Sun, Aug 28, 2005
Now Is NOT The Time To Be Hearing This
After a spate of crashes
worldwide this month, it makes sense that there is more attention
on airline safety now than at any time since the days following
9/11.
Frequent air travelers, jittery novices, and armchair auditors
alike are questioning the effects of the Northwest Airlines
mechanics strike on the safety of that carrier's planes
(thankfully, seemingly none so far) while crashes in Greece,
Venezuela, and Peru appear to show the worst consequences of failed
procedures and, perhaps, mechanical failure.
Now comes word that as recently as 2003, the most recent statistics
available, that the FAA had fallen as much as 25 percent behind on
their own mandated safety inspections of the five major domestic
airlines for that year. That left 938 unfinished inspections
nationwide, including 516 in which specific safety risks had been
identified, awaiting the review and judgement by an FAA
inspector.
"We are down to the nub," said Linda Goodrich, regional vice
president for flight standards with the FAA inspectors union.
"We can't possibly provide the oversight we're required to
do."
Lack of funds is the
issue, according to the FAA, forcing staff reductions and thinner
coverage over larger territories. The FAA expects to lose 300
inspectors this year alone -- an ongoing trend, according to former
NTSB member John Goglia (pictured, right).
"The FAA has been resource-strained for a while," he said. The FAA
hopes to regain additional funds and staff in the 2006 budget
year.
The FAA is quick to point out that the lack of inspectors does not
mean that passenger safety has been compromised in any way. There
has not been a fatal crash of a large domestic passenger plane in
more than three years, for example.
Also, FAA inspectors review the maintenance procedures already
in place at the airlines -- they do not provide maintenance
themselves.
"This is the safest period in aviation history and we intend to
keep it that way," said FAA spokeswoman Elizabeth Isham Cory.
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