FAA Says Airlines Must Monitor Their Own Safety

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will tighten oversight of airline safety after aircraft groundings at big carriers, but will not absolve airlines of responsibility for monitoring their own safety, the FAA’s senior official said last week.

“I do not want the FAA to be the quality control unit for each airline,” Robert Sturgell, acting FAA administrator, told a Senate appropriations subcommittee. “I want them to check quality control.”

Mr. Sturgell was questioned about maintenance lapses in FAA oversight at Southwest Airlines in March that triggered closer scrutiny of all airlines. Stepped up industry-wide checks revealed problems at American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and other carriers and led to hundreds of planes being grounded.

Big airlines grounded mostly older Boeing 737s and MD-80s over the past month to re-inspect them for structural and wiring problems. Airlines canceled roughly 4,000 flights, but the worst disruption was at American, which grounded 300 planes last week.

“Passengers are angry and upset. I am very concerned,” said Senator Patty Murray, chairman of the appropriations subcommittee on transportation.

Concerns over the safety of Southwest planes were brought to light by FAA whistle-blowers, who took the information to Congress.

Airlines are permitted to self-report compliance through an FAA system, the reliability of which has been questioned in the past. It crunches data, tracks trends, and helps to identify risks and safety priorities.