SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Notice Updates

This Notice update includes substantive and non-substantive changes to the previously published Notice. The substantive changes include updates to purpose, categories of individuals, categories of records, record source categories, routine uses of records, retention and disposal of records, and the administrative, technical and physical safeguards which are new to this Notice.

Non-substantive changes have been made to system manager, storage of records, retrieval of records, record access procedures, contesting record procedures and notification procedures.

Background

In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a, the Department of Transportation (DOT)/Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes to update and reissue a DOT Privacy Act System of Records currently titled, “DOT/FAA 828 Physiological Training System.”

This Notice covers records related to the management of physiological and post-crash survival training, inclusive of determining eligibility and enrolling students in training. A “student” is described as follows: individuals such as pilots, flight engineers, technicians, parachutists, aviation medical examiners, physicians, and private individuals with a requirement ( i.e. regulation or FAA orders) or desire to ( printed page 48221) participate in either of the training courses described below.

There are two main training courses, physiological training and post-crash survival training, covered in this Notice. Under Code of Federal Regulations, Title 14, Part 61.31 (g)(1-3), pilots in command of a pressurized aircraft flying above 25,000 feet must receive physiological training from an authorized instructor who certifies that the individual has satisfactorily completed the training. Under FAA Order 4040.9E, FAA Order 4040.26C and Aircraft Certification Service (AIR)'s Flight Test Operations Manual (FTOM) (Chapter 5 Tables 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3), qualified flight test crew members have a requirement for physiological and survival training.

Physiological training provides educational information and experience in the effects pertaining to the human body. Specifically, aerospace physiology relates to the effects of altitude experienced during flight with a primary focus on hypoxia as a problem that results from reduced barometric pressure limiting the availability of oxygen. To complete physiological training, a student must have a current FAA Class 1, 2 or 3 Aviation Medical or BasicMed Certificate to be allowed to enter a reduced oxygen environment to experience hypoxia. Students who do not possess the medical qualification may attend the training and receive academic information; however, these students cannot participate in the hypoxia exercise. Included in this training is spatial disorientation training, which provides educational information and experience in the effects of loss of situational awareness. Specifically, spatial disorientation relates to the effects of disorientation as it occurs in flight with a focus on illusions that can result in loss of aircraft control. To complete spatial disorientation training, a student must be a pilot or student pilot. Students who do not meet that requirement can attend the training and receive academic information; however, these students cannot participate in spatial disorientation demonstrations.

Post-crash survival training provides educational information and experience regarding the tools and skills needed to stay alive. Specifically, post-crash survival training prepares aircrew for a survival situation resulting from an accident. To complete post-crash survival training, a student must be 18 years of age or older. Students that do not meet that requirement may attend the training and receive academic information; however, these students cannot participate in any dynamic training.

Students provide personal information to enroll in the desired training course which includes name, date of birth, phone number, email address, mailing address and point of contact. Additional information collected for the physiological training course on the day of consists of responses from students on their medical history ( i.e., medications, nasal congestion, ear infections, upset stomach, hospitalizations, blood donations, altitude sickness, surgeries) which helps in the determination of whether the student can participate in the hypoxia exercise.

The FAA does not maintain training files for these students, nor does it track their certificates. The agency provides the training and a course certificate to the students for them to track their training or provide to their employers. Information related to completion of the training courses is retained in the system to allow for reprinting of a course certificate should the original be lost/a duplicate be needed.

The FAA is updating this existing Notice to make the following substantive changes:

1. Purpose: This Notice updates the purpose to better reflect the different uses of the system. One of these uses includes the eligibility and enrollment of students to attend the physiological or post-crash survival training course conducted at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute (CAMI) in Oklahoma City, OK.

2. Categories of Individuals: This Notice updates the categories of individuals to expand the coverage from certificated airmen to FAA employees/contractors to include non-FAA individuals including pilots, flight engineers, technicians, parachutists, aviation medical examiners, physicians, and private individuals (collectively defined as students) with a requirement or desire to participate in the physiological or post-crash survival training course.

