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DOT Inspector General Still Critical of FAA

Says agency is missing key goals to do its job

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 16, 2009

Airline Safety • FAA Computer Glitch Delays Flights • FAA Vows Tougher Rules For Commuter Airlines • DOT Inspector General Still Critical of FAA • Buffalo Crash Hearing Focuses On Pilot Training • Pilot Offers Advice For Surviving A Plane Crash • FAA Expands Runway Status Lights Nationwide • American Cancels More Fights For Safety Checks • Key Lawmaker Wants FAA 'Housecleaning' • FAA To Review All Airline Maintenance Procedures • Southwest Grounds 41 Airplanes, Suspends Three Workers • Problems Found With Wing Bolts On Four U.S. Planes • TSA Adds Security Checks for Airport Employees • FAA Says Many U.S. Airports Short On Safety • New Device Finds Illegal Cellphones on Airplanes • Laptop Fires Worry Airline Safety Regulators • New System Reduces Risk of Runway Collision • Study Warns Cell Phones Could Cause Airliner Crash • Inspector General Hits Outsourced Airline Maintenance • Air Controllers Cite Close Calls In Los Angeles • Air Controllers Warn Equipment Glitch Affects Safety • Report Questions Airline Safety • Cell Phones on Planes - Survey Warns of Air Rage • Air Travel Still Risky, Pilots Warn • Airlines Outsourcing More Maintenance • Pilots Blast Airport Security

Under fire from an inspector general for lax airline inspections, the Federal Aviation Administration has vowed to draft tougher work rules for pilots at commuter airlines. The goal is to promote safety by reducing fatigue caused by over work.

FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt announced the initiative at Monday’s summit on airline safety in Washington. The summit, and the promise of new rules, come in the wake of the probe into February’s crash of a commuter airliner in Buffalo that killed 50 people.

“Some of the things I've seen and heard about practices in the regional airline industry are not acceptable,” Babbitt said. “Our job is to deliver and ensure safety, and recently we’ve seen some cracks in the system.”

As the U.S. airline industry has struggled to contain costs, more and more flights have been shifted to smaller, commuter airlines. By some estimates, commuter airlines now carry about half of U.S. airline passengers.

In the investigation of the Colgan Air crash in Buffalo, it was revealed that the pilot had previously failed some tests before being hired by the airline. It was also established that regional airline flight crews often commute hundreds, or even thousands, of miles to their jobs, and then fly for long hours before resting.

Babbitt said prospective employers need to have as much information as they can about the pilots they’re hiring, and that information must be accurate, complete and easily accessible. He said the FAA is updating its advisory circular on pilot records, setting the expectation that airlines request all records that are available from the FAA and previous employers when they hire a new pilot. He also said the airlines need to increase their level of training.

“There’s a public perception out there right now that pilots can repeatedly fail check rides and still keep their job,” Babbitt said. “We want passengers to have no doubts about the qualifications of the person flying their plane.”

Babbitt said he hopes to draft the new set of rules within a few months and put forth an accelerated timetable for implementing them.

The summit, which was closed to the public, was attended by airline executives, officials of the Airline Pilots Association and other industry groups.

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