FAA Oversight Via Sifted Reports

According to a recently released finding by Consumer reports the most significant present threat to airline safety is the outsourcing of airliner maintenance and a changed attitude at the FAA for oversight of that work. The March 2007 issue of Consumer Reports includes a feature article titled, "An accident waiting to happen? Outsourcing Raises Air-Safety Concerns."
The FAA has admitted that its emphasis is now on reporting rather than physical inspections at the work-place. This is a convenient fit with the fact that much of the outsourced maintenance is being done overseas. In many cases the work is signed off on by licensed aviation mechanics after being carried out by unlicensed tradesmen. The Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) has conveyed its concerns as far as Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), House transportation committee chairman. He endorses their concerns and says that outsourced aircraft maintenance is "not being done with the same oversight" as maintenance performed by airline employees. A U.S. Department of Transportation report stated that "the FAA never inspected approximately 1,400 noncertificated repair facilities, including 104 foreign facilities." In a different facet of the Consumer Reports' determinations, they claim that "Arrests at some [outsourced] repair shops have snared terrorism suspects and undocumented workers [i.e., illegal aliens], who were subsequently deported." More