3. Categories of Records: This Notice updates the categories of records to include data elements captured to determine eligibility and to enroll students in the physiological or post-crash survival training program. Any reference to monetary funds were deleted from this Notice as these records are no longer required due to a change in the scope of the program. Payment is no longer required to attend these training programs.

4. Record Source Categories: This Notice updates the record source categories to clarify that covered individuals are the students who are registered and approved for the physiological or post-crash survival training program. Additional records sources include the people coordinating the training on behalf of the students, such as employers, college/university faculty, etc.

5. Routine Uses of Records: The Notice updates the routine uses to include the Department of Transportation's general routine uses applicable to this Notice as they were previously only incorporated by reference. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum A-108 recommends that agencies include all routine uses in one notice rather than incorporating general routine uses by reference. Therefore, the Department is replacing the statement in DOT/FAA 828 that referenced the “Prefatory Statement of General Routine Uses” with the general routine uses that apply to this system of records. The reference to transferring of training funds is removed as payment is no longer required for training. Additional references to determining individual training qualifications and maintaining records of training completion are removed as they are purposes of the system and do not constitute actual sharing of records with an individual or entity.

6. Retention and Disposal of Records: This Notice updates the retention section to reflect that a new records schedule is being drafted for this system. The retention period for the records is still to be determined. The FAA will maintain these records indefinitely until the new schedule is approved by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).

7. Administrative, Technical and Physical Safeguards: This Notice adds the administrative, technical and physical safeguards section to identify the current physical access requirements for the data covered under this Notice in an effort to minimize inadvertent release of information to unauthorized personnel. Electronic access is limited to those with an approved password and Personal Identification Verification (PIV) enabled credentials. This section was not required in the previously published Notice.

The FAA is updating this Notice to make the following non-substantive changes:

8. System Manager: This Notice updates the system manager to include current contact information for the system.

9. Storage of Records: This Notice updates the records storage to clarify ( printed page 48222) how electronic and hard copy files are maintained, including the description of the physical controls to the data.

10. Retrieval of Records: This Notice updates retrievability to add training year in addition to name, and to remove the location of training as this would not necessarily retrieve records about individuals.

11. Record Access Procedures: This Notice updates the record access procedures to include the redress guidance for students who wish to amend, access, or contest records covered under this Notice.

12. Contesting Record Procedures: This Notice updates the contesting record procedures section to include specific contesting record content guidance to students wishing to do so.

13. Notification Procedure: This Notice updates the notification procedures section to refer the student to the record access procedures section for guidance.

Privacy Act

The Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a) governs the means by which the Federal Government collects, maintains, and uses personally identifiable information (PII) in a System of Records. A “System of Records” is a group of any records under the control of a Federal agency from which information about individuals is retrieved by name or other personal identifier. The Privacy Act requires each agency to publish in the Federal Register a System of Records Notice (SORN) identifying and describing each System of Records the agency maintains, including the purposes for which the agency uses PII in the system, the routine uses for which the agency discloses such information outside the agency, and how individuals to whom a Privacy Act record pertains can exercise their rights under the Privacy Act ( e.g., to determine if the system contains information about them and to contest inaccurate information). In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(r), DOT has provided a report of this system of records to the Office of Management and Budget and to Congress.

SYSTEM NAME AND NUMBER:

Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration, DOT/FAA 828 Physiological Training Records.

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:

Unclassified

SYSTEM LOCATION:

Aeromedical Education Division, AAM-400, FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd., P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125.

SYSTEM MANAGER(S):

Manager, Aeromedical Education Division, AAM-400, FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd., P.O. Box 25082, Oklahoma City, OK 73125; airmanedtraining@faa.gov; (405) 954-4837.

AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:

49 U.S.C. 44703 and 14 CFR 61.31(g)(1-2).

PURPOSE(S) OF THE SYSTEM:

The three-fold purpose of the system is as follows: (1) Determine eligibility and enroll students who seek to participate in physiological or post-crash survival training; (2) Identify and maintain appropriate documentation on students who participated in physiological or post-crash survival training; and 93) Generate course completion certificates for students.

CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:

FAA employees/contractors as well as non-FAA students.

CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:

Records necessary to establish the eligibility of students to receive physiological or post-crash survival training and provide proper evidence of training that has been completed. Personal information collected on students includes name, date of birth, age, height, weight, citizenship, mailing address, phone number, email address, medical questions/history (with brief explanations for “Yes” responses), FAA medical certificate number and date, and signature. Employment/training related information collected on students includes classification of student, FAA organizational affiliation, duty routing symbol, company name, flight crew position, number of flight hours and prior number of chamber experiences. Other data collected includes point of contact, BasicMed physician's name and medical certificate examiner's designation number or form control number.

RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:

Students who are registering for the physiological or post-crash survival training program, and people coordinating the training for the students, such as employers and college/university faculty.

ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:

In addition to those disclosures generally permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552a(b) of the Privacy Act, all or a portion of the records or information contained in this system may be disclosed outside of DOT/FAA as a routine use pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(b)(3) as follows:

1. In the event that a system of records maintained by DOT to carry out its functions indicates a violation or potential violation of law, whether civil, criminal or regulatory in nature, and whether arising by general statute or particular program pursuant thereto, the relevant records in the system of records may be referred, as a routine use, to the appropriate agency, whether Federal, State, local or foreign, charged with the responsibility of investigating or prosecuting such violation or charged with enforcing or implementing the statute, or rule, regulation, or order issued pursuant thereto.

2. A record from this system of records may be disclosed, as a routine use, to a Federal, State, or local agency maintaining civil, criminal, or other relevant enforcement information or other pertinent information, such as current licenses, if necessary to obtain information relevant to a DOT decision concerning the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant or other benefit.

3. A record from this system of records may be disclosed, as a routine use, to a Federal agency, in response to its request, in connection with the hiring or retention of an employee, the issuance of a security clearance, the reporting of an investigation of an employee, the letting of a contract, or the issuance of a license, grant, or other benefit by the requesting agency, to the extent that the information is relevant and necessary to the requesting agency's decision on the matter.

4a. Routine Use for Disclosure for Use in Litigation. It shall be a routine use of the records in this system of records to disclose them to the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting litigation when (a) DOT, or any agency thereof, or (b) Any employee of DOT or any agency thereof, in his/her official capacity, or (c) Any employee of DOT or any agency thereof, in his/her individual capacity where the Department of Justice has agreed to represent the employee, or (d) The United States or any agency thereof, where DOT determines that litigation is likely to affect the United States, is a ( printed page 48223) party to litigation or has an interest in such litigation, and the use of such records by the Department of Justice or other Federal agency conducting the litigation is deemed by DOT to be relevant and necessary in the litigation, provided, however, that in each case, DOT determines that disclosure of the records in the litigation is a use of the information contained in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

4b. Routine Use for Agency Disclosure in Other Proceedings. It shall be a routine use of records in this system to disclose them in proceedings before any court or adjudicative or administrative body before which DOT or any agency thereof, appears, when (a) DOT, or any agency thereof, or (b) Any employee of DOT or any agency thereof in his/her official capacity, or (c) Any employee of DOT or any agency thereof in his/her individual capacity where DOT has agreed to represent the employee, or (d) The United States or any agency thereof, where DOT determines that the proceeding is likely to affect the United States, is a party to the proceeding or has an interest in such proceeding, and DOT determines that use of such records is relevant and necessary in the proceeding, provided, however, that in each case, DOT determines that disclosure of the records in the proceeding is a use of the information contained in the records that is compatible with the purpose for which the records were collected.

5. The information contained in this system of records will be disclosed to the Office of Management and Budget in connection with the review of private relief legislation as set forth in OMB Circular No. A-19 at any stage of the legislative coordination and clearance process as set forth in that Circular.

6. Disclosure may be made to a Congressional office from the record of an individual in response to an inquiry from the Congressional office made at the request of that individual. In such cases, however, the Congressional office does not have greater rights to records than the individual. Thus, the disclosure may be withheld from delivery to the individual where the file contains investigative or actual information or other materials which are being used, or are expected to be used, to support prosecution or fines against the individual for violations of a statute, or of regulations of the Department based on statutory authority. No such limitations apply to records requested for Congressional oversight or legislative purposes; release is authorized under 49 CFR 10.35(a)(9).

