Watchdog Criticizes FAA Oversight Of American Airlines Maintenance
October 22 2021 - 11:39AM
Dow Jones News
By Micah Maidenberg
An audit by the U.S. Transportation Department's inspector
general has concluded federal air-safety regulators are falling
short in monitoring maintenance practices at American Airlines
Group Inc.
The Federal Aviation Administration's oversight controls haven't
been strong enough to ensure American Airlines' maintenance fixes
addressed root causes of problems, according to a copy of the
report posted on the inspector general's website.
In 2015, the FAA initiated an effort meant to ensure inspectors
were focusing on the underlying causes of aviation-safety problems,
according to the report. The inspector general's audit of
American's maintenance practices began three years later following
a request by members of the U.S. House Transportation Committee.
The agency is still refining the guidance it gives inspectors,
according to the report.
The inspector general's office, led by Eric Soskin, said that in
92% of the 185 cases it sampled between March 2016 and March 2020,
FAA inspectors accepted American's determinations of the problems'
underlying causes that didn't actually identify what led to the
lapses.
The FAA also closed out its compliance actions before the
carrier took corrective measures and the agency could check them,
according to the inspector general's report.
American, the largest carrier globally, hasn't had a fatal
accident in nearly two decades, the report said. The report from
the inspector general's office said that figuring out why problems
occur, and not just focusing on mistakes by individuals, is
important for improving aviation safety.
A spokeswoman for American said the safety of customers and
employees guides the airline's decisions, and that American
welcomed the inspector general's report. "We plan to work with the
FAA to ensure we take positive action and continuously refine and
improve our safety controls," she said.
The FAA said that it agrees with many of the recommendations
from the inspector general and is taking steps to address them. The
agency has identified many of the same issues in the course of its
regular oversight work, according to a person familiar with the
FAA.
The agency plans to beef up training, among other efforts,
according to a memo from the FAA included in the report.
The review also scrutinized how the FAA evaluates American's
safety efforts, and whether the agency is sufficiently policing
risks.
For example, American once miscategorized the safety risk of an
airplane's emergency escape slide that didn't work, according to
the report. It was given a moderate risk rating. But had the
inoperable slide been designated as serious, it might have led to a
higher-level response from company management, the report said.
American reported the issue with the slide to the FAA after
discovering a vendor had left behind a tool, the company
spokeswoman said. Following the inspection, she said, the vendor
fixed its process.
The Transportation Department inspector general's office
declined to comment.
--Andrew Tangel contributed to this article.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 22, 2021 11:24 ET (15:24 GMT)
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