My thoughts regarding the current industry fiasco: American Airlines cancelling thousands of flights.

[Parvaz]

No doubt you have been reading about the tens of thousands of
stranded passengers in the wake of American Airlines' decision to
cancel a significant percentage of their daily flights, I have as
well. Here is my take on the current disaster.

In defense of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) it is
important to note that it is a huge organization responsible for
overseeing many facets of aviation; the standardization of runways,
taxiways, signage and lighting. The FAA disseminates weather
information and maintains navigation facilities. Air traffic control
centers and control towers, staffed by FAA professionals; orchestrate
the safe movement of complex aircraft, piloted by individuals of
differing skills and mastery of the English language, on the ground
and in the air through some of the most complex airspace on the
planet. They administer the testing and certification of mechanics,
dispatchers, air traffic controllers, and pilots. I have only listed
a few of the functions within the FAA there are more, many more. The
FAA has presided over the safest transportation system in the world
and they deserve their share of the credit.

Within the FAA you will find individuals who have invested their
working lives, some 30 or more years, into becoming masters of their
areas of responsibility they are the brains, heart and soul of that
organization. Some in senior management are another story. That is
not to imply that the upper echelon of the FAA is inhabited by
buffoons, they are not. However, in many cases, those individuals are
not aviation professionals with decades of aviation experience.
Rather they are political appointees with needs, priorities and goals
of their own.

Years ago I remember watching an evening news video segment of the
new (at the time) incoming Administrator of the FAA (top job at the
FAA) landing a small Cessna Citation business jet. This individual
was getting their "type rating" in a jet airplane. The main point of
the news story was that the incoming administrator of the FAA was an
actual "jet" pilot. I wasn't impressed with those credentials any
more than you would be impressed by me moving into the top spot at
Microsoft or IBM with brand new undergraduate degree in business
administration. The current acting Administrator of the FAA, Robert
A. Sturgell, is an exception. He dose have a strong aviation
background.

The FAA is a bureaucracy; as such its primary mission is to protect
itself. Recently the FAA had its image tarnished. In the
bureaucratic world having your image tarnished is a very bad thing;
such a condition cannot be allowed to continue. Some supervisors at
the FAA by their alleged actions brought the agency into dishonor.
It has come to light that several FAA safety inspectors discovered
errors at Southwest Airlines. When they took their findings to their
own superiors, at the FAA, they were discouraged from doing what they
thought was in the best interest of the flying public. Allegations
have been made that their jobs were threatened by supervisors who were
too friendly with Southwest Airlines. In trying to reestablish their
damaged credibility the FAA fined Southwest Airlines 10.2 million
dollars for not complying with inspections that had been due.

As a bureaucracy the FAA must act to restore its image. That they
did by leveling the largest fine in their history against Southwest
Airlines. The public must be convinced that the FAA is an
indispensible entity and that it is doing the best possible job
ensuring the safety of the public.

When Southwest airlines got slapped with a 10.2 million dollar fine
every airline in the country took notice. Shortly thereafter American
Airlines finds itself being notified by the FAA that they have not
complied completely correctly with the provisions of a mandated
maintenance function required on the MD-80s they fly. Rather than
face the wrath of the FAA (currently publically humiliated) that is in
no mood to grant any exceptions (doing so would further risking their
reputation) American Airlines cancels flight-lots of them-in fact
thousands. Those cancellations stranded tens of thousands of
passengers over many days.

The reason you are stranded, exhausted, enraged and unsure when you
will be getting to your destination; is because an internal problem at
the FAA was made public. That disclosure made the FAA looks bad. The
FAA trying to restore its damaged reputation slapped Southwest with a
10.2 million dollar fine. Those actions, and others, telegraph to the
airlines that the FAA has adopted a take-no-prisoners, slash & burn
and no-tolerance attitude with any non-compliance on the part of the
airlines. The FAA's actions effectively shut down any flight that is
in non-compliance with any FAA requirement. That is the reason you
are stuck. The FAA's actions, internally and externally, caused the
cancellations and the resulting misery. It is better to have you
stranded than for the FAA to be portrayed in a negative light by the
media.

In the past you would have flown to your destination and the
maintenance function, responsible for grounding the MD-80s, would have
been carried out in a matter of weeks.

The flight cancellations hurt each and every passenger. You did not
get what you paid for and you were harmed in the process. American
Airlines will loose millions of dollars in revenue and an incalculable
amount in goodwill. What I am watching with great interest is who
will get the "blame" for what happened. Will the media portray
American Airlines or the upper echelon management of the FAA as the
villain?

[pavas]

Every pilot who was required to accept a non compliant C of A,(checks
not carried out as required) was forced to risk his/her licence by
commercial pressures. So there could have been a third party to blame.
If the pilots had been able to safely refuse an aircraft without the
risk of being put at the top of the shortlist for redundancies then
the airlines would have been forced to carry out those checks.

Unfortunately as we know, pilots do not always have these powers or
protections although they should. However, the primary responsability
and what passengers of commercial flights pay for is to arrive at
their destination as safely as humanly possible, on time would be
ideal. If this is not possible then the flight should be cancelled.
Thus the passengers did finally get what they paid for, they got the
proper protection from undue risk. This is why there is a difference
between a private pilot's licence,(knowing how to fly) and a
commercial licence( being deemed responsable and knowledgeable enough)
and an ATPL. Ideally there should be some sort of impeachment
procedure for the loss of a licence/job as too many commercial
pressures come to bear.

I would rather be late than dead on time.

It is true that in many cases, DDR (defects deferred for
rectification) and MEL dispatches do not effect the basic safety of a
flight, however these have been judged and decided by a larger panel
of expertise and a pilot refers to those decisions during a 30 or 45
minute turnaround. Remember the worst Shuttle disaster was caused by O
rings which had been DDRed

Many passenger were inconvenienced and someone is responsable for that
individually or collectively, but a tough decision had to be made, and
it was correctly made. Can anyone imagine the legal battles and
liability cases, not to mention the loss of lives if one of those
cancelled flights had gone down as a result of those checks not having
been carried out. Relatives would no longer be complaining about
delays, but would be insisting that the flight should not have
departed.

I do not know if a pilot can refuse an aircraft in the U.S. without
the afore mentioned repercussions so I cannot and will not critisize,
but I have flown in cultures where it is very difficult to assert one
authority. Being a Captain is not about flying a plane, it is about
having the final responsability over the safety of however many crew
and passengers.

If on the other hand, the pilots were decieved and told that there
were no problems or that such checks had been legally defferred then
the responsability moves to another department. Ultimately the
governing body is responsable as they are there to ensure that,
irrespective of cost and inconvenience, all procedures must be
followed.

The fine imposed on AA is justified however a similiar fine should be
imposed on the FAA for allowing, or rather for not ensuring that such
things did not happen. As it is I believe that the 10.2 million
dollars have gone to the Authority that allowed this to happen. (I am
assuming that the money went to the FAA) Nothing like being rewarded
for not doing one's job.

p