The Federal Aviation Administration S Oversight Of Outsourced Air Carrier Maintenance

Hearing to review the results of an oversight investigation. Two FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors have provided evidence raising serious questions of conduct violating the Fed. Aviation Reg¿s. (FARs) in the inspection and maint. program of Southwest Airlines (SWA). FAA employees have engaged in conduct, ¿which constitutes a violation of Fed. law, rule or reg¿n., gross mismgt., an abuse of authority and a substantial damage to public safety.¿ The Maint. Inspector for SWA knowingly allowed the airline to operate in March 2007 (and possibly beyond), and well after the inspection deadlines on a mandatory FAA Airworthiness Directive. There may be a pattern of regulatory abuse and that these regulatory lapses may be more widespread. Illustrations.

This is a review of the FAA¿s oversight of air carriers¿ outsourced aircraft maintenance. As of July 14, 2008, there were 4,159 domestic and 709 foreign repair stations certificated by FAA to perform maintenance on U.S. aircraft. When an air carrier uses an FAA-certificated repair station to repair its aircraft or parts, the repair station¿s organization becomes an extension of the air carrier¿s maintenance organization. This report: (1) identifies the type and quantity of maintenance performed by external repair stations; and (2) determines whether FAA is effectively monitoring air carriers¿ oversight of external repair stations¿ work and verifying that safety requirements are met. Illustrations.