Flights Reportedly Taking Off with Maintenance Problems
Flights Reportedly Taking Off with Maintenance Problems
USA Today reported on Feb. 2, 2010, in a cover story that “since 2003, 65,000 U.S. flights with maintenance problems have taken off anyway.”
According to a story by Gary Stoller who conducted a six-month investigation, millions of passengers have been affected by these flights that he discovered were a result of “substandard repairs, unqualified mechanics and lax oversight by airlines and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”
Stoller obtained the information through the Freedom of Information Act which included an analysis of government fines against airlines for maintenance violations and penalty letters, according to the national story.
The story reported that “Airlines contract about 70% of their maintenance work to repair shops in the USA and abroad, where mistakes can be personnel.” It goes on to report that the FAA levied $28.2 million in fines and proposed fines against 28 U.S. air carriers for maintenance violations in the last six years.