Who's Fixing Our Airplanes?
And I mean the airplanes people fly everyday here.
http://investigativereportingworksho...e-maintenance/
"In 2006, when Ameco [in China] was being evaluated for re-certification, an FAA inspector noted he wasn’t able to fully inspect the facility because of its “size and complexity and scope.” But what he did find greatly concerned him. In a subsequent review, the FAA inspector refused to renew Ameco’s certificate for the customary full year in 2007 because of “systemic non-compliance” with FAA regulations. Instead, the FAA renewed certification for four months. The company has since taken corrective action and is again fully certified.
Goodrich says the FAA’s coverage has changed dramatically over the years. FAA inspectors once acted as a “cop on the corner” who paid surprise visits to maintenance hangars based at the airlines. Today, she said, surprise visits to airplane repair stations are rare; overseas, they are basically impossible because of the logistics planning and governmental approvals that must be in place beforehand.
Maintenance oversight is now more of a data-driven system. “The majority of our time is behind a computer, taking in data, most of which is provided by the carrier,” she said..."
:...
