Word: faa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Officials at the FAA defend the idea and execution of the audits and claim safety has been enhanced by reviewing just how the system stays safe. In her first comments on the process, FAA head Jane Garvey explained, "The end result of these audits is stronger airline programs. These safety audits focused the FAA and the airlines on how to raise the safety bar even higher than it is." Sources at the agency admit the process has been tense and the FAA has been forced to rethink how it goes forward...
...Alaska Airlines accident, which probably occurred because a mechanical failure caused the pilots to lose control of the plane, cast a harsh light on the agency's failings as well as the airline's. After the crash, the FAA's officials found that the agency had not fulfilled its fundamental responsibility of supervising Alaska. It uncovered 150 cases in which aircraft maintenance could not be documented. The Alaska crash came less than a year after the General Accounting Office had sharply criticized the effectiveness of the ATOS and suggested that the FAA not expand the program until it was changed...
Last December an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into the Alaska crash further detailed the failures of the FAA's supervision and staff. "The Alaska crash raised the question: If the FAA can't keep track of the smallest airline in ATOS, what can it keep track of?" says Bob Francis, who was vice chairman of the NTSB until 1999. Two weeks ago, 13 families who lost loved ones on Flight 261 filed a claim against the FAA for negligence for its failure to oversee Alaska...
...FAA had no concrete evidence of Alaska-type problems at other carriers when it announced late last June that it would audit four safety systems at each of the nine other top airlines. It cited only unspecified "concerns." The other carriers audited--United, Delta, American, Continental, Northwest, US Airways, Southwest, America West and TWA--were, like Alaska, already participating in ATOS. "We had no real problems with the concept of the FAA coming in," notes John Marshall, head of safety for Delta Airlines...
...after meeting with FAA officials in July, the airlines concluded that the agency wanted to rush to complete the audits before the NTSB public hearing on the Alaska crash. Reason? To project the impression that the agency was on top of any problems when the NTSB came down with its expected criticism in the fall...