The Nation - News from April 20, 1988

A federal safety official blamed the rash of commuter airline accidents since last year on “spotty and ineffective” regulation by the Federal Aviation Administration and diminishing levels of pilots’ experience. “A sufficient margin of safety in air carrier operations can only be achieved through effective surveillance by FAA inspectors,” John K. Lauber, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, told the House Public Works and Transportation Committee aviation subcommittee. FAA Administrator T. Allan McArtor told the same panel that the recent accident record of commuter carriers has been “unacceptable.” He said his agency has begun a yearlong scrutiny of the commuter industry.