Air Transport Association Assures Air Industry,
NO Costly AD's to be Issued by FAA
If you ever wanted to know who pulls the strings of the FAA, read on. The President's Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, directed the FAA to appoint a committee for studying 'Aging Airplanes' to determine what systems require study, to determine the life expectancy of an airplane. Jane Garvey FAA Administrator, appointed a committee to meet, discuss and make appropriate recommendations regarding airplane systems that, before had never received consideration as being critical to the safety of an airplane, over years of operation.
This FAA committee has been TAKEN OVER by the airline Political Lobby, the ATA.
The FAA has CIRCUMVENTED their RESPONSIBILITY to the ATA. Meetings are held at the HQ bldg. conference room of the ATA. The meeting is chaired by the ATA. The agenda of the meeting is determined by the ATA. Meeting notices are mailed to committee members as addressed to when the next ATA meeting on 'Aging Airplane Program' will be held. It is still called a FAA directed committee. It is completely under the control of the ATA. Does Jane Garvey or President Clinton know that the ATA is in full charge of the 'Aging Airplane committee?
The real Air Safety 'COSTLY' problem of WIRE TYPES wasn't even going to be allowed to be discussed by the ATA, until the ATA was informed that this action would be reported to Jane Garvey, Administrator of the FAA. VJ 592 had PVC type wire, TWA 800 had Poly-X type wire, and SR 111 had Kapton type wire. Wiring is strongly suspected as having been involved in all three accidents. To rewire airplanes would cost billions of dollars to the air industry. So the ATA lobby appears to have been delegated, to pull whatever FAA strings necessary, to prevent costly AD's.
Since the ATA continues selling the people on 'HOW SAFE IT IS TO FLY,' they are assuring passengers of playing the deadly game of 'RUSSIAN ROULETTE,' every time they fly. Do you realize how many passengers would have to die, in airplane accidents, at $2.7 million dollars per passenger, before the FAA would have to issue a costly AD to the air industry to re-wire their fleets of airplanes? No wonder the ATA doesn't want to discuss wire types.
Knowing the cost effectiveness figure of $2.7 million dollars, and if survival family members told their attorneys, that was going to be their minimum figure for settlement, what kind of pressure would the insurance carriers apply to the airlines and A/C manufacturers? As long as the ATA controls the scope of the FAA towards solving Air Safety problems, they will continue to hang their hat on "HOW SAFE it is to FLY. The Odds are in your favor???
Members of Congress must be contacted about this flagrant violation of responsibility. Either the FAA has to be reorganized, or certain officials have to be removed, to return credibility to the operation of the FAA, if major Air Safety problems are to be solved. Air passengers must NOT have to play 'Russian Roulette' every time they fly because the
ATA shields the FAA from issuing costly AIR SAFETY AD's .
Patrick A. Price
4/10/99