Boeing and FAA communication 2010-2019

Dear Ms. Swaminathan,

The Federal Aviation Administration is in receipt of your FOIA request concerning all internal communications and external communications related to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing regarding the production of the 737 Max 8 aircraft between 1 December 2010 and present.
Based on our initial review of your "request," we have determined that you have not submitted a proper request pursuant to the FOIA and Departmental Regulations. 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(3)(A); 49 C.F.R. 7.24 Requests for "any and all" records do not qualify as proper under the FOIA if a knowledgeable employee cannot locate the requested records with a reasonable amount of effort. Additionally, requests for "all emails" or "all correspondence" from a person or office, or requests for "all records pertaining to" a general topic, without confining search parameters, are not considered proper because they do not specify a time period, sufficiently defined subject matter to permit an adequate search and identify specific persons.

Further, the FOIA is not intended as a mechanism to reduce agencies to investigators for requesters. A search for "any and all" records without identifying specific FAA employees, limiting time periods and subject matter would likely result in an overly-voluminous number of records to process. Note that a high volume of responsive records does not necessarily mean that the request is overly broad, if the request is determined to "reasonably describe" for the records sought. However, overly voluminous records are not to be releasable under FOIA when a release would require a line-by-line review of an enormous number of documents to protect confidential business information, personal privacy, etc.

Accordingly, in order for your request to be processed, you will need to provide additional information to narrow the search for responsive records. For instance, your request is for an email search, therefore your request must identify the specific individual(s) whose emails you would like to have searched, and either a subject matter or specific search terms.

This is not a denial of your request, but is an attempt by the agency to assist you in submitting a properly formulated request that identifies the specific records you are seeking, including specific email accounts you would like searched with limiting subject matter and time period(s). Please respond to this email with the additional information required. You may also respond to this email if you have any questions or wish to discuss reformulation.

If we do not hear from you by COB Friday April 12, 2019, we will consider this FOIA Closed/Cancelled without any further action on our part.

Respectfully,
The FAA AFN-400, FOIA Office

Dear Ms. Swaminathan,

This is a follow-up to our email below regarding the scope of your FOIA request. As stated, we are unable to proceed with the processing of your request until we get the requested additional information.

The FAA is a nationwide agency, which employs nearly 50,000 people. Requests for "all emails" or "all correspondence", without confining search parameters, are not considered proper if they do not specify a time period, sufficiently defined subject matter to permit an adequate search, and identify specific persons.

Accordingly, in order for your requests to be processed, we need you to identify the specific individual(s) whose emails you would like to have searched and either a subject matter or specific search terms.

If we do not hear from you by COB Monday April 22, 2019, we will consider this FOIA Closed/Cancelled without any further action on our part.

Respectfully,

The FAA AFN-400, FOIA Office

Ms. Swaminathan:

Please find attached a letter acknowledging receipt of your FOIA request.
Best regards,
FAA FOIA Staff

Dear Ms. Swaminathan:

This is to inform you that your attached FOIA request has been closed. Requests for "all emails", "all records", or "all correspondence" from a person or office or about a subject, without confining search parameters, are not considered to be proper because they do not contain a description of the record(s) sought to fullest extent possible to permit an adequate search. We communicated to you on April 8, 2019, and April 17, 2019, that your submission was not a proper FOIA request because it was overly broad. We attempted to assist you in perfecting your request. We stated that in order for your request to be processed, we need you to identify the specific individual(s) or office(s) whose emails you would like to have searched along with a sufficiently defined subject matter or key search words to permit an adequate search.

Because your request is overly broad and lacks the specificity required under the FOIA to be considered a proper request, and you have not responded to our attempts to assist you in perfecting the request, we have determined that your request for information is outside the purview of the FOIA and is considered closed with no further action being taken by the agency. This is not a denial and you remain free to submit a proper request for agency records in accordance with the FOIA and DOT regulations. If you need assistance in framing a proper request for agency records under the FOIA, you may contact the FAA FOIA Public Liaison via phone (202-267-7799) or email (7-AWA-ARC-FOIA@faa.gov<mailto:7-AWA-ARC-FOIA@faa.gov>) noting FOIA Public Liaison in the Subject line.
Sincerely,

Judy Shipp
FOIA Management Specialist
817-222-5059

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