Less Is Less

The world is waiting to hear from Southwest Airlines: How many engines have been inspected for defective fan blades? How many fan blades have been found to be defective? What percentage of the SWA fleet remains to be inspected?   Some in the industry are saying stop with the negative labeling of Southwest. The airline… Read More

Routinely Ignored

Why are new jet engines generally becoming more unreliable? Is routine maintenance being governed by the airlines’ accounting departments? Sen. Chuck Schumer said last week that the fatal accident on Southwest reveals a steep, troublesome drop in federal enforcement actions over aviation maintenance. As the recent 60 Minutes segment on Allegiant Air reported, the FAA in general has reduced its emphasis on… Read More

FAAlling Standards

Is air travel still safe? Within one week, 60 Minutes ran an investigative report on Allegiant Air’s safety record. And Southwest Airlines blew an engine at 30,000 feet, killing one passenger. Throw in years of Boeing 787 engine troubles– which have affected Norwegian Air Shuttle, Air India and others – and a lot of questions are raised: Is the no-fault, no-fine… Read More