Falsification, Reproduction, Alteration, Omission, or Incorrect Statements

The Aerospace Industries Association of Brazil (AIAB) supports the FAA proposal for a standardized and general approach against fraudulent and intentionally false reporting and knowing material omissions. Regarding proposed section 3.405, AIAB is concerned that the rule could lead to an unintentional degradation of the safety sharing and transparency culture in some regulated environments. Indeed, the discussion in NPRM is limited to the revocation of a certificate (or similar action and document) for an individual person as a result of an incorrect statement or information, since this incorrect information could represent a lack of a required qualification. However, for other scenarios, not debated in NPRM, an "unknowing" incorrect statement or "unknowing" omission does not represent, necessarily, an unsafe condition (e.g., design, manufacturing, and maintenance environments). It is also important to notice that, in the case of an unsafe condition, where there are already regulatory tools to address and correct the information and product, opening the possibility of a sanction to an issued certificate or approval is contradictory to the safety philosophy behind SMS regulations, Voluntary Disclosure Reporting Program, and other FAA programs, and could result in a reduction in sharing of safety information by the creation a fear of punishment environment. Therefore, we suggest limiting the 3.405 applicability to personnel qualification requirements, as debated in the NPRM, and promoting a comprehensive impact assessment of potential regulatory impacts before expanding the scope of 3.405