7. One or more records from a system of records may be disclosed routinely to the National Archives and Records Administration in records management inspections being conducted under the authority of 44 U.S.C. 2904 and 2906.

8a. To appropriate agencies, entities, and persons when (1) DOT suspects or has confirmed that there has been a breach of the system of records; (2) DOT has determined that as a result of the suspected or confirmed breach there is a risk of harm to individuals, DOT (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security; and (3) the disclosure made to such agencies, entities, and persons is reasonably necessary to assist in connection with DOT's efforts to respond to the suspected or confirmed breach or to prevent, minimize, or remedy such harm.

8b. To another Federal agency or Federal entity, when DOT determines that information from this system of records is reasonably necessary to assist the recipient agency or entity in (1) responding to a suspected or confirmed breach or (2) preventing, minimizing, or remedying the risk of harm to individuals, the recipient agency or entity (including its information systems, programs, and operations), the Federal Government, or national security, resulting from a suspected or confirmed breach.

9. DOT may disclose records from this system, as a routine use, to the Office of Government Information Services for the purpose of (a) resolving disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal agencies and (b) reviewing agencies' policies, procedures, and compliance in order to recommend policy changes to Congress and the President.

10. DOT may disclose records from this system, as a routine use, to contractors and their agents, experts, consultants, and others performing or working on a contract, service, cooperative agreement, or other assignment for DOT, when necessary to accomplish an agency function related to this system of records.

11. DOT may disclose records from this system, as a routine use, to an agency, organization, or individual for the purpose of performing audit or oversight operations related to this system of records, but only such records as are necessary and relevant to the audit or oversight activity. This routine use does not apply to intra-agency sharing authorized under section (b)(1) of the Privacy Act.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORAGE OF RECORDS:

Data required to enroll, establish eligibility, manage and provide evidence of training is maintained in an electronic database. Records are also maintained in hard copy within a filing cabinet with restricted access.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETRIEVAL OF RECORDS:

Records are retrieved by training year and last name.

POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR RETENTION AND DISPOSAL OF RECORDS:

A new retention schedule is being drafted for these records. The records will be maintained indefinitely until NARA approves the new schedule.

ADMINISTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, AND PHYSICAL SAFEGUARDS:

The data is password protected and limited to approved personnel in the Aeromedical

Education Division. The supervising official of the physiological training program updates passwords every 30 days in an effort to mitigate unauthorized access to the system. All FAA computers are controlled by FAA group policy, which forces the computer to lock down after 15 minutes of inactivity. Only an authorized user can restore access. The electronic data is protected behind a firewall in an FAA (Office of Information Technology) Enterprise Data Center. Access is limited to those with password and PIV enabled credentials. Additionally, hard copy files are maintained in a filing cabinet with restricted access.

RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:

Individuals seeking notification of whether this system of records contains information about them may contact the System Manager at the address provided in the section “System Manager.” When seeking records about yourself from this system of records or any other Departmental system of records, your request must conform to the Privacy Act regulations set forth in 49 CFR part 10. You must sign your request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarization. If your request is seeking records pertaining to another living individual, you must include a statement from that individual certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.

CONTESTING RECORDS PROCEDURES:

Individuals seeking to contest the content of any record pertaining to him ( printed page 48224) or her in the system of records may contact the System Manager and follow the Privacy Act procedures in 49 CFR part 10, subpart E, Correction of Records. You must sign your request, and your signature must either be notarized or submitted in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746, a law that permits statements to be made under penalty of perjury as a substitute for notarization. If your request contests the content of records pertaining to another living individual, you must include a statement from that individual certifying his/her agreement for you to access his/her records.

NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES:

See “Record Access Procedures” above.

EXEMPTIONS PROMULGATED FOR THE SYSTEM:

No exemptions claimed.

HISTORY:

A full notice of this system of records, DOT/FAA 828 Physiological Training Records, was published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19524).

91 FR 48220