NASA forms

[TooBad]

Has anyone had to use a NASA form and what did it exactly do for you?

 

[SLagonia]

The ASRS form (NASA form) provides a pilot with immunity from sanctions if they inadvertently violate an FAR. There are conditions - for example the infraction must not have been intentional and may not be the cause of an accident.

The FAA may still begin an enforcement action and obtain a finding against the pilot - but the ASRS filing will prohibit the sanction from being impossed if the indicent fits the definition.

The NASA form must be filed within 10 days of the infraction and may be filed as often as needed - but immunity is only good once in 5 years.

Hope that helps!

Sal
HPN - Westchester NY
[email protected]

 

[Captain4242]

Great explanation Sal. I didn't realize that immunity is only good once every five years.
Only thing I would add for TooBad is that every pilot probably fills one or two of these forms out in a career; I hope you don't think badly of yourself. I also think the FAA really looks at these to find corrections to problems; not only for disciplinary reasons.

 

[midlifeflyer]

I also think the FAA really looks at these to find corrections to problems; not only for disciplinary reasons.

True. One item Sal didn't mention is that when you file these, it is done anonymously - NASA doesn't keep track of who sent them - you fill out a return address slip that gets separated from the rest of the form and sent back to you. So, unless you make a mistake and identify yourself in the form, it's hard to sue them for disciplinary reasons to begin with.

If you want to see what NASA does with this stuff, head on over to http://asrs.arc.nasa.gov/main_nf.htm and browse around; especially around the database report sets.

It really =is= a safety program. The sanction immunity and other features of the program are there so that pilots, controllers, etc won't be worried about reporting things that can affect safety.