Word: engene
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...Donald Engen, the Federal Aviation administrator, this reversal in fatalities is what really matters in air safety. "I can't deal with somebody claiming that 'the margin of safety has decreased,' " says Engen. "I deal with real facts, the accidents in hundreds of thousands of hours flown. These rates are continuing to go down. It happened in 1986 because we made it happen." Indeed, the number of fatal accidents in U.S. civil aviation in 1986 was 1.09 for each 100,000 hours flown, a decrease from 1.2 in the year before...
...while ALPA's Duffy views Engen as "one of the best administrators we have ever worked with," he disagrees with the FAA boss on a key point. "You don't judge how the system is operating by the number of accidents," Duffy says. "The indicators predict where the accidents are going. When you are having more near mid-airs, well, it's just a matter of time before two planes will slam together, as they did at Cerritos...
...complex world of aviation technology, equipment can and does fail. Still, insists FAA Chief Donald Engen, "any accident, when you dig in, always comes back to human beings. Accidents just don't happen -- they are caused." Airlines need a skilled force of mechanics and technicians to maintain their incredibly complex aircraft. A Boeing 747, for example, contains 4.5 million removable parts, 135 miles of electrical wires and more than a mile of hydraulic tubing. The major airlines are spending as much as or more than before on maintenance of their fleets. But to deal with any carrier that lacks...
What should be done to restore the safety margins? The controller shortage offers only one relatively quick fix: rehire more of the fired PATCO controllers. Many have not found comparable-paying jobs and would be eager to get back at their consoles. But FAA Chief Engen, reflecting the Administration's position, says, "No way." According to the GAO survey, 60% of the current controllers and 85% of their supervisors oppose such a move, though a majority of those at some of the busiest traffic centers say they would have no objection. In fact, about 500 of the less militant PATCO...
...Airlines first tested a prototype in 1981 and 1982, and is currently evaluating a more advanced one. Next month United will also begin testing the device, known as TCAS II (for traffic alert and collision avoidance system); Northwest and Republic will quickly follow. By 1991, says FAA Administrator Donald Engen, all U.S. commercial planes will be required to carry the TCAS II; eventually, foreign aircraft entering U.S. airspace will too. At a price of about $80,000 a plane, the system will cost upwards of $500 million for the entire U.S. commercial fleet...