F.A.A. Failed to Assure Southwest Airlines Safety, Report Says

Despite discovering problems in the certification process in 2017, including concerns about improper repairs and documentation that had not been translated into English, F.A.A. inspectors allowed the planes to continue operating, the report found.

After the F.A.A. raised the concerns with Southwest, the agency and the carrier agreed to a two-year plan allowing the airline to continue operating the planes while inspections were carried out. (In its statement, Southwest said it was “well ahead” of a July deadline for the inspections.)

As of October, 24 of the planes were found to have had “undocumented, nonconforming or unverifiable repairs,” the report found. Those planes operated more than 150,000 flights carrying as many as 17.2 million passengers.

The report also found that Southwest “regularly and frequently” provided incorrect aircraft weight and balance data to pilots, raising safety concerns that could lead to potentially “hazardous or catastrophic conditions, including during takeoff and landing.”

The F.A.A. learned of the misinformation in January 2018, but deferred to the airline’s judgment on the gravity of the inaccuracies, the report said.

In an agreement with the agency, Southwest said it would take steps to address the problem, which stemmed from errors made by workers when they counted, loaded and documented bags, but the F.A.A. failed to follow up, according to the report.

In an analysis of agency data, the inspector general’s office counted more than 4,000 such errors between March 2018 and July 2019. The errors have been declining, but the airline continues to make them, it said.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/business/faa-southwest-airlines-inspection.html?emc=rss&partner=rss