The following in an article published by AOPA detailing the in's and out's of the NASA form (which you can print off of their website at www.aopa.org.
If you inadvertently find yourself in a TCA without a clearance, it would help other pilots, and perhaps controllers as well, if you would confess your mistake to the FAA, explaining exactly how the problem occurred, and how it could be avoided in the future. Most pilots would balk at this advice, fearing that the FAA would respond with a costly order of suspension or civil penalty. The FAA recognized this safety problem, and in 1975, it initiated the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS). The program was created for the purpose of gathering information on deficiencies in aviation operations, and offers anonymity and a form of immunity to pilots who promptly report the circumstances surrounding an "event." NASA was chosen as a third party to collect and analyze the data in order to ensure complete confidentiality of the reporting pilot's identity. To take advantage of the ASRS, a pilot involved in an "event" fills out a NASA form and mails the report to NASA within 10 days after the event. After the NASA report is mailed, the information regarding the potential violation is filed anonymously. The pilot will receive the "identification strip" portion of the form with a NASA filing stamp. This is the only part of the form that discloses the pilot's name and address. The pilot must retain this identification strip, in case the FAA initiates an enforcement action, to prove that he filed the report in a timely manner. We suggest that the report be sent via certified mail, return receipt requested, to provide additional proof of mailing in the event the NASA identification slip is lost in the mail on its way back to the pilot. The timely filing of a NASA report does not, however, completely excuse an FAR violation. Although the FAA has agreed to waive the actual service of the sanction (suspension or civil penalty), it can continue the prosecution of the enforcement action and ultimately seek to have the airman's certificate file documented with a record of the violation. Accordingly, even if a pilot files a NASA report, he or she may still choose to defend against any enforcement action. A NASA form will provide a form of "immunity" to the reporter if the four following conditions are met: The violation was inadvertent and not deliberate. For example, the NTSB has found that low passes over a congested residential area cannot be found to be "inadvertent," and therefore a pilot cannot have his certificate suspension waived under the ASRS (Administrator v. Wood, EA-2633 (1987)). The violation did not involve a criminal offense, accident, or action under Section 609 of the Federal Aviation Act that discloses a lack of qualification or competency, which are wholly excluded from this policy. WARNING! Information concerning a criminal offense will be sent to the Department of Justice and the FAA with the reporter's identification. Information concerning accidents will be sent to the National Transportation Safety Board and to the FAA with the reporter's identification. Pilots should not inform the FAA of their NASA-form defense until the FAA has issued an Order of Suspension or Order of Civil Penalty. The FAA can prevent pilots from using ASRS "immunity" by seeking a revocation action. (An Order of Revocation alleges "a lack of qualification.") The defense should be included in the Answer to the Administrator's Complaint. The person has not been found in any prior FAA enforcement action to have committed a violation of the Federal Aviation Act, or of any regulation promulgated under the act for a period of five years prior to the date of the occurrence. Some pilots mistakenly believe that they can only file a NASA form once every five years. There is no limit on the number of NASA forms that you can file. The only limit is on the number of times you can take advantage of the "immunity" provision. The person proves that, within 10 days after the violation, he or she completed and delivered or mailed a written report of the incident or occurrences to NASA. NASA forms (NASA ARC Form 277) may be obtained from the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting (ASR) Office, P.O. Box 189, Moffett Field, CA 94035; Flight Service Stations, Flight Standards District Offices, and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). Copies of the form are acceptable. Each crewmember must send a separate form. Flight instructors should consider submitting a form if a student encounters an event, even if the instructor was not in the airplane. When filling out a NASA form, describe the event honestly. Pilots should use the NASA form to help other pilots, not merely as a "Get Out of Jail Free" card. In a typical month, more than 2,000 NASA reports will be filed by pilots and controllers. From this information, NASA produces a monthly safety bulletin, Callback, which issues alerts and reports on common problems experienced by pilots and controllers throughout the country. A pilot can be placed on the Callback mailing list by writing to the above NASA ARS address. The sheer number of NASA forms filed every month testifies to the fact that pilots fly in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. There is a rumor going around that a scientist is working on a special carbon/litmus paper to be used in a modernized flight plan form. The paper's carbon element will transfer the information directly to a NASA form. The pilot then "wets" the litmus portion of the form to document that the pilot is drug-free. These forms should be available as soon as the odor problem is solved, or so the rumor goes. Kent S. Jackson is an attorney with the Kansas City, Mo., firm of Cooling & Herbers, P.C., which has extensive experience in aviation law. Mr. Jackson is a member of the Kansas and Missouri Bars and the Lawyer Pilots Bar Association. He is a commercial pilot and an instrument and multi-engine flight instructor. Nasa Form Fundamentals If the event involved an accident or a criminal offense, do not send a NASA form. NASA will forward the information with the reporter's identification to the FAA and/or Justice Department. Send the form within 10 days of the event via certified mail, return receipt requested. NASA will return the identification strip, stamped with the receipt date. Save this. You must be able to prove that you have sent the form within 10 days of the event in order to take advantage of the program. NASA forms may be obtained from NASA ARS, P.O. Box 189, Moffett Field, CA 94035, Flight Service Stations, Flight Standards District Offices, and AOPA. Copies of the form are acceptable. Each crewmember must submit a separate form. Flight instructors should consider submitting a form if a student encounters an event, even if the instructor was not on board. There is no limit to the number of NASA forms a pilot can submit. Pilots should not inform the FAA of their NASA form defense until the FAA has issued an Order of Suspension or an Order of Civil Penalty. The defense should be included in the answer to the administrator's complaint. Describe the event honestly. Help other pilots avoid similar events. A A A
