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Report: FAA Must Improve Oversight Planes

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Aviation Administration does not
adequately
oversee the growing number of outside contractors repairing airplanes,
the
Transportation Department's inspector general said in a report released
Thursday.

At 18 of 21 repair stations checked by government investigators,
contract
mechanics used incorrect aircraft parts and improperly calibrated
tools, and
had
outdated manuals.

``The vulnerabilities all relate to a lack of effective FAA oversight
that
needs to be improved,'' the report said.

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said the agency agrees with the
findings.
However, she stressed the report does not say passengers are in any
danger.

``There's no data to support a safety issue,'' she said.

US Airways used an outside contractor to maintain the commuter plane
that
crashed on takeoff at North Carolina's Charlotte-Douglas International
Airport in
January, killing all 21 aboard.

The ongoing investigation that followed found a mechanic improperly set
turnbuckles, which control tension on elevator control cables. If a
cable is
too
slack, the pilot does not have full control of the elevator, a tail
flap
that
moves up and down and causes the plane to climb or dive.

The inspector general began the investigation of maintenance
outsourcing a
year before the crash, but the Charlotte accident investigation
findings
have
intensified calls for the FAA to increase its oversight.

The inspector general noted that major airlines, struggling to survive,
are
looking to trim costs by outsourcing maintenance.

On the Net:

FAA: http://www.faa.gov

Inspector General: http://www.oig.dot.gov
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