Aviation safety laws very much up in the air

The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security hearing on “Aviation Safety Oversight” examined violations made by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regarding their allowance of unsafe airplanes to take to the air. Senators questioned a panel of witnesses that included the much criticized Nicholas Sabatini, FAA Associate Administrator for Safety.

The argument against the FAA was spearheaded by a myriad of violations committed by Southwest Airlines (SWA). Significant debate arose over the FAA’s oversight of the aviation industry, particularly how to eradicate “cozy” relationships between FAA employees and airline companies. Many on the Committee felt that the FAA had acted more like a business than as a government agency, and had passed planes they should not have passed as a result of strong relationships between each group.

Sabatini argued that under his watch the FAA has maintained an “unprecedented aviation safety record.” He mentioned that despite such success, his administration is still striving to make planes even safer. Also, Sabatini’s defense described the problems that took place at SWA as being “isolated” and not “systematic.” These feelings were not echoed by the majority of the Committee.

The Committee was also concerned about the rapidly increasing rate of retired FAA plane inspectors and how to efficiently replace such employees. To fix some of the problems the Committee found with the FAA, the possibilities of unannounced safety checks for departing planes, a revamped Customer Service Initiative (CSI), and a new method for anonymously reporting violations made by safety investigators from their peers were discussed.