Airlines Are Safer Running head: Airlines Are Safer

Article Critique: Airlines Are Safer Than Ever Lawrence C. Britten Northwood University

Airlines Are Safer In this article the author questions the integrity, expertise, and the effectiveness of the Federal Aviation Administration. He also brings up the question of whether the decisions of FAA officials may have caused more deaths than they have saved. Today airlines are doing more business and are more crowded than ever. With that being said the last time a commercial airliner has crashed was in November of 2001. What the Author Said Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation Committee has expressed concern that the FAA is starting to show a carrier- favorable, cozy relationship. The author states that Mr. Oberstar formed his view after learning that an FAA supervisor allowed Southwest Airlines to fly planes that had not been inspected in a timely manner for fuselage cracks. Despite what had been allowed by that FAA supervisor the FAA demanded that American Airlines comply with federal rules regarding how certain wires in the wheel wells of MD-80 jets are secured regardless of the fact that the MD-80 was manufactured by highly

trained engineers to be as safe as possible. The authors opinion is that the FAA needs that cozy relationship with the airlines to give the impression that they actually have an impact on aviation safety. The FAA does not know nearly as much about aircraft technology and airline operations as the airlines themselves or the manufacturers of the aircraft. In principle, the FAA, airlines, aircraft manufacturers and subject matter experts can sit down to discuss various issues to develop and implement rules and regulations that the airlines will agree to. The flipside to that is that the airlines will always have a better understanding of the condition of their aircraft. The airlines also know which procedures are necessary to fly their aircraft safely and it is much faster for the airline to implement adjusted safety practices than it is for the FAA to develop new directives.

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The FAA has failed in its efforts to create a safer environment for airplanes to fly in. The FAA had announced plans to implement a better air traffic control system in the early 1980s. To this day the system has not been upgraded even though they have over-stretched their budget by billions of dollars. The FAA has now changed their focus to a new satellite based air traffic control system despite the incompletion of the original system. They have been instructed by the Government Accountability Office to seek third party assistance for this transition. The author of the article believes that assistance is not enough and that the management of air traffic control should be outsourced to a privatized company. The FAA is not the only federal agency safety wise that has failed to show improvement, according to the authors research. He states that other agencies such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission, National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration, and Health Administration, etc. are stagnant as well. The FAAs over reaction to issues considering the safety of American Airlines has led to the cancellation of thousands of flights and caused many travelers to take to the streets. This is by far statistically more dangerous than flying has proven to be in the past decade considering the last time there has been a fatality on an aircraft. How Well Did He Say It I think that for the most part the author got his point across well, although the article seemed to get a little off subject. What I mean by that is, that in the middle of an article about the safety of airlines there is no need to be explaining how airfares were regulated. Maybe there is some connection between the two but I could not find it. For the average person I think that his writing would be a little difficult to understand. Although the article seemed to jump around a little, and included irrelevant facts, the author managed to get his main point out clearly that Airlines Are Safer than Ever.

Airlines Are Safer The author made his point well about the FAA lacking the amount of knowledge that the airlines have about the safe flight the aircraft. I specifically liked the analogy that he included, Of course, American Airlines and other carriers hardly need the FAA to tell them how to operate their $50 million MD-80s safely. Imagine owners of a Rolls Royce relying on a government agency for directives on how to properly maintain their vehicles. My Opinion My opinions are in line with the author, I believe that airlines have proven themselves to

be safety driven. More than the FAA, the airlines are concerned for the safety of their passengers for marketing reasons. The marketing aspect is enough to keep them vigilant in the mission completion of their flights. For example, after Air Florida crashed an aircraft into the Potomac River they were forced to go out of business. After all, who wants to book a flight with an airline that just crashed an aircraft? My opinion of the FAA is that they are a necessary evil. They are most definitely necessary for their quality assurance responsibilities. On the other hand, as far as air traffic control, I side with the author in saying that air traffic control should be privatized. There seems to be more pride in commercial businesses vice some government agencies. A privatized company would also have to strive to be better than the competition to avoid losing a contract. As far as time and money go the figures speak for themselves. The fact that the FAA failed to complete a multi-billion dollar project and still manage to exceed the budget by billions of dollars, and the proposed timeline by over a decade, flusters me. As for the expertise of the airliners and manufacturers vs. the expertise of the FAA I believe that the manufactures and airliners are more in tune with what safety regulations are necessary and which ones are not. When the FAA downed American airlines for the routing of wires through the landing gear wheel wells, I would think that the manufactures of the aircraft

Airlines Are Safer would have already deemed that the wire configuration was safe for flight. The FAA has its standard but they should be keeping up with the advancements of the aeronautical engineering movement. For instance, in the Navy, we have a quality assurance division, which would be the

equivalent of the FAAs regulating responsibilities. The QA division follows the instructions and directives of the manufacturer to make calls such as where wires should be routed. As the manufacturers implement changes, so do the directives that QA follows. Conclusion In conclusion, I will reiterate that the FAA is a necessary evil. It is important that the FAA be around to regulate the airlines, but unless their process is improved they will continue to be inadequate. The Actions of the FAA in these past few months may have been more of burden than a blessing to the general public and might have even caused more deaths than they intended to prevent. After all, with no history of aircraft mishaps since 2001 despite a substantial increase in the number of flights, the airlines must be doing something right.

Executive Summary Airlines Are Safer than Ever This essay is a critique of the article airlines are safer than ever. In the essay I discussed what the author said, how well he said it, and what my opinions were. These are some of the key points of the essay. What the Author Said

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The airlines will always be more knowledgeable about the status of their aircraft than the FAA. They will be able to make adjustments to their safety practices faster than the FAA can develop new directives, when situations arise.

Today airlines are busier and more crowded than ever, yet in the past six and a half years there have been no crashes. The FAA has failed to complete and implement a multi-billion dollar air traffic control system that they announced plans for in the early 80s. This program is now over a decade overdue and billions of dollars over budget.

The GAO (Government Accountability Office) has instructed the FAA to seek third party assistance in a transition to a new satellite based air traffic control system, but the author believes that assistance is not enough. The author believes that the management of air traffic control should be privatized. How Well Did the Author Say it

The Author got his key point across very well in one sentence, The last crash of a commercial jet occurred in November 2001, although the number of flights has increased substantially in the past six and one-half years.

Although he made his point I do believe that the article seemed to jump around a lot. My Opinion

My opinions are in-line with the opinions of the author. I believe that the airlines have proven themselves to be safety driven and I realize that currently, more deaths occur, per capita, on the roads rather than in the sky.

I do believe that the air traffic control system should be privatized because, I have little faith in most government regulatory agencys motivation and pride when it comes to their job.

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