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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, yesterday questioned Federal Aviation Administrator (FAA) Acting Administrator Billy Nolen, during a hearing titled “The Federal Aviation Administration’s NOTAM System Failure and its Impacts on a Resilient National Airspace.”
Senator Capito specifically asked about the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system failure that led to a national grounding of aircrafts on Jan. 11, 2023. She also addressed the lack of in-person attendance among FAA employees and asked about the FAA’s anticipated needs for the future.
Following the recent NOTAM system outage that grounded flights nationwide, Senator Capito joined her Senate colleagues Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) to introduce the bipartisan NOTAM Improvement Act to help prevent future FAA system outages. Senator Capito will continue to work with her colleagues to pass this bill in the Senate. More information on the legislation can be found here.
HIGHLIGHTS:
BENEFITS OF NOTAM IMPROVEMENT ACT: “While I know you've been trying to improve the system for years, can you tell us the benefits of having this legislation and assembling these experts with a clear list of objectives and deadlines to give recommendations? Would you address that?”
FAA CYBERSECURITY: “You stated that new protocol requires more than one person to be present when database work occurs. Can you tell us how many contractors have access to the NOTAM system? And does the other person that needs to be present— is that an FAA person? Or could they be a contractor?”
IMPROVING COMMUNICATION: “What is your communications strategy with the FCC on this so we don't run up against another deadline and have another hearing and then everything seems to break down?”
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