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| Who worked on your airplane? https://forum.costaricaticas.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=19433 |
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| Author: | Witling [ Wed Oct 03, 2007 12:33 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Who worked on your airplane? |
Focus on terrorism may obscure other airline safety threats On the Road with Bill McGee of USAToday.com For six years, most Americans have viewed airline safety through the prism of security and the threat of terrorism. But terrorists don't pose the only threat to this country's exemplary aviation safety record. I spent most of 2006 investigating airline safety on behalf of Consumer Reports magazine. After nine months, I came to believe the greatest long-term threat to U.S. airline passengers stems not from terrorism, but the outsourcing of critical maintenance work to third-party vendors both here and abroad. The result of that work—"An Accident Waiting to Happen?"—was published in the March 2007 issue of Consumer Reports (available to subscribers at www.consumerreports.org/cro/travel/index.htm). We found that even though domestic airlines have dramatically increased their use of outsourced maintenance facilities, there are critical regulatory differences between repair shops run by airlines and those by outside vendors, even within the U.S. Experts also told us there's a correlation between outsourced maintenance and airline-induced flight delays. Further, we quoted front-line Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) maintenance inspectors concerned about their inability to conduct timely inspections, and airline mechanics concerned about shoddy work done overseas. I also spoke to the parents of a young woman killed on an Air Midwest/US Airways Express flight in 2003, in a crash that was attributed to improper servicing by an outside maintenance vendor. Questions about the FAA's oversight have been growing for years. Back in 1996, in the wake of the fatal ValuJet 592 and TWA 800 crashes, Donald F. Kettl, a non-resident senior fellow for Governmental Studies at the Brookings Institution, wrote about the "subtle pressures" faced by the FAA: "First, in an era where government's critics believe the only good regulation is a dead regulation, the FAA has been hard pressed to minimize its intrusiveness into the airline industry. Second, faced with fast growing start-up airlines and old airlines under tough cost pressures, the FAA has strained to cope with vast changes in the way the industry operates." Eleven years later, those words are nothing less than prophetic. Shortly after the Consumer Reports article was published, the House Subcommittee on Aviation held hearings on outsourced maintenance facilities and then the Senate did the same. In testimony before the Senate in June(www.oig.dot.gov/item.jsp?id=2068), Calvin Scovel, the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Transportation, noted the percentage of outsourced maintenance dollars for domestic airlines increased from 37% to 64% between 1996 and 2006, and the number of foreign facilities servicing U.S. carriers increased from 344 to 698 over the last 13 years. Of greater concern, Scovel also stated, "[We] have identified challenges in FAA's ability to effectively monitor the increase in outsourcing." Other problems remain While maintenance outsourcing remains a vital concern, there are other threats to airline safety. For some time now, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has published its list of "Most Wanted" safety improvements for aviation (www.ntsb.gov/recs/mostwanted/aviation_issues.htm). Currently the list contains six items, including such hot-button issues as human fatigue factors; airport runway incursions and ground collisions; and the continuing need to improve crew resource management techniques in the cockpit. Of these issues, the FAA's response is ranked as "unacceptable" on five and "progressing slowly" on the sixth. Then there's the nation's aging air traffic control network. Last week the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) cited a major communications breakdown at a regional control center in Memphis as "yet another cause for alarm regarding aviation infrastructure." According to Susan Gurley, ACTE's executive director, the design, maintenance and installation of updated equipment in control centers are as important as the aircraft themselves. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/columnis ... csp=Travel |
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| Author: | DrForm [ Wed Oct 03, 2007 2:31 pm ] |
| Post subject: | |
Witling thanks for the info. I had almost began to have a false sense of security.Thanks for opening up my eyes again. |
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| Author: | SmoothWind7 [ Thu Oct 04, 2007 12:22 am ] |
| Post subject: | Outsourcing Quality |
Witling wrote: ...While maintenance outsourcing remains a vital concern, there are other threats to airline safety ... Currently the list contains six items, including such hot-button issues as human fatigue factors; airport runway incursions and ground collisions; and the continuing need to improve crew resource management techniques in the cockpit... Witling,
I hqve experienced some of these problems in CR including "human fatigue factors, runway incursions, ground collisions and the continuing need to improve crew resource management techniques in the cockpit." My vital concern remains with the long term impact of outsourcing quality. I took my Citation X down in August and outsourced some work in San Jose. Gustavo serviced the transmission, Jimmy aired the tires, Juan Carlos waxed the windshield, Alejandra sorted bottles, Johanna balanced the books, Florida shaved the seats and Pamela polished the knobs. The X looked great for the return fight which was especially enjoyable once I discovered hot-button issue, Paula, stowed in the John. After reading this report I am now wondering... "Is it Safe" for my return trip in November? Thanks, Smoothwind ... Heck I might just take a risk. |
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