Wakening for a Lethargic FAA

On April 10, ValuJet Airlines, a young carrier expanding at breakneck speed, announced that it would rein in its rapid growth in the spring and summer, partly because of heightened regulatory scrutiny. The Federal Aviation Administration conducted an intense seven-day investigation of the airline’s operations.

ValuJet had logged five accidents in January and February: Three planes ran off runways, the landing gear broke in a fourth and the tail section of still another was damaged during a landing. In March, an emergency chute deployed on a ValuJet plane as it rolled away from a terminal gate. Despite the run of mishaps, the FAA never had any stiff reaction, such as ordering a relicensing review of the airline.

Then, on May 11, came the crash in Florida that killed 110. Immediately U.S. Transportation Secretary Frederico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson declared, repeatedly, that ValuJet planes were safe. But this week the FAA grounded the company’s fleet. The day after Monday’s action, Hinson cited all manner of problems with the airline, including failure to establish the airworthiness of its aircraft, “multiple shortcomings” in controlling the quality of contractors’ work and a “lack of engineering capability in the maintenance support organization.” Anthony J. Broderick, the agency’s longtime associate administrator for regulation and certification, is being dumped.

Now Hinson says the FAA did not accurately judge the airworthiness of ValuJet planes before the Florida crash. Secretary Pena says the Clinton administration will ask Congress to limit the FAA’s mandate to safety, eliminating its role in promoting the airline industry. Where was that good idea immediately after the Florida crash?

For its part, ValuJet hotly contests the federal moves against it, saying it hopes to resume operations soon.

The lasting impression is one of an FAA grossly unprepared for a new wave of aggressive, no-frills, quick-start airlines. ValuJet’s practice of using mostly older planes, which require far more inspections and attention, for example, had sent up signals throughout the airline industry. It should not have taken a crash to get the FAA to own up to its shortcomings.