James Kenney
Aviation Safety Inspector, FAA’s Flight Technologies and Procedures Division
By Paul Cianciolo, FAA Safety Briefing Magazine
As a teenager, James (Jim) Kenney was udderly devoted to working at a small dairy farm in New Jersey. However, his mother was concerned he would become a farmer.
“My mom suggested that I go to school for hotel management instead,” Jim said. “I had to find something more exciting — so I picked aviation. She was at least happy that I went to college.”
Jim started flying when he was 17 and earned his airline transport pilot certificate when he was 22. He then built hours as a flight instructor and flew charters. Soon after reaching more than 4,500 flight hours, Jim was offered an aviation safety inspector job in Cleveland. He later transferred to the Chicago Certificate Management Office (CMO) to provide air carrier oversight.
“A few years later, I transferred to Washington, where I started as a subject matter expert in the part 121 flight operations,” he continues. “I worked on many interesting projects. Then I got a call from the director of Flight Standards asking if I would like to focus on international issues.”
One of Jim’s significant accomplishments was designing and implementing the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program. When another country’s air carrier flies into the U.S. or codeshares with a U.S. air carrier, it must meet safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Through IASA, the FAA focuses on a country’s ability, not the ability of individual air carriers, to adhere to international safety standards and recommended practices. Before leaving the FAA in 1996, Jim also served as the manager of the Scottsdale Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).
Before returning to the FAA, Jim worked in senior management roles at four small part 121 and 129 air carriers. He also spent 10 years at an aviation consulting firm managing many large aircraft leases, engineering, and maintenance.
In 2013, Jim worked briefly in the FAA’s unmanned aircraft group before returning to his passion for crewed aircraft.
“I accepted a position in the Flight Technologies and Procedures Division and immediately began working on ADS-B issues,” he adds. “One of my duties has been to reduce the number of transmitted callsign errors, commonly called a callsign mismatch. We have seen excellent improvement in this area as the error rate has dropped from 5% to less than one-fifth of 1%.”
That decrease is attributed to the considerable time spent educating the public about Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology operation. Jim notes that the team’s work on ADS-B traffic and weather has also positively impacted general aviation (GA) safety.
“I’ve had dozens of GA pilots tell me that the ADS-B In traffic information saved their lives,” Jim explains. “If any GA pilot does not have access to this inexpensive technology, it should be the first thing on your to-do list. I guarantee that you will be surprised by what you see.”
The biggest challenge with ADS-B is equipping and ensuring the equipment works correctly. Air traffic control does not usually advise pilots of ADS-B errors when the transponder is functioning properly. A free Public ADS-B Performance Report (PAPR) is key to eliminating errors. Jim recommends that all aircraft owners request a PAPR at least once a year before the aircraft’s annual inspection.
“I believe we are just scratching the surface with ADS-B In technology,” he expands. “With additional investment and testing, ADS-B In will continue to provide more significant safety enhancements for the GA community.”
Paul Cianciolo is an associate editor and the social media lead for FAA Safety Briefing. He is a U.S. Air Force veteran and an auxiliary airman with Civil Air Patrol.
