SAFO 05003: Flight attendant certification, notification by facsimile (AKA fax) (405-954-4105).

Approved by: AFS-200

SAFOSafety Alert for Operators

U.S. Department SAFO 05003

of Transportation DATE: 10/25/05

Federal Aviation

Administration Flight Standards Service

Washington, DC http://www.faa.gov/other_visit/aviation_industry/airline_operators/airline_safety/safo A SAFO contains important safety information and may include recommended action. SAFO content should be especially valuable to air carriers in meeting their statutory duty to provide service with the highest possible degree of safety in the public interest.

Subject: Flight attendant certification, notification by facsimile (AKA fax) (405-954-4105).

Background: In the fall of 2003, Congress established a flight attendant certification requirement under the Vision 100-Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act (the Act). The Act requires, among other things, that each Director of Operations (DO) of an air carrier using aircraft with 20 passenger seats or more notify the FAA as each flight attendant completes initial training, whereupon a certificate of demonstrated proficiency is automatically awarded to the flight attendant and a wallet-size card is subsequently sent by USPS.

Discussion: As outlined in Flight Standards Information Bulletin for Air Transportation (FSAT 04-07, Flight Attendant Certification) if a flight attendant has not been previously certificated, the DO submits notification to the FAA by entering certain pertinent information through a Web-based interface into the Flight Attendant Certification System database signifying that the individual has successfully completed all requirements of the FAA-approved training program.

There has been one occasion, to date, that the Flight Attendant Certification System database was unavailable for immediate data entry by way of the Web-based interface. In that instance, the FAA accepted notification by way of a fax of the records as a temporary solution. When the database and Web-based entry system were restored, each DO entered the required information, previously sent by fax, into the system in the normal manner.

Although it is unlikely that the database will ever be unavailable for an extended period of time, the FAA will accept a fax as a temporary alternative measure after all attempts to access the Flight Attendant Certification System database have failed. This alternative permits a flight attendant newly trained to be certificated and to begin work without delay. The fax number is (405) 954-4105. If an air carrier is forced to fax a flight attendant’s information because of a temporary system failure, it remains the responsibility of the air carrier to enter the same information electronically once the system is back in normal operation.