Posted 3/9/2003 11:02 PM








Officials to probe use of aviation contractors
By Gary Stoller, USA TODAY

The General Accounting Office is launching an investigation into the federal government's use of thousands of private companies to inspect and certify airlines' planes and aircraft alterations.

GAO officials say the new probe was triggered by a Feb. 17 USA TODAY article and a letter Friday from Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore. He said that the Federal Aviation Administration's use of private companies has been criticized and that the newspaper story suggested "the aviation industry was supervising itself without adequate controls and oversight by FAA." (Related story: Doomed plane's gaming system exposes holes in FAA oversight)

The article documented how a faulty interactive entertainment system on a Swissair jet that crashed in September 1998 was incorrectly installed and improperly certified by private companies. All 229 people aboard Flight 111, which left New York and plunged into the Atlantic Ocean near Nova Scotia, were killed.

Canada's Transportation Safety Board will announce the findings of its investigation on March 27. The board, which has been assisted by the FAA, found early on that wires in the system and other wires short-circuited and could have led to a fire.

The system was made by a small Las Vegas company, Interactive Flight Technologies.

An FAA-approved contractor, Santa Barbara Aerospace, was hired to certify that the system met FAA safety standards and oversee its installation on Swissair jets. SBA's certification violated FAA procedures, according to the FAA's post-crash review.

The FAA did not oversee SBA's work on the project aggressively, even though it had criticized the company's work in the past, USA TODAY reported, based on a review of FAA documents.

After the Swissair crash, the FAA found problems with the design, installation and certification of IFT's systems and banned them. SBA lost operating authority and went bankrupt.

Unknown to much of the traveling public, thousands of individuals and companies like SBA have been increasingly used in the past few decades to do the FAA's inspection and certification work. The FAA relies on designees because it doesn't have enough staff or expertise to monitor the large number of planes flying today. Critics charge that designees may not be impartial certifiers, because they are hired and paid by the companies that want their products certified.

The GAO has not yet set a timetable for completing its investigation of the designee program, says Gerald Dillingham, the agency's director of civil aviation issues.

The program and other issues raised by USA TODAY's article also concern the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General. Deputy IG Todd Zinser says the office is "evaluating the information to determine whether further investigation is warranted."

FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto says the agency is "ready to assist in any review" of its programs. He wouldn't comment further.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/biztravel/2003-03-09-swissair_x.htm

From this week's AVWeb:

FAA Use Of Designees Under Microscope
The General Accounting Office will investigate the FAA's practice of using private contractors and designees to inspect and certify airlines' planes and aircraft alterations, USA Today reported Monday. The probe was requested last week by U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) of the House Aviation Subcommittee, who asked the GAO to study the FAA's inspection designee program. DeFazio cited several recent reports that raised questions about the number of designees -- more than 20,000 -- and the FAA's oversight of the program. DeFazio asked the GAO to determine how large the designee programs are and what activities they perform; what the FAA's procedures are for hiring, overseeing and removing designees; and whether the FAA has plans in place to ensure the integrity and effectiveness of its designee programs. DeFazio also asked the GAO to check into how the FAA manages its enforcement options for the airlines, such as warnings, fines, and suspension or revocation of operating certificates.

U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) writes 2 letters calls for investigation of the Federal Aviation Administration�s inspection designee program and its enforcement system as a result of Gary Stoller's USA Today article:

http://www.house.gov/defazio/030703AVRelease.shtml

The program and other issues raised by USA TODAY's article also concern the Department of Transportation's Office of Inspector General. Deputy IG Todd Zinser says the office is "evaluating the information to determine whether further investigation is warranted."

In light of the TSB's discovery and Gary Stoller of USA Today's revelations, I hope an investigation will be launched. There are certainly a lot of questions that need to be answered about how this power sucking monster ended up installed on swissair's MD-11 jets.