PITbull
Veteran
- Dec 29, 2002
- 7,784
- 456
Team 4 Investigates Airplane Repair
US Airways and other airlines outsource about half their maintenance work. Some of it is done in Europe, Asia and South America.
US Airways is trying to outsource more work. The company, and other airlines, say outsourcing saves money without sacrificing safety.
Internal investigations by the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board, and inspection reports obtained by Team 4, find faulty work and lax inspections that can be deadly.
The following investigative report by Team 4's Paul Van Osdol first aired March 2, 2004, on Action News at 6 p.m.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two deadly accidents, seven years apart.
Video
Watch Van Osdol's Report
May 1996: Valujet Flight 592 crashes into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 passengers and crew.
January 2003: US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes in Charlotte, N.C., killing all 21 aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board found that faulty work done at outside maintenance contractors was a factor in both crashes.
Despite the concerns raised about maintenance contractors after the Valujet crash, Federal Aviation Administration inspector Gene McCoy says the federal agency responsible for air safety made few changes. He says there are too many repair stations spread throughout the world and too few inspectors.
If there's a problem, "we catch it sometimes and we fix it, but sometimes you don't find it until there's a major accident," McCoy said. "We have a detailed list of things we can go through, but we don't have the time to do that in most cases, so we do it piecemeal."
His concerns are backed up by a report that was done last year by the Department of Transportation's inspector general.
The report says the FAA did 1,900 inspections at airline maintenance facilities in 2002, but only 65 inspections at outside contractors used by the airlines, despite the fact that airlines contract out half of all maintenance. Investigators found problems at 86 percent of the outside repair stations that were surveyed, including mechanics who used the wrong parts or tools.
Team 4 used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain 2,400 pages of FAA inspection reports on repair stations used by US Airways in the past four years. These reports were done on 23 repair stations from Phoenix to France, and from Belgium to Brazil. We found multiple violations in these reports, but only one fine issued out of all these inspections.
Among the violations:
A Pratt and Whitney repair station in Connecticut had mechanics "not specially qualified to perform maintenance on aircraft."
An engine repaired at a General Electric plant in Scotland "was found to have one bolt missing," causing a major oil leak.
The Snecma repair station in France was "failing to adequately monitor compliance with federal aviation regulations."
A Honeywell repair shop in Arizona overhauled an oil pump and returned it to the airline "with missing parts and an unapproved pump drive shaft." That was the only inspection resulting in a fine.
None of those violations resulted in accidents. Company spokesmen who returned our calls say the violations were corrected promptly.
Sarah MacLeod, Aeronautical Repair Station Association: "Our focus has always been on regulatory compliance and ensuring the highest degree of compliance. It's very hard to stay in business if you're not safe."
In November 2002, a United Airlines airbus was forced to make an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago shortly after takeoff. The NTSB found that pilots were unable to retract the nose gear. When the plane landed, the gear wheels turned 90 degrees and blew both tires.
The airbus' nose gear had recently been overhauled by Mobile Aerospace, which is also doing airbus work for US Airways.
In December, the FAA inspected Mobile Aerospace and found that it does not have the capability to pressure-test aircraft ducts after they have been welded. The FAA says that is a crucial tool for making sure welds hold. The inspection also found Mobile Aerospace failing to comply with the FAA's drug-testing program.
Mobile Aerospace officials did not respond to Team 4's request for an interview.
The FAA inspectors for Mobile Aerospace are based in Birmingham, Ala., a four-hour drive away from Mobile.
Van Osdol: "Is it possible to do a surprise inspection in those circumstances?"
McCoy: "Very difficult. The less often we're there on a surprise basis, we don't get the picture. We don't get to see what mistakes may be made so we can fix them."
It's a different story at the US Airways maintenance hangar at Pittsburgh International Airport, where FAA inspectors are in the shop every day.
The FAA says it is changing its ways to do more inspections on outside contractors.
Marion Blakey, FAA administrator: "We're going to make sure that we've got our resources and our inspector workforce keeping up exactly with the way the airlines are doing business."
As airlines continue to cut costs, the head of the machinists union says the airlines and the federal government need to make sure safety is not sacrificed.
Frank Schifano, International Association of Machinists: "We have the best safety record in the world. Why would we jeopardize that for a cheap ticket?"
Us Airways, citing an ongoing legal battle with the machinists union, declined to comment on its use of contractors. In the past, the airline has said that its contractors are safe.
Air Midwest, the owner of the plane that crashed in Charlotte, announced last month that it will no longer send repair work to outside contractors
Copyright 2004 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Email This Story Print This Story
US Airways and other airlines outsource about half their maintenance work. Some of it is done in Europe, Asia and South America.
