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FAA Air Carrier Audits Criticized at Senate Hearing

Air Safety Week, April 14, 2008

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was subjected to a fresh salvo of stinging criticism in the wake of revelations that an FAA supervisor in the Dallas field office intentionally ignored missed maintenance inspections at Southwest Airlines.

The central FAA employee in the matter was relieved of his inspector duties and faces disciplinary action. But not until after whistleblowers aired the embarrassing matter before a House panel two weeks ago. A second Dallas- based FAA supervisor was transferred and Thomas Stuckey, manager of the Flight Standards Division in the Southwest Region, was also reassigned, serving in an administrative post with no safety responsibilities. He is the highest-ranking FAA official to be removed as a result of the Southwest controversy.

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Lawmakers questioned whether senior managers at FAA headquarters should also be disciplined. "Nobody at the top ever gets fired," complained Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), chairman of the aviation subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, questioning Nicholas A. Sabatini, associate administrator for safety.

He asked Sabatini what responsibility he bears on the SW debacle to which the aviation agency's top safety official answered: "I am ultimately responsible for the safety organization, and I am taking all action that needs to be taken on the failure of people to discharge their duties on both the FAA and air carrier side. I take what happened very, very seriously. I do hold myself accountable."

Under questioning, Sabatini hinted that more FAA employees might lose their jobs over the matter. "We are examining the issue and we will take whatever action needs to be taken," he stated.

In saying he is "outraged" over the Southwest matter, Sabatini said the failure does not go beyond the one field office. "I don't have any evidence that it (the Southwest debacle) is happening on a widespread basis. But we are taking steps to make sure it doesn't happen in the future," Sabatini testified.

A total of 1451 commercial operations were conducted by Southwest Airlines in violation of the law, putting thousands of passengers at risk. That this was done with the implicit consent of the FAA PMI overseeing the carrier is beyond my comprehension," he stated.

Meanwhile, the Transportation Department's inspector general said the FAA's recent crackdown on air carrier compliance with airworthiness directives is long overdue and he called for "immediate and comprehensive" changes to improve airline safety.

Calvin Scovel said "a number of high-profile events, including fundamental breakdowns in FAA oversight at Southwest Airlines, have raised legitimate concerns about the effectiveness of FAA's overall approach to safety oversight...The recent events brought to light serious lapses in FAA's oversight of air carriers."

Scovel said supervisory inspectors should be rotated periodically to ensure "reliable and objective" air carrier oversight. He also believes a moratorium should be established during which a former FAA inspector can't work for an air carrier he or she previously inspected. He called for establishment of an independent organization to investigate safety issues identified by FAA employees.

Sabatini said Southwest's shortcomings have provided the FAA with valuable lessons. "The safety model can be improved. I take this as an opportunity to learn more. And we are taking steps. We are undertaking most off the IG's initiatives," he told the lawmakers.

Government Industry

FAA Air Carrier Audits Criticized at Senate Hearing

Air Safety Week, April 14, 2008

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