My friend points out the following:

"Following the crash of Swissair Flight 111 in 1998, a February 16, 2003
article in USA Today by investigative reporter Gary Stoller detailed the
improper certification & installation of the In-Flight Entertainment (IFE)
system by Santa Barbara Aerospace & Hollingsead International, and in
particular, the poor oversight of the project by the FAA.

As a result of the article, Oregon Representative Peter DeFazio asked the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) to look at the way the FAA oversees
its use of 'designees' - those that perform functions such as certification
activities on behalf of the FAA. The GAO report was finally released on
November 16, 2004, six years after the crash.

One of the panel experts chosen from industry to evaluate the FAA's
inadequate oversight of its designees was David Orfant.

Mr. Orfant, it turns out, was a consultant DAS inspector working for Santa
Barbara Aerospace during its certification of the entertainment systems
installed on Swissair airplanes. "

He asks "who oversees who?" That's a damn good question.

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