Afraid of Flying? Perhaps You Should Be, Investigation Finds
 Teri Sforza - OC Register
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February 05, 2010
 |  | The paper’s analysis of government data found that maintenance was 'a cause, factor or finding' in 18 accidents since Jan. 1, 2000, in which 43 people were killed and 60 were injured. |  | | |
Over the past six years, millions of passengers have flown on at least 65,000 flights that never should have taken off, because the planes weren’t properly maintained, according to an investigation by USA Today.
Substandard repairs, unqualified mechanics and lax oversight by airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are not unusual, the investigation found.
“Airlines contract about 70% of their maintenance work to repair shops in the USA and abroad, where mistakes can be made by untrained and ill-equipped personnel, the Department of Transportation’s inspector general says,” according to the story, which we at The Watchdog were reading while flying back from visiting Papa Watchdog in Florida.
“Airlines also disregard FAA inspectors’ findings to keep planes flying, defer necessary repairs beyond permissible time frames, use unapproved parts and perform their own sloppy maintenance work, according to FAA documents.”
Gulp. The paper’s analysis of government data found that maintenance was “a cause, factor or finding” in 18 accidents since Jan. 1, 2000, in which 43 people were killed and 60 were injured.
That’s in addition to the Alaska Airlines jet flying from Puerto Vallarta to San Francisco, which crashed into the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, killing all 88 people aboard.
That accident was caused by a loss of plane pitch control after threads of a screw assembly on the tail failed. Alaska didn’t sufficiently lubricate the assembly, causing excessive thread wear. The FAA had approved extending the time between lubrications, which contributed to the accident.
Though many maintenance problems go undetected, USA Today says, the FAA levied $28.2 million in fines and proposed fines against 25 U.S. airlines for maintenance violations that occurred over the past six years. “In many cases, planes operated for months before the FAA found maintenance deficiencies. In some cases, airlines continued to fly planes after the FAA found deficiencies in them.” |
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