US Airways is trying to outsource more work. The company, and other airlines, say outsourcing saves money without sacrificing safety.
Internal investigations by the Department of Transportation and the National Transportation Safety Board, and inspection reports obtained by Team 4, find faulty work and lax inspections that can be deadly.
The following investigative report by Team 4's Paul Van Osdol first aired March 2, 2004, on Action News at 6 p.m.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two deadly accidents, seven years apart.
Video
Watch Van Osdol's Report
May 1996: Valujet Flight 592 crashes into the Florida Everglades, killing all 110 passengers and crew.
January 2003: US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes in Charlotte, N.C., killing all 21 aboard.
The National Transportation Safety Board found that faulty work done at outside maintenance contractors was a factor in both crashes.
Despite the concerns raised about maintenance contractors after the Valujet crash, Federal Aviation Administration inspector Gene McCoy says the federal agency responsible for air safety made few changes. He says there are too many repair stations spread throughout the world and too few inspectors.
If there's a problem, "we catch it sometimes and we fix it, but sometimes you don't find it until there's a major accident," McCoy said. "We have a detailed list of things we can go through, but we don't have the time to do that in most cases, so we do it piecemeal."
His concerns are backed up by a report that was done last year by the Department of Transportation's inspector general.
The report says the FAA did 1,900 inspections at airline maintenance facilities in 2002, but only 65 inspections at outside contractors used by the airlines, despite the fact that airlines contract out half of all maintenance. Investigators found problems at 86 percent of the outside repair stations that were surveyed, including mechanics who used the wrong parts or tools.
Team 4 used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain 2,400 pages of FAA inspection reports on repair stations used by US Airways in the past four years. These reports were done on 23 repair stations from Phoenix to France, and from Belgium to Brazil. We found multiple violations in these reports, but only one fine issued out of all these inspections.
Among the violations:
A Pratt and Whitney repair station in Connecticut had mechanics "not specially qualified to perform maintenance on aircraft."
An engine repaired at a General Electric plant in Scotland "was found to have one bolt missing," causing a major oil leak.
The Snecma repair station in France was "failing to adequately monitor compliance with federal aviation regulations."
A Honeywell repair shop in Arizona overhauled an oil pump and returned it to the airline "with missing parts and an unapproved pump drive shaft." That was the only inspection resulting in a fine.
None of those violations resulted in accidents. Company spokesmen who returned our calls say the violations were corrected promptly.
Sarah MacLeod, Aeronautical Repair Station Association: "Our focus has always been on regulatory compliance and ensuring the highest degree of compliance. It's very hard to stay in business if you're not safe."
In November 2002, a United Airlines airbus was forced to make an emergency landing at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago shortly after takeoff. The NTSB found that pilots were unable to retract the nose gear. When the plane landed, the gear wheels turned 90 degrees and blew both tires.
The airbus' nose gear had recently been overhauled by Mobile Aerospace, which is also doing airbus work for US Airways.
In December, the FAA inspected Mobile Aerospace and found that it does not have the capability to pressure-test aircraft ducts after they have been welded. The FAA says that is a crucial tool for making sure welds hold. The inspection also found Mobile Aerospace failing to comply with the FAA's drug-testing program.
Mobile Aerospace officials did not respond to Team 4's request for an interview.
The FAA inspectors for Mobile Aerospace are based in Birmingham, Ala., a four-hour drive away from Mobile.
Van Osdol: "Is it possible to do a surprise inspection in those circumstances?"
McCoy: "Very difficult. The less often we're there on a surprise basis, we don't get the picture. We don't get to see what mistakes may be made so we can fix them."
It's a different story at the US Airways maintenance hangar at Pittsburgh International Airport, where FAA inspectors are in the shop every day.
The FAA says it is changing its ways to do more inspections on outside contractors.
Marion Blakey, FAA administrator: "We're going to make sure that we've got our resources and our inspector workforce keeping up exactly with the way the airlines are doing business."
As airlines continue to cut costs, the head of the machinists union says the airlines and the federal government need to make sure safety is not sacrificed.
Frank Schifano, International Association of Machinists: "We have the best safety record in the world. Why would we jeopardize that for a cheap ticket?"
Us Airways, citing an ongoing legal battle with the machinists union, declined to comment on its use of contractors. In the past, the airline has said that its contractors are safe.
Air Midwest, the owner of the plane that crashed in Charlotte, announced last month that it will no longer send repair work to outside contractors
Copyright 2004 by ThePittsburghChannel. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Email This Story Print This Story
Now the media is a source? Wasnt i slapped for using the media as a source last week? Hmmmm! More scare tactics here i see. Watch that nose girl when you shoot. I mean isnt that saying of shooting your own nose off despite your face applicable here?
