Unsafe Skies

A CBS 2 Special Assignment Investigation

May 12, 2003 4:02 pm US/Pacific
(KCBS) In this CBS 2 Special Assignment, investigative reporter Drew Griffin looks at a crippled airline industry struggling to survive, and a growing trend that one whistleblower says is putting safety at risk.

The charges come from a former United mechanic, fired from his job, he says, after he voiced his concerns about what his airline was doing. That airline -- United -- is one of this nation's and the world's safest airlines, and calls the whistleblower a disgruntled ex-employee who is flat-out wrong. But if Tim Hafer is right, there is a danger in the air that no one has told you about.

Special Assignment: "Unsafe Skies" originally aired Monday, May 12, 2003 at 11 p.m.

He was a mechanic for United for eight years, responsible for the constant attention these multimillion-dollar machines require to stay safe.

"And I got to see the dirty laundry so to speak," Tim Hafer says.

And the dirty laundry that bothered Tim Hafer was a process called "outsourcing." United Airlines, like other airlines, has been firing its own mechanics and sending an increasing amount of its maintenance and repair work to subcontractors.

Drew Griffin: "You say it turns into a lower quality of maintenance?"

Hafer: "Yeah."

The problem, says Hafer, is that federal regulations allow subcontractors to hire unlicensed mechanics.

More at:

http://cbs2.com/specialassign/local_story_132191012.html

See the video:

http://kcbs.dayport.com/launcher/281

Barbara,

Very good report. Bet United is rethinking subing out work. The FAA needs to be overhauled.

All my best

Jim

'The FAA needs to be overhauled.'

Hi Jim. Totally agree with you.

Barbara