring performance, the FAA can hold
certificated screening companies and carriers accountable for safe,
effective screening operations. Both the FAA and many commenters to the
ANPRM recognize the importance of establishing national performance,
training, and testing standards.
The FAA is currently developing, field testing, and evaluating an
automated screener testing system call Threat Image Projection (TIP)
which is expected to yield uniform data regarding screener performance.
When TIP is installed on existing x-ray machines, it tests screeners'
detection capabilities by projecting both random images of threats into
live bags being screened, and randomly projecting images of bags
containing threats onto x-ray screens. Screeners are then responsible
for positively identifying the threat image. Once prompted, TIP
indicates to the screener whether the threat is real and then records
the screener's performance in a database that the FAA can access to
analyze performance trends.
TIP is currently being field tested, and its reliability and
functional use must be validated prior to general use. The FAA is
closely monitoring TIP's capabilities in an operational environment and
is making necessary adjustments. The FAA is also beginning to gather
and analyze data which it can use to develop screener performance
standards and measure subsequent screening company performance. The FAA
estimates that this validation period will require another 6-8 months
to complete. Because the FAA sees this technology as such an integral
part in developing both a program to certificate screening companies,
and uniform performance standards, it is delaying rulemaking action
until the validation is complete.
Decision
In consideration of the above, Notice No. 97-3, published on March
17, 1997, is hereby withdrawn.
Issued in Washington, DC on May 8, 1998.
Anthony Fainberg,
Director, Office of Civil Aviation Security Policy and Planning.
[FR Doc. 98-12749 Filed 5-11-98; 8:45 am]
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