FAA probes air carriers on safety

Federal aviation officials said Friday that they were investigating 17 cases in which 11 air carriers did not comply with government safety directives.

The cases were uncovered during a major effort by the Federal Aviation Administration to verify whether air carriers follow the agency’s safety orders as required.

The first phase of the inquiry this spring found seven instances in which four carriers had not complied with safety orders. FAA officials declined to identify the carriers.

FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell, who announced the inquiries, said 98% of the 5,600 safety directives audited by the agency had been followed by the carriers. He said the few cases in which safety directives weren’t followed indicated that there was a high level of safety in the U.S. air traffic system.