AviationFAA oversight of jetliner repair stations is ineffective
The FAA oversees 4,800 jetliner repair stations worldwide – in countries such as China, New Zealand, Peru, and Singapore – where American commercial airplanes are being repaired. The Federal Aviation Administration’s own watchdog organization reported that the oversight of U.S. jetliner repair stations is ineffective and does not focus on stations which are most likely to present security risks.
aircraft mechanic at work on an engine // Source: mte.net.cn
The Federal Aviation Administration’s own watchdog organization reported that the oversight of U.S. jetliner repair stations is ineffective and does not focus on stations which are most likely to present security risks.
Jeffery Guzzetti, the agency’s assistant inspector general (IG) for aviation, noted that there are “system deficiencies” at foreign and domestic repair stations, “including insufficient mechanic training, outdated tool calibration and inaccurate work order documentation.”
USA Todayreports that almost half the work orders which were reviewed (57 of 119) contained the errors, and the inspector general estimated one-third of work orders between fall 2008 and summer 2011 contained errors.
“Uncorrected maintenance deficiencies such as these could lead to the use of improperly repaired aircraft parts on U.S. air carriers,” the 32-page report stated.
The agency was quick to respond to the report.
“The FAA has a rigorous, risk-based system of oversight for repair stations and is taking action to rectify performance gaps that contributed to the issues identified in the OIG draft report,” Clayton Foushee, director of FAA’s audit office, said in a written reply to the report.
The IG reviewed twenty-seven repair stations in the United States, China, New Zealand, Peru, and Singapore. The FAA oversees 4,800 repair stations worldwide.
This is not the first time an IG report found flaws in the way the FAA monitors repair stations. In July 2003 and September 2008, the inspector general identified that FFA’s oversight was not up to par. As a result, the agency began reviewing repair stations based on where concerns were the greatest, but in the most recent report the IG said the oversight “lacks rigor” and results “in inadequate and inconsistent inspection practices.”
“Due to weaknesses in FAA’s oversight system, inspectors are not effectively targeting surveillance to repair stations with the greatest risk,” the report stated
In addition, the IG revealed that thirty-three of the thirty-six inspectors whot were interviewed for the report said “they were not trained, did not recall the training or regarded it as poor.”
When it comes to foreign-repair stations, officials say they are often confused about what needs to be repaired because the FAA reports are often more detailed than what is said orally after an inspection.
The FAA said it is developing extra training for field inspectors to be completed by 31 December. After that, the agency plans to reinforce its instructions for risk-based inspections by March 2014.
