FAA Stubborn on Reform

The Department of Transportation’s inspector general says the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) refuses to implement some of its recommended measures designed to prevent serious lapses in airline oversight. On June 30, DOT issued a review of the FAA’s oversight of airlines. The DOT IG initiated the review to determine the thoroughness of FAA’s investigation of whistleblower complaints regarding oversight of Southwest Airlines and the type and timeliness of corrective actions the FAA took in response to any inappropriate inspector actions. The IG has made a series of recommendations to improve FAA’s air carrier oversight practices. “While FAA generally agreed with most of our recommendations, it disagreed with two that are fundamental in improving its air carrier oversight,” the IG report states. The IG says the FAA won’t periodically rotate supervisory inspectors to ensure reliable and objective air carrier oversight and doesn’t plan to establish an independent organization to investigate safety issues identified by FAA employees. “Given the seriousness of the issues these recommendations were intended to address, we believe the FAA needs to reconsider its position,” the IG office added.