The FAA The FAA has hindered the development of airline safety because of its policy of safety, its regulation of the airline industry, and it needs to be separate from the Department of Transportation. The FAA has hindered the development of airline safety because of its policy of safety. Part of its policy is the cost-benefit rule, which was an executive order issued by President Ronald Reagan in February 1981. This rule stated that the FAA could issue new rules only if they could show the potential economic benefits outweighed the likely costs. (Calonius, 91) This rule made it hard to justify any significant advance in safety on older airplanes because the costs may not be able to be