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 The FAA also indicated that it has completed all of its initial assessments and that the IASA program would soon transition to "Phase 2," which will focus on review and validation of the initial ratings and continued evaluation of the safety compliance capability of foreign CAAs.

According to the FAA, Phase 2 will be accomplished by reviewing each country's rating and all available information relevant to ICAO safety oversight requirements at least every 2 years. However, the FAA indicated that it would reevaluate a country that has air carriers operating into the United States any time there is reason to question whether that country is meeting its international safety oversight obligations. According to the FAA, Phase 2 rating decisions will be based on information gathered by the FAA, either during an on-site visit or through a questionnaire directed to the foreign CAA, or the results of an assessment by another qualified entity, such as ICAO. Also, the FAA intends to eliminate the Category III rating as part of Phase 2; accordingly, countries found not to comply with ICAO Annex 6 will be rated as Category II regardless of whether that country is conducting operations into the United States.

The KCAB was initially assessed in 1996 and was given a Category I rating. As of October 1999, the KCAB had not been reassessed.

1.17.6.3 Department of Transportation Audit Report on Aviation Safety Under International Code Share Agreements

On September 30, 1999, the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT/IG) issued a report, titled Aviation Safety Under International Code Share Agreements (Report No. AV-1999-138). The report noted that the number of international code share agreements has more than tripled in the last 5 years and that U.S. carriers are increasingly entering into such agreements with carriers from regions of the world where aviation oversight and safety records are not as strong as those of the United States. The report found that the current process by which code share agreements are approved by the DOT does not adequately address safety implications and that the "FAA has not taken an active role in the approval or safety oversight of international code share agreements, either before or after approval." Specifically, the DOT/IG report stated:

FAA limits its input to advising [the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST)] about whether a foreign carrier's homeland, as distinguished from the air carrier involved, has procedures to exercise oversight of its carriers in compliance with international safety standards. FAA staff stated that if they become aware of adverse safety information about a foreign carrier, they will pass that on as well;