Gaps in FAA’s Air Inspection Program Cited

A congressional study found “disturbing” gaps in the Federal Aviation Administration’s airline safety inspection program, two congressmen told the agency in a letter released Friday.

The General Accounting Office survey found that some “air carriers received virtually no inspection” during the 1984 fiscal year, Reps. Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose) and William Lehman (D-Fla.) told FAA Administrator Donald D. Engen.

“There does not appear to be a systematic program for ensuring that all of our nation’s air carriers are operated and maintained in compliance with safety standards and regulations,” the congressmen wrote in the letter dated Aug. 2.

“The data developed by GAO is disturbing,” wrote Mineta, who heads the House Public Works and Transportation aviation subcommittee, and Lehman, chairman of the Appropriations transportation subcommittee. The two lawmakers requested the study earlier this year.

“The data also suggest that FAA, with its present level of staffing, may not have the resources necessary to ensure that all air carriers are being operated safely,” they said.

The GAO studied the frequency of equipment, maintenance and operation inspections of 92 small and large airlines in five of the FAA’s nine regions. It found wide variations in the number of inspections between regions and carriers.

The study found, for instance, that America West airline, which flew 40,664 hours, was inspected 571 times, while Atlantic Southeast, which operated 41,891 hours, was inspected 185 times.