Report Cites Bad Violation Tracking, Reduced Fines

The General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, says the FAA isn't doing nearly enough to protect commercial aviation passengers.

The GAO report, obtained by the Washington Times says the FAA needs to implement better management controls to make sure it enforces its own rules over both commercial and general aviation.

The investigation covered sanctions against companies and individuals between 1993 and 2003. Among other things, the Times reports the GAO found:

• the FAA imposed $334 million in fines on companies and individuals. However, FAA legal staffers reduced those fines to $162 million.
• the FAA doesn't monitor the effects of its own enforcement actions. Therefore, the agency has no way of knowing how much good it's doing by levying fines and other sanctions.
• the database used by the FAA to track violations and sanctions is both incomplete and difficult to use. Its use varies from one office to another.

What bothers Congressman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) is the lack of uniformity in the FAA's handling of safety violations. "At a time when the airlines are struggling financially, ineffective or inconsistent enforcement of aviation-safety regulations could undermine public confidence in the safety of flight. In fact, when airline revenue is low, the FAA should increase their scrutiny even more to be sure that the industry is not cutting corners on safety to save a few dollars and meet their bottom line," he said. DeFazio is a member of the House Aviation Subcommittee.

FAA Reaction

The FAA disputed some of the GAO findings, according to the Washington Times. Take, for instance, the reduction of fines by legal staffers.

"What happens as in any legal case, negotiations are made, there are mitigating circumstances that are brought up," said an FAA spokesman who asked not to be named. "Sometimes, there is not enough evidence to take it to court. This is not unusual to any regulatory agency."

While the FAA says it mitigates fines when it's apparent the person or company involved is making an effort to right the wrong, investigators found 3,200 cases that were closed without the imposition of any sanctions at all. Yet, the FAA spokesman said the agency will come down hard when there's clear evidence of violations. "We will if it is necessary and have done so," he said.

Industry Reaction

"The report findings are flawed," said Doug Wills, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, a trade group for major airlines, in an interview with the Times. "Airline travel is safer today than it has ever been in the history of commercial aviation. In the last 30 years, the number of airline accidents has decreased more than 50 percent."

FMI: www.faa.gov