FAA Gives Panama IASA Rating of Category 2

WASHINGTON- The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) today announced
that Panama does not comply with
international safety standards set by
the International Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO), giving the country
a Category 2 rating following a
reassessment of the country's civil
aviation authrity. Panama was previously
rated Category 1.

The government of Panama has indicated
its desire to correct the issues
identified as a result of the FAA
reassessment. The FAA will continue to
remain engaged with the civil aviation
authority of Panama and will
periodically review the situation.

This announcement is part of the FAA's
International Aviation Safety Assessment
(IASA) program, under which the agency
assesses the civil aviation authorities
of all countries with air carriers that
operate to the U.S., and makes that
information available to the public.

The assessments are not an indication of
whether individual foreign carriers are
safe or unsafe. Rather, they determine
whether or not foreign civil aviation
authorities are meeting ICAO safety
standards, not FAA regulations.

Countries with air carriers that fly to
the U.S. must adhere to the safety
standards of ICAO, the United Nations'
technical agency for aviation that
establishes international standards and
recommended practices for aircraft
operations and maintenance.

The FAA, with the cooperation of the
host civil aviation authority, assesses
countries with airlines that have
operating rights to or from the U.S., or
have requested such rights.

Specifically, the FAA determines whether
a foreign civil aviation authority has
an adequate infrastructure for
international aviation safety oversight
as defined by ICAO standards. The basic
elements that the FAA considers
necessary include: 1) laws enabling the
appropriate government office to adopt
regulations necessary to meet the
minimum requirements of ICAO; 2) current
regulations that meet those
requirements; 3) procedures to carry
out the regulatory requirements; 4) air
carrier certification, routine
inspection, and surveillance programs,
and 5) organizational and personnel
resources to implement and enforce the
above.

The FAA has established two ratings for
the status of these civil aviation
authorities at the time of the
assessment: (1) does comply with ICAO
standards, (2) does not comply with ICAO
standards.

·Category 1, Does Comply with ICAO
Standards: A civil aviation authority
has been assessed by FAA inspectors and
has been found to license and oversee
air carriers in accordance with ICAO
aviation safety standards.

·Category 2. Does Not Comply with ICAO
Standards: The FAA assessed this
country's civil aviation authority (CAA)
and determined that it does not provide
safety oversight of its air carrier
operators in accordance with the
minimum safety oversight standards
established by ICAO. This rating is
applied if one or more of the following
deficiencies are identified: (1) the
country lacks laws or regulations
necessary to support the certification
and oversight of air carriers in
accordance with minimum international
standards; (2) the CAA lacks the
technical expertise, resources, and
organization to license or oversee air
carrier operations; (3) the CAA does not
have adequately trained and qualified
technical personnel; (4) the CAA does
not provide adequate inspector guidance
to ensure enforcement of, and compliance
with, minimum international standards;
and (5) the CAA has insufficient
documentation and records of
certification and inadequate continuing
oversight and surveillance of air
carrier operations. This category
consists of two groups of countries.

·One group is countries that have air
carriers with existing operations to the
U.S. at the time of the assessment.
While in Category 2 status, carriers
from these countries will be permitted
to continue operations at current levels
under heightened FAA surveillance.
Expansion or changes in services to the
U.S. by such carriers are not permitted
while in Category 2, although new
services will be permitted if operated
using aircraft wet-leased from a duly
authorized and properly supervised U.S.
carrier or a foreign air carrier from a
category 1 country that is authorized to
serve the United States using its own
aircraft.

·The second group is countries that do
not have air carriers with existing
operations to the U.S. at the time of
the assessment. Carriers from these
countries will not be permitted to
commence service to the U.S. while in
Category 2 status, although they may
conduct services if operated using
aircraft wet-leased from a duly
authorized and properly supervised U.S.
carrier or a foreign air carrier from a
Category 1 country that is authorized to
serve the U.S. with its own aircraft.

No other difference is made between
these two groups of countries while in a
Category 2 status.

The FAA has assisted civil aviation
authorities with less than acceptable
ratings by providing technical
expertise, assistance with inspections,
and training courses. The FAA hopes to
work with other countries through ICAO
to address non-compliance with
international aviation safety oversight
standards.

The FAA will continue to release the
results of safety assessments to the
public as they are completed. First
announced in September 1994, the ratings
are part of an ongoing FAA program to
assess all countries with air carriers
that operate to the U.S.