The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board said Friday that evidence obtained in a four-day hearing into last September`s crash of a Midwest Express jet suggests that the Federal Aviation Administration is undermanned, shows a lack of initiative in safety oversight and employs some airline inspectors who are undertrained.
”We have seen some evidence that the FAA is short-handed and some people are not as well-trained (as they should be) to bring expertise to their jobs,” said Jim Burnett, the safety board chief. ”I also have some concerns about the kind of initiative the FAA takes in dealing with its surveillance responsibilities.”
The Midwest Express DC-9 plunged to the ground shortly after takeoff in Milwaukee, killing all 31 aboard.
The safety board investigates the cause of accidents and makes recommendations to prevent recurrences. The FAA makes safety regulations and monitors the airlines for compliance.
Testimony at the hearing revealed that the FAA inspector in charge of overseeing Midwest Express had received no training in the DC-9 aircraft, the only type operated by the airline, and that she is responsible for monitoring three air carriers with a total of more than 160 pilots. Burnett hinted strongly that he believes the inspector`s workload is too heavy.
On Friday, the last day of the hearing, records were produced indicating that an FAA-certified engine repair company that did work on one of the Midwest Express jet`s two engines may not have received formal inspections by the federal agency for periods of as long as 2 1/2 years.
A part on the engine failed shortly after the plane left the runway.
Testimony also revealed that the part, called a ”spacer,” had a series of cracks that may have escaped detection when AeroThrust Corp. of Miami, the engine repair firm, overhauled the power plant in October of 1981.
”We have a very safe aviation system, but one that can be made safer,”
Burnett said. ”If it can be made safer, it should be made safer.”
