Southwest, FAA Relationship Cited in Probe

A cozy relationship between the Federal Aviation Administration and Southwest Airlines led to safety lapses last year that put thousands of passengers at risk, according to a government report released yesterday.

The Department of Transportation's inspector general office said the FAA developed "an overly collaborative relationship" with Southwest. The FAA said earlier this year that its inspectors improperly allowed Southwest to fly 46 Boeing 737 jets that needed to be inspected for fuselage cracks.

The inspector general's report listed proposals aimed at beefing up government supervision of the FAA's main safety systems, which encourage airlines to voluntarily report safety issues without penalties. The report also calls for a "cooling-off period" of perhaps two years that would prohibit FAA inspectors from being hired by the same airlines they oversaw as government employees. The report also recommended rotating inspectors and establishing an independent organization to investigate safety issues identified by FAA employees.

Inspector General Calvin Scovel criticized FAA management for losing sight of its mission and for fostering a culture where air carriers, and not the public, are considered the "primary customer."

"FAA must ensure its air carrier oversight mission clearly identifies the flying public as a primary stakeholder and beneficiary of its inspection efforts," he said. He suggested the agency commit to the mission in writing and communicate it to its inspection staff.

The FAA said it found the report "extremely helpful." The agency said it had begun implementing many of the findings. "We welcome the IG recommendations and take them very seriously as we continue our constant work to improve the safety of the flying public," the agency said.

The investigation raises deeper questions about the effectiveness of FAA oversight, given its reliance on voluntary disclosures by airlines. The Southwest report is one of a series of investigations launched by the inspector general into recent maintenance troubles at airlines.

The inspector general's office is now thought to be focusing on the FAA's oversight of American Airlines, according to the carrier and its pilots' union.

For eight days last spring, Southwest operated the 46 unchecked aircraft on 1,451 flights, carrying 145,000 passengers.

Cracks could have led to fuselage separation and rapid depressurization. When Southwest later inspected the aircraft, it found fuselage cracks in five of them, the report said. Two FAA whistle-blowers brought the problems to light.

The FAA has required regular aircraft inspections since an Aloha Airlines 737 lost a major portion of its hull at 24,000 feet in 1988, resulting in one death and multiple injuries.

In a statement, Southwest spokeswoman Beth Harbin said the airline is prepared to follow any guidelines that result from the review. She said the airline is conducting an internal review and would continue to make changes to comply with FAA directives as well as its own maintenance policies.