Air Safety Concerns in Congress

House Committee on Science and Technology Committee Members to NASA: Public Has a Right to See U.S. Air Safety Survey Data, House Science Committee

“Chairman Gordon and other Members called on NASA to release the data claiming the public has a right to know about the safety of travel in the nation’s skies. Administrator Griffin announced at today’s hearing that NASA would release the NOAMS data, reversing NASA’s earlier stance. Several questions regarding the specifics of the release still remain, however, and the Committee plans to follow up with NASA to make sure the data is made publicly available in a timely manner.”

NASA to release pilot survey – Hall urges balance of transparency and confidentiality, House Science Committee Republicans

“Today, Griffin agreed to release the data, once it is appropriately “scrubbed” to protect the anonymity of the pilots who were surveyed. He also expressed his regret for the language NASA used in responding the FOIA request, saying, “I regret any impression that NASA was in any way trying to put commercial interests ahead of public safety. That was not and never will be the case.”

NASA to Release Disputed Data, NY Times

“The administrator of NASA told a Congressional hearing today that his agency would soon release data from tens of thousands of interviews with pilots about safety issues, information that NASA previously said could damage the airline industry. But at the hearing, the administrator, Michael Griffin, and the surveys designers disagreed so deeply about the purpose of the survey and the usefulness of its information that they barely sounded as if they were talking about the same project.”