Representatives with the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) tell ANN the union is calling on outsourced aircraft repair shops to stop fighting a recent FAA ruling that subjects them to the same drug and alcohol testing as aircraft mechanics directly employed by US airlines.
The move comes after the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), a trade association representing 690 outsourced repair shops, filed the Petition for Review with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking a review of the regulations, which extend drug and alcohol testing to subcontractors at any tier of the maintenance process.
"ARSA's placing its economic self-interest above public safety," said AMFA National Safety and Standards Director John Glynn. "The FAA noted that ARSA and other commenters 'did not substantiate their cost concerns with specific data.' Frankly, any contractor who cannot bear the nominal cost to prevent drugged or inebriated workers from performing critical maintenance should not be in the business."
ARSA maintains the new rule is an unnecessary burden that provides no aviation safety-related benefits.
"Certificate holders, including repair stations, are the safety net in FAA's system," said ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod. "They are responsible for inspecting and testing their own work and the work of all subcontractors to ensure airworthiness, and they are required to have FAA-approved drug and alcohol testing programs. Expanding the drug-and-alcohol program requirements below the maintenance tier's certificate-holder level adds only unnecessary costs and complications to a system that already ensures the safety and airworthiness of all work being done on air carrier aircraft."
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The move comes after the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), a trade association representing 690 outsourced repair shops, filed the Petition for Review with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seeking a review of the regulations, which extend drug and alcohol testing to subcontractors at any tier of the maintenance process.
"ARSA's placing its economic self-interest above public safety," said AMFA National Safety and Standards Director John Glynn. "The FAA noted that ARSA and other commenters 'did not substantiate their cost concerns with specific data.' Frankly, any contractor who cannot bear the nominal cost to prevent drugged or inebriated workers from performing critical maintenance should not be in the business."
ARSA maintains the new rule is an unnecessary burden that provides no aviation safety-related benefits.
"Certificate holders, including repair stations, are the safety net in FAA's system," said ARSA Executive Director Sarah MacLeod. "They are responsible for inspecting and testing their own work and the work of all subcontractors to ensure airworthiness, and they are required to have FAA-approved drug and alcohol testing programs. Expanding the drug-and-alcohol program requirements below the maintenance tier's certificate-holder level adds only unnecessary costs and complications to a system that already ensures the safety and airworthiness of all work being done on air carrier aircraft."
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