Tue, Dec 09, 2003
Related Incidents Up 16 Percent In Last Decade
Forty-two percent of all fatal airline accidents since 1994 --
aside from the September 11th attacks -- can be attributed to
maintenance problems. The Charlotte Observer reports
that's up 16 percent from the decade before.
"To fix a problem, you've got to admit you have a problem and
identify it. We haven't gotten to admitting the problem yet," said
NTSB member John Goglia. "Unless we start dealing with these issues
sooner rather than later, we're going to pay the price and that
could mean more deaths."
The Observer reports faulty maintenance contributed to
three of the past five fatal airline accidents, including the
January 8th crash of a US Airways flight taking of
from Douglas International Airport in Charlotte
(NC).
Regulators seem aware of the
problem. Since 1990, FAA enforcement actions against maintenance
companies rose an alarming 57 percent. Industry watchers are
worried that, as airlines desperately look for ways to cut costs in
the post-9/11 slump, there will be more and more
maintenance-related accidents. But the airline industry says there
is no problem. Commercial flight is "one of the safest modes of
transportation," said Terry Kerber, vice president of maintenance
and engineering at ATA. "Safety is at the top of everybody's
organizational responsibility."
Purdue University professor Gary Eiff and a colleague conducted
an exhaustive study of aviation accidents back in 1999. They found
that maintenance problems were a factor in 42 percent of fatal
accidents during the previous decade. "We're too quick to blame
people like the pilots when a maintenance problem forces them into
a position they're not equipped to handle," Eiff said.
Right now, the FAA has about 3,700 inspectors and is reportedly
stretched way too thin to provide adequate oversight. The
administration has asked for funding to hire another 20 inspectors
next year.
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