Outsourced repair for planes: safe?

The controversy has prompted two federal investigations and hearings on Capitol Hill.

By Alexandra Marks | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the June 26, 2007 edition

Page 1 of 3

New York - The American aviation system is the safest in the world, in part because of the quality of the repair and maintenance systems that help keep those jumbo jets aloft.

But an increasing number of critics worry that this long safety record is in jeopardy.

That's because the repair and maintenance systems and the Federal Aviation Administration, which is responsible for inspecting them, are both in the midst of historic transformations.

A record amount of work is being outsourced to foreign and non-FAA-certified repair stations. At the same time, the FAA has a decreasing number of inspectors, forcing it to rely more on computer models instead of looking over mechanics' shoulders to check their work.

Depending on where one sits, the result is either an increasingly dangerous set of conditions or a triumph of the efficiencies of global economics and emerging technology.

The controversy, which includes concerns about possible terrorist infiltration of foreign repair stations, has prompted two federal investigations and hearings on Capitol Hill.

"If the American people understood some of the safety and security issues surrounding foreign repair stations, they would march on Washington with pitchforks," Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) of Missouri said during a hearing last week.

The nation's airlines have long outsourced some minor maintenance. The trend picked up during the 1990 and accelerated with the airlines' economic crisis that started in the spring of 2001 and continued after 9/11.

Page 1 | 2 | 3 | Next Page