By LESLIE MILLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- As airlines cut costs by having others do their maintenance, federal safety inspectors need to keep a closer eye on the work, the Transportation Department's inspector general told Congress Thursday.
Airlines contracted out 54 percent of their repair work last year, half again as much as they did in 1996, Kenneth Mead told the Senate aviation subcommittee.
"The transition to increased use of outside repair facilities is not the issue," Mead said. "It is that maintenance, wherever it is done, requires oversight."
There are 212,188 repair stations in the United States, with 31,932 in California alone, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Some do routine day-to-day work, others do comprehensive inspections and overhauls. Most do maintenance on specific airplane components, according to the Aeronautical Repair Station Association.
Mead said airline maintenance officers do a lot of inspecting of the airline's own maintenance, and they're supposed to do the same for outsourced repair work.
"We found they'd show up once, twice, three times a year," Mead said. "I think that's a big issue."
More than two years ago, Mead's investigators reported that contract mechanics used incorrect parts, improperly calibrated tools and outdated manuals at 18 of 21 aircraft maintenance facilities they visited.
Following the investigation, the FAA agreed to inspect repair stations more thoroughly and more consistently, in part by adding more inspectors.
But the number of inspectors has fallen in the past two years to 3,200 from 3,400, and the FAA's progress in improving oversight of repair stations has been slow, Mead said.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., said the FAA isn't getting enough funding to do its job properly.
"I am deeply concerned that the FAA is losing a number of its most senior safety inspectors and does not have the ability to replace them," Rockefeller said.
FAA chief Marion Blakey said the agency plans to hire 80 more inspectors, but Congress may soon add money to its budget that would allow nearly 100 to be hired.
Blakey pointed out that this is the safest period in U.S. aviation history, with one fatality for every 15 million flights. There hasn't been a major commercial airplane crash in the United States in more than four years.
"We do not have any data that suggests contract maintenance is any less safe," Blakey said.
Blakey said the airlines and manufacturers are also responsible for making sure repairs and maintenance are done correctly. In some cases, she said, engine maintenance is often outsourced to the manufacturer - probably the best place to have it done.
The issue of maintenance oversight arose during the Northwest Airlines mechanics strike, when an FAA inspector raised safety concerns about the carrier's replacement workers.
After FAA inspector Mark Lund made the allegations on Aug. 22, Northwest complained about him to the FAA. Lund was reassigned to desk duty.
Since then, the FAA and the inspector general checked out Lund's allegations and discovered that some were true.
They found that the airline was using managers to do line maintenance and inspections, which didn't affect safety because they were trained and qualified. But Northwest agreed to changes to make sure that newly trained replacement workers were overseen properly.
They also found that Northwest didn't follow its own voluntary practice of examining incoming parts for repairs and maintenance. The FAA is taking an enforcement action over the issue.
The airline is still safe to fly, Mead told reporters Thursday.
Mead also said that Lund had been reinstated in his old job. However, he was being escorted by Northwest Airlines personnel when he was conducting inspections. "We think that practice should be discontinued and we have notified the FAA in writing," he said.
Northwest spokesman Kurt Ebenhoch said the airline gives more access to FAA inspectors than the government requires and what most other airlines allow.
"We generally provide unfettered access to FAA inspectors," Ebenhoch said. But, he said, since FAA still has an open investigation into Lund's professionalism and conduct, "we are requiring an escort."
Source: Seattlepi.com
