FAA Making Changes: Rep. Blunt

Southwest Missouri Congressman and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-7-MO) described new procedures undertaken by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to address the serious issues raised in the case of pilot Joe Brinell, former College of the Ozarks Director of Aviation. Blunt also announced disciplinary actions taken against two senior FAA employees for what the Department of Transportation’s Inspector General (IG) described in a January report as an "abuse of their regulatory authority."

A plane, piloted by Brinell and owned by the College of the Ozarks, crashed in December 1999, taking the lives of Brinell and five other College officials and family members. Blunt requested Department of Transportation (DoT) and FAA investigations into events surrounding the crash.

Past investigations sought by Blunt into the FAA’s treatment of Brinell have turned up documented bias. Transportation Department Inspector General Kenneth Mead (IG) reported "troubling irregularities" in the FAA’s own internal investigation and conducted two subsequent investigations into pilot harassment charges centered in the Kansas City Flight Standards District Office (FSDO).

"Joe Brinell’s death was a tragic situation made more painful by the difficulty we’ve had in getting answers," Blunt said. "Under new leadership, the FAA is taking action to bring greater consistency to the way they interpret and apply their own regulations and inspections procedures."

The inquiry found that allegations raised by inspectors from the FAA’s Kansas City Flights Standards District Office (FSDO) against Brinell lacked credibility and were not warranted. The IG found an earlier investigation in the Brinell case by the FAA had been compromised by a "lack of objectivity and an underlying bias in favor of FSDO personnel" in Kansas City. In the third probe, the IG found three regulatory actions against Brinell were "unwarranted and lacked credibility."

The IG recommended "disciplinary and other administrative action against the FSDO Supervisor and operations inspector" in the case. The FAA has assured Blunt that punitive actions have been taken against employees connected to the Brinell case. Internal FAA privacy safeguards prohibit the announcement of the specific punishments.

"The investigations took too long. The FAA did not seem to have consistent standards for investigations, and they were unable to get the answers Mrs. Brinell deserved in a timely fashion," Blunt continued. "The FAA is implementing new measures to ensure the professionalism of inspectors and provide the public with clear channels of redress if they disagree with an inspector."

Among FAA’s new procedures:

• New training for FAA personnel: required classes to reinforce a strict code of professionalism among FAA inspectors
• Customer Service Initiative: the new initiative will establish clearly what the public can expect from the FAA and the rights of pilots and other customers who disagree with the agency’s decisions. Materials detailing these rights will be distributed widely in the aviation community
• Improved standardization and compliance for investigations: better processes, documentation and record retention. A third party review mechanism will be established

FMI: Blunt's office: www.blunt.house.gov
NTSB report: www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001212X20197&key=1
NTSB full: www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief2.asp?ev_id=20001212X20197&ntsbno=CHI00FA040&akey=1