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Washington PostCarrier Had Chronic Safety Lapses; Flew Passengers on Jets in Need of Key ChecksFederal aviation safety inspectors testified before Congress today that lax oversight by their bosses and other regulators allowed Southwest Airlines last year to fly thousands of passengers on potentially unsafe jets in need of key safety checks.
The inspectors, who sought protection as whistle-blowers from Congress and federal investigators, said managers did little to correct problems with how Southwest and their own colleagues were handling the carrier's safety lapses.
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Rep. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), chairman of the committee, said the issues raised by the inspectors represented the "most egregious lapse of safety I have seen in the last 23 years."
"The FAA would have us believe that what took place was an isolated incident," he said. "But the testimony we have heard substantiates that this is not an isolated aberration attributable to a rogue individual. But rather, this was a systematic breakdown of the safety oversight role of the FAA."
Washington PostRead more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/03/AR2008040302244.html?hpid=topnews
Today's hearing explains to me why there have been a rash to FAA stories.