How could members of the general public come to better understand how well things are going at the FAA Academy? The answer is pretty simple: Ask FAA Academy trainees directly.

What if one wanted to ensure that the responses from those trainees was honest and accurate? Again, the answer is pretty simple: Ask them with a promise of anonymity.

Of course, we operate a tip line at FixFAA.org which can achieve a similar result. But the number of responses we receive is limited by the number of people who choose to participate. Participation bias can be a bit of a problem when it comes to needing objective data. We also do not typically receive tips from academy graduates until after they pass or fail evaluations, which are emotionally charged events no matter the outcome.

Believe it or not, there is a way that we can get a better picture of FAA Academy trainees' compliments and criticisms of the FAA Academy -- if top-level FAA officials would simply get out of the way and let someone do it.

What's this all about, you ask?

A few days ago, we received a tip from a source regarding a position the FAA took in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request submitted by a requestor in late 2017. The requestor wants to see copies of the feedback submitted by FAA Academy trainees -- the feedback collected at the end of training courses at the FAA Academy.

What is interesting about these records is that they are collected before the controversial evaluations of those trainees take place. So, prior to becoming emotionally charged by an evaluation failure, or emotionally relieved by an evaluation pass, these trainees write about their time at the FAA Academy and provide input about what they think needs to be improved.

It would seem that releasing this type of information would be a big step forward for the FAA, whose leadership repeatedly tells Congress that it is a world class government agency with only the best people the civil service has ever known. It is clear, however, that from the FAA's standpoint things aren't always as they seem.

Here is the text of the information the FOIA requestor sought:

A copy of the AES database tables that contain course feedback submissions from FAA Academy trainees in the tower and en-route programs. These tables should include trainees' feedback submissions, as well as the comments by supervisors and instructors pertaining to each entry, from the period of January 1, 2012 to the present.
Here is the FAA's official response:
A records search was conducted in the FAA Academy and a total of 1,844 pages of responsive documents were found. However, pursuant to Exemption #2 of the FOIA, the requested information is privileged from disclosure since it consists of internal Agency documents that are related solely to the formulation of policies and procedures in Federal Aviation Administration employee training. The disclosure of this information to the general public would risk circumvention of agency regulations. Exemption #2 of the FOIA protects from disclosure records that are "related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency."
The FAA's response letter is signed by Michelle Coppedge, the director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, OK, where the FAA Academy is located.

We will keep you updated as this story progresses. We have reached out to the requestor for comment, but did not hear back in time for this story's publication.