"He who is willing to sacrifice freedom for safety deserves neither freedom nor safety." - Ben Franklin
"One useless man is called a disgrace; two useless men are called a law firm; and three or more useless men are a congress" - John Adams
Politicians and diapers should both be changed regularly and for the same reasons.
"Patriotism is supporting your country all the time and your government when it deserves it."--Mark Twain
FROM A FRIEND OF A FRIEND:
(
Tuesday, January 25, 2005 5:11 PM
Subject: Re: Airlines, Facing Cost Pressure, Outsource Crucial Safety Tasks
Dear All:
For what it is worth, I have sent the e-mail letter below to the WSJ. Thanks to my janitor-friend for providing the impetus to write something that has been buzzing in my head for awhile. Thanks to Local 33, from whose research I liberally borrowed.
This was done on my own time, perhaps primarily for therapy. Like the Pemco ad, I just felt an overwhelming need to do something and do it without any further delay.
If I have stepped on any toes, or said anything any of you would rather I not say, just let me know. Pardon me for not seeking prior approval -- I was on a bit of an emotional tear and couldn't stop myself.)
Dear Sir:
I serve as General Counsel to the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), which represents aircraft technicians at eight airlines, including United, Northwest, Southwest, Alaska, and ATA.
In my view, the savaging of maintenance standards by corporate bean counters has already caused scores of deaths.
On January 31, 2000, Alaska Airlines flight #261 crashed killing 88 people. The National Transportation Safety Board recommended that Alaska make improvements in its maintenance program in order to prevent future accidents. Since that time, Alaska has laid off hundreds of its technicians in order to cut costs.
On January 8, 2003, US Airways Express Flight #5481 crashed killing 21 people. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the accident, in part, to sub-standard maintenance performed by a third-party contractor and insufficient FAA oversight.
It is deeply troubling that U.S. airlines are, for the most part, getting out of the business of maintaining their own aircraft. You would think that, along with a competent pilot, competent maintenance is an integral element of the product being sold.
Instead, since the fatalities referenced above, the major airlines have dramatically accelerated the level of outsourcing, often to offshore contractors who perform no background checks or drug testing of their technicians. As Congress James Oberstar, a senior member of the House Aviation Subcommittee, commented: "Foreign maintenance personnel are not subjected to the same standards of background security checks, criminal background checks, identification for access to top maintenance facilities ... and the concern is that it's very easy in maintenance of a complex piece of equipment like an aircraft engine to place a bomb that can be triggered by a global positioning satellite or barometric pressure device."
Former DOT personnel have also raised questions about how Chinese and Indonesian workers, who neither read or write English, can be expected to certify compliance with complex English language maintenance manuals.
As a labor attorney I can tell you that a critical element of the U.S. airline industry's safety has been American freedom and rule of law. Even at major airlines, with strong union environments, mechanics have been disciplined and terminated for refusing to release unairworthy aircraft into revenue service. The courage and idealism of these technicians is striking. It is based in large part on their belief that their rights will ultimately be vindicated through the grievance process or by the filing of a complaint with the USDOL. And still, and still, not every technician has the inner strength to resist the extremes of economic coercion -- particularly when he knows that even "successful" vindication could mean enduring three years or more of unemployment. There are those technicians -- sometimes actively sought out by a management too eager to meet the schedule regardless of cost -- who are inclined to succumb to economic coercion and "pencil whip" a maintenance card.
That is why the sense of aircraft technician professionalism and craft loyalty -- a concept so alien to many outside are craft -- is critical to the integrity of the industry.
But, if pencil-whipping happens in the USA, can you imagine what happens in the context of authoritarian regimes where a growing share of aircraft maintenance is being performed. You cannot pretend that a Chinese aircraft technician, or one in El Salvador for that matter, has any choice but to do what he is told. We are already seeing the result in the quality of aircraft returned to this country.
In the last few years, thousands of American aircraft technicians have lost their jobs. At some major airlines, the maintenance staff has been gutted with over 50% maintenance sent out the door.
I feel a sense of despair over the situation. These technicians are victims of their own work ethic. The industry's safety record has been taken for granted. Layer by layer, the safeguards are being peeled away and discarded with cost being the only consideration. My despair is born of my conviction that no one will take a hard look at this situation until we experience the hundreds of deaths that must inevitably result.
I want to digress, perhaps, and address one item that, in your article, you somewhat glibly dismiss as a non-safety issue: the pushback of aircraft by non-technicians. What you fail to realize, however, was that an integral part of the pushback was the technician's walk around.
Technician-conducted walk arounds consisted of detailed inspections of the aircraft upon arrival and prior to departure. Technicians inspect for lightning strikes, hydraulic leaks, fuel leaks, aircraft skin discoloration, bleed air leakage, and faulty cargo doors and panels. They also evaluate the condition of the aircraft's wheel wells, inlets, exhausts, leading edges, braking systems and tires. The failure to detect such discrepancies prior to the departure of a live flight could be potentially "catastrophic." As one experienced airline arbitrator recently observed: "I think anyone with a brain would have to acknowledge that it's safety sensitive work."
These inspections used to be performed by FAA-licensed technicians. Now, baggage handlers are supposed to be doing the inspections. In effect, it means that these pre- and post-flight inspections are not being done any more. The industry now operates on the assumption that nothing that impacts safety can occur during the flight day. The order of the day is: "it flew in, it can fly out." Of course, this Neanderthal logic would justify the indefinite deferral of all maintenance.
Is the airline industry safe? Whether it's the 50% reduction of domestic maintenance staffing, the outsourcing of maintenance to vendors in authoritarian countries, the elimination of pre-flight and post-flight inspections, or the evaporation of spare parts inventories, the answer is this -- we are a lot less safe than we used to be and we are on a downward slope that has been heavily greased by greed and indifference.
I actually bent my head just now to say a prayer because, aside from Him, I do not think their is anyone in a position of authority who has the power and will to do anything. It is a rather sickening feeling -- to know that relief will only come with the deaths of hundreds of innocent people.
Sincerely,
Lee Seham, Esq.
END
I don't know what I could say here. Like life itself, "it's" up to you. And NO ONE ELSE. You move, change, grow, whatever you want or need to call it, you read this, so now your a little differant.
God, I hope so.
Anyone who lived though the "THE CRASH(stock market) OF 1929" will know this saying, "Cash is King".
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