Wed, Feb 26, 2003
Last
week, FAA Administrator Marion Blakey gave a speech at the Aero
Club of Washington. Administrator Blakey's speech seemed to signal
a new initiative on the part of the FAA to bring some long-sought
consistency to the rabidly inconsistent FSDO network. Blakey's
February 20th speech stated that, "One thing that we’ve heard
over and over is that we need to be more consistent with our
customers. You can get one answer from one FAA office or region and
another from another.
So, I’m announcing today a new customer-service initiative
that provides written guidance and training to all managers and
supervisors in our regulation and certification offices throughout
the country on applying FAA rules and policies in a standard and
consistent manner. And, we want to know from our customers if
we’re not being consistent. We’re going to let them
know that they have the right to ask for review on any
inspector’s decision on any call that’s made in the
certification process … that they can “buck it
up” to first-line supervisors, field office managers,
regional division managers, or even to Washington if necessary
– with no fear of retribution. Information on how to do this
— names, titles, and phone numbers — will be
prominently displayed on the Web and in all our regional and field
offices. We need your help to make this program a success."
Blakey also
noted that she wanted to keep America's aviation supremacy intact,
"The third thing we cannot allow to happen is the loss of
America’s role as world aviation leader. Man-powered flight
began in the United States. We created much of the
technology, and we have set the standards for 100 years. The
time has now come for the FAA to be as globally minded as our
airlines. Aviation safety is one of our nation’s most
important exports. And we’re taking immediate steps at the
FAA to ensure our actions not only maintain — but enhance
— America’s aviation safety leadership role."
ANN Note: Hmmm... If this is truly a concern on
the part of the Administrator, ANN suggests that the FAA quit
ceding power over the aviation industry to parties that are
decimating it with one ridiculous aero-ignorant security attack
after another. While no one suggests that there isn't a need for
more effective security in a post-9/11 world, one would hope that
such efforts would be designed to actually offer that
much-sought-after security while still preserving essential
American values and with an eye toward allowing the aviation
industry to survive and grow... --Jim Campbell, ANN E-I-C
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