FAA Says U.S. Airlines Must Monitor Their Own Safety

Reuters/Washington Post
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will tighten oversight of airline safety after aircraft groundings at big carriers, but will not absolve airlines of responsibility for monitoring their own safety, the FAA's top official said on Thursday. "I do not want the FAA to be the quality control unit for each airline," Robert Sturgell, acting FAA administrator, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee. "I want them to check quality control." Sturgell was questioned about maintenance lapses in FAA oversight at Southwest Airlines Co (LUV.N) in March that triggered closer scrutiny of all airlines. Stepped up industrywide checks revealed problems at American Airlines, a unit of AMR Corp (AMR.N), Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N), and other carriers and led to hundreds of planes being grounded. Big airlines grounded mostly older Boeing Co (BA.N) 737s and MD-80s over the past month to reinspect them for structural and wiring problems. Airlines canceled roughly 4,000 flights, but the worst disruption was at American, which grounded 300 planes last week. "Passengers are angry and upset. I am very concerned," said Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington state Democrat and chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on transportation. Concerns over the safety of Southwest planes were brought to light by FAA whistle-blowers, who took the information to Congress. A follow-up investigation by House of Representatives Transportation Committee and Transportation Department Inspector General Calvin Scovel revealed what he called an "overly collaborative" relationship at Southwest between airline maintenance personnel and FAA management at the agency's Dallas office regarding compliance with FAA safety directives.
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