OIG Reports on FAA Oversight
A new report on the FAA's oversight of airline maintenance was released by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General on June 3. The full report is available at www.AviationMx.com, then click on the Aviation Maintenance Resource Archive link and the report titled OIG Report on FAA Oversight.
The report delivers the results of an audit of the FAA's safety oversight. The reason for the audit is that huge changes in the airline industry have led to concerns about the FAA's capability of monitoring safety at growing low-cost airlines and struggling bankrupt or near-bankrupt air carriers. The report expressed concern that while the FAA is allocating resources to the air traffic control side of the agency, the report stated, "it is also important to maintain a safety inspector workforce that is sufficient to achive its mission of safety oversight."
The OIG report included 10 recommendations, and these were already submitted in a draft report to the FAA in April. The FAA has responded to the recommendations and is already implmenting most of them. Recommendations included:
Establish national assistance to FAA field offices to improve timeliness and consistency of risk assessments and inspections of air carrier changes.
When carriers change operations significantly (closing maintenance facilities, reducing personnel, grow rapidly, etc.), inspectors should assess the risks and change their surveillance plans.
Clarify inspector guidance so that they don't wait until bankruptcy to begin monitoring financially distressed airlines or carriers that are experiencing major changes.
Improve methods to deliver financial information on airlines to inspectors.
Increase the number of nighttime inspections and "determine if there is an elevated risk factor associated with nighttime maintenance..." because, after all, that is when much maintenance is accomplished.
Recommendations 6 through 9 addressed deficiencies in the ATOS (air transportation oversight system) and SEP (surveillance and evaluation program), such as ensuring that ATOS inspections of higher-risk areas take priority.
Determine if FAA efficiency gains will outweigh the planned cut of 233 inspectors after 2005.
AM will report more extensively on the OIG report in an upcoming issue.
Restore FAA's Promotion Role
Prior to 1996, the FAA's mission included promotion of aviation, but that mandate was changed by the U.S. Congress after the ValuJet Flight 592 accident in May 1996. Now Kansas Congressman Todd Tiahrt has introduced legislation to restore the FAA's prmotion role. Tiahrt's legislation is titled "The Promotion Responsibility for Our U.S. Aviation Act of 2005."
FAA Tags Airborne Hazmat
The FAA has proposed to fine three companies for offering "hazardous materials for transportation that were not packaged, marked, classed, described, labeled, or in condition for shipment as required by regulations." It appears that despite all the publicity about the safety problems of improperly transporting hazardous materials, this information is still not being adhered to. Surprisingly, one of the alleged infractions, against Tam-Linhas Aereas of Brazil, dates to October 21, 2002. The airline allegedly carried 21 oxygen generators on a passenger flight then tried to ship them via Federal Express. The proposed fine for Tam-Linhas Aereas is $270.000.
Augsburg Airways of Germany on May 6, 2004 allegedly tried to send two shipments with fiberboard boxes containing fully charged compressed oxygen cylinders via DHL. The proposed fine: $174,000.
On August 13, 2003, Becker-Parkin Dental Supply Company of New York allegedly tried to ship via Airborne Express some E-Vac Evacuation System Cleaner Concentrate. The FAA's proposed fine for Becker-Parkin is $70,000.
The FAA publishes proposed fines on enforcement actions where the fines are more than $50,000. Apparently, hazmat violations that occurred even years ago are still fair game for FAA prosecutors.
New SAIBs Released
The FAA has released special airworthiness information bulletins on Beech landing gears, Bombardier RJ trim systems, and piston engine parts overhauled by a French company. To view FAA SAIBs, see www.faa.gov/certification/aircraft/av-info/ad/saibs.asp.
� SAIB CE-05-57: Beech King Air, 99, and Super King Air 200 main landing gears with General Machine-Diecron actuator nut assemblies. Failure of one of the GMD actuator nuts caused a gear-up landing in a military King Air 200. See also GMD Alert Service Bulletin GM-D-ASB 32-30-01/030305 and Raytheon Service Bulletin 32-3433.
� SAIB NM-05-53: Bombardier RJ100 and 440 horizontal trim system dual-channel disconnects. These disconnects cause STAB TRIM and MACH TRIM caution messages on EICAS displays. Bombardier's engineers are investigating this problem. , See Service Letter RJ-SL-27-085.
� SAIB NE-05-58: Lycoming and Continental engines with parts overhauled by Provence Aero Maintenance in France. France's DGAC canceled this company's JAR 145 approval in 1998 and recommends that parts that PAM worked on and released be removed from service.
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