Not only can Aug. 21, 2017, be remembered as the day of the U.S. solar eclipse, but it can also be remembered as the day the FAA Flight Standards Service (FSS) began operations under a significant realigned structure. Flight Standards transitioned its structure from the geography-based regional structure to a functional structure. The four areas of the functional structure are: Air Carrier Safety Assurance, General Aviation Safety Assurance, Safety Standards, and Foundational Business. The previous or legacy regional structure no longer exists in Flight Standards.

The FAA believes the organizational culture change will enable the FAA to respond to the publics needs with greater agility, efficiency, and consistency. The intent of these changes is to improve their performance in several areas: better accountability to the flying public and stakeholders; improved budget constraints; ability to change readiness to meet the constant stream of new challenges; and better decision-making.

Under the legacy regional system, regulations were sometimes interpreted differently from district to district and this change should reduce the differences. An explanation of the changes is summarized in the online Flight Standard Information Management System (FSIMS). Below the heading of “Active Publications”, select the “Flight Standards Realignment Updates for Industry” or other publications addressing the realignment. Located here is the FSS realignment organizational chart, FAQs, a reference sheet of legacy versus new organization codes and a quick reference sheet of responsibilities. For example, most of our Part 137 operations activities will still be the responsibility of AFS-800 (GA and Commercial Division) and airworthiness topics will be the responsibility of AFS-300 (Aircraft Maintenance Division).