Oberstar calls for more oversight of airline maintenance

Washington DC - Congressman Jim Oberstar is concerned that standards for maintenance and inspection of passenger airliners could be slipping.  He wants to see more oversight and inspection to make sure that work is being done right. 

Outsourcing of aircraft maintenance and how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) monitors aircraft maintenance was the topic of hearings held on Capitol Hill today.  U.S. air carriers have struggled financially since the 9-11 attacks in 2001.  Today, all but one of the major U.S. airlines outsources maintenance and repair work to third party vendors to save money.  In many cases, these maintenance contractors are not FAA certified repair stations.  Additionally, the amount of maintenance and repair work being outsourced to foreign countries has doubled in the past ten years. 

In today's hearing, Oberstar told FAA officials that he is concerned about how they are approaching the task of regulating aircraft maintenance. "I am troubled that you say, 'we adhere to the same safety standards as the businesses we regulate.'  That's not good enough, FAA is the standard," said Oberstar.

Oberstar expressed particular concern over the fact that the FAA rarely performs on-site inspections of maintenance and repair work.  In most cases FAA inspectors only review paperwork that is submitted by the companies that do the maintenance.  FAA officials admit that they only visit one such facility, in the country of El Salvador, every three months.  "You lose contact with the reality that this is an aircraft, not a piece of paper, not a document popping up on a computer screen," said Oberstar.  "I am much more comfortable with hands-on than I am with fingers on the keyboard and pop-up screens."

Today's hearing was held by the Aviation Subcommittee of the Transportation Committee.  As chairman of that full committee, Oberstar will play a key role in drafting the FAA reauthorization bill this year.  "We're going to make sure that more money is appropriated for inspectors," said Oberstar.  "We have to make sure that this maintenance and repair work is being done right."