=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SFGate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/c/a/2008/04/14/EDLQ1042T0= .DTL --------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, April 14, 2008 (SF Chronicle) FAA's nosedive on air safety After doing too little about air safety, the Federal Aviation Administration is now trying to do too much. The result is a wave of fines, plane groundings and disruptions that have affected nearly 300,000 travelers this past week. The federal agency needs common sense, not damage control, in finding its way out of a thicket of self-created problems. It had tolerated a buddy-system culture between inspectors and airlines that tolerated safety violations, since exposed by whistle-blowers before Congress. The testimony involving 46 Southwest planes brought a $10.2 million fine from the agency. Also, the FAA has promised reforms, including more frequent transfers of inspectors to safeguard objectivity, to ensure stricter oversight. But other parts of the fix are only making things worse. The FAA has gone on a zero-tolerance bender, demanding that airlines repair the smallest problems instantly, no matter what. The biggest result was American Airlines' decision to ground 300 planes, resulting in the cancellation of 3,000 flights that marooned thousands of passengers. The supposed violation: Clips that bundled wiring in wheel wells were 1.25 inches apart instead of 1 inch. Given the choice, most passengers would rather be on the jet with the 1-inch distance, especially if that's the established rule and American had ignored it. But it's a violation that sounds a long way from the starting point for the whole uproar - cracked metal on the Southwest jets that were permitted to fly. The FAA needed to do something - anything - quickly to save its image and mollify overseers in Congress. The federal agency has a larger challenge before it than the hurry-up desire to make the nation's air fleet safe. In a regulation-lite administration, it needs to find the leadership and steady will to enforce air safety laws. The absence of this commitment has bred the image of the FAA as a shrug-shoulder friend of air carriers. To be sure, flying remains safe. Jet travel is up and accidents are down over the past 20 years. The last major crashes involved Valujet in Florida in 1996 and an American Airlines aircraft in New York in 2001. But complacency with this successful record is a danger. In a New York Times interview, Minnesota Democrat James Oberstar, who chairs the House panel on transportation, described this outlook: "Time passes, and 'Oh, we haven't had an accident and now we can be cozy and play patty-cake with the airlines.' " Airlines have happily accepted the FAA's evolution from cop to companion. The financial hit that followed the 9/11 terrorist attacks was gradually easing until fuel prices spiked over the past year. Four airlines - Aloha, ATA, Skybus and Frontier - hit bankruptcy this month. Any help in easing repair bills will be accepted by hard-pressed airline executives. If any good comes of this episode, it could be a FAA reawakened to its duties. The agency needs a stronger approach committed to vigilant, impartial oversight of a vital industry. Congress could also be more helpful, mainly by agreeing on a long-stalled plan to upgrade the nation's air traffic control system, which is badly outdated. Satellite positioning, for example, should be substituted for outdated radar controls in guiding and spacing planes. This upgrade has languished in a debate over splitting the bill between Washington and air carriers. This overhaul won't happen until the agency proves it can perform its essential duty of protecting the flying public. That job should start now. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2008 SF Chronicle <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> If you wish to unsubscribe from the AIRLINE List, please send an E-mail to: "listserv@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx". Within the body of the text, only write the following:"SIGNOFF AIRLINE".