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Safety First

While on-time departures are helpful for United's business initiatives, they are not an excuse for a violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). We do not allow violations such as passenger boarding without FAA minimums onboard the aircraft or Customer Service closing aircraft doors before FAA requirements are met.

Everyday it's important that we practice safety and security procedures as if it's the day of CQ.  It's critical that we enforce FAR's that require specific actions on our part such as FAR 121.39l(d), which states that during taxi, flights attendants must remain at their jumpseats "with safety belts and shoulder harnesses fastened, except to perform duties related to the safety of the airplane and its occupants." This FAR is addressed in the FAOM.  Be aware that taking meal orders, setting up the galley for inflight service or standing in the galley and chatting with other crewmembers about non-safety related duties are all activities that violate this regulation. To avoid a non-compliance situation, once the safety demo is finished, complete the required cabin check, take your assigned jumpseat and fasten your seatbelt.

We are all aware of the dangers of turbulence.  During the flight each of us is charged with making a visual inspection to ensure every passenger's seat belt is fastened, every time the seatbelt sign is illuminated, except during turbulence that requires Flight Attendants to be seated. The responsibility for checking hundreds of seatbelts should be shared among the entire crew to expedite and lighten the amount of work involved. If a passenger is out of their seat when the seatbelt sign is on, we do have a responsibility to challenge them, reminding them that the seatbelt sign is illuminated.  Don't use the phrase "you're up at your own risk," as it implies permission and a shift in liability that is not accurate. While checking for compliance with seatbelts, make sure that child restraints are also FAA approved and check your FAOM for specific information. There is recognition by regulatory agencies that some human conditions merit a more forgiving treatment.  We can and should continue to handle the elderly, children, and personal health emergencies with a little more leniency, as the situation requires.

At the end of both terminating and through flights, FARs require that Flight Attendants remain on board until passenger deplaning is complete, including passengers requiring a wheelchair or other special handling needs. The only exception to this is if there are more than the FAA minimum crew and those above minimum must leave to work an outbound flight. This regulation is detailed in your FAOM.

In the event that we are not in compliance with any FAR, every crewmember involved should file an OSAP report detailing the circumstances that led to the violation. Find the link to online OSAP reports in the Safety section of our website or on our Useful websites page.

Onboard Safety Action Program (OSAP)

The purpose of OSAP is to improve safety through the prevention of accidents and incidents by encouraging Flight Attendants to voluntarily report safety issues and events that will help everyone involved identify and correct specific problems.

While it may seem completely out of the ordinary to be encouraging our Members to report a violation that would normally invoke a disciplinary response, both the FAA and the airlines provide protection from discipline for reports accepted into the program because of the value of the information to address safety issues. For reports of an apparent violation of Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs), the Flight Attendant may receive a Letter of Correction or Warning Notice from the FAA, but this does not constitute a finding of a violation. The FAA will hold the correspondence in their files for a period of two years; nothing will be placed in the Flight Attendant's personnel file. Additionally, United Airlines will not take any punitive action upon the employee based on the good faith reporting of a safety incident.

There are five exclusions to the immunity rules. The reported event must not appear to involve criminal activity, substance abuse, controlled substances, alcohol, or intentional falsification.

This type of non-punitive safety reporting system has been very effective in addressing and improving issues in our workplace.  Other divisions in our airline, such as Flight Ops, Maintenance, Dispatch and Airport Operations have similar programs.

Keep in mind that a Flight Attendant observing a safety-related event completes a report form within 24 hours after the completion of a Domestic ID, or 48 hours after the completion of an International ID or 24 hours after becoming aware of a possible violation and submits it to the OSAP manager. The manager then removes the employee name from the report and forwards it to an Event Review Committee (ERC) consisting of one representative from each OSAP party, the FAA, UA, and AFA, who will review the de-identified report and will decide together what action, if any, should be taken. The OSAP manager then follows through to ensure the recommended corrective actions are complied with. The manager will serve as the point of contact for inquiries concerning the status of report.

Another benefit that was sought by AFA and adopted by OSAP is that when a Flight Attendant makes a report, it will be forwarded to the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). The ASRS collects, analyzes, and responds to voluntarily submitted aviation safety incident reports in order to lessen the likelihood of aviation accidents. ASRS data is used to:

• Identify deficiencies and discrepancies industry-wide so that these inconsistencies can be remedied by appropriate authorities.
• Support policy formulation by planning for improvements industry-wide.
• Strengthen the foundation of aviation human factors safety research. This is particularly important since it is generally conceded that over two-thirds of all aviation accidents and incidents have their roots in human performance errors.

Reports submitted to NASA ASRS are only for safety analysis and cannot be used for any other purpose. You can find the link to online OSAP reports in the Safety section of our website or on our Useful websites page.

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