jetflier
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2003
- Posts
- 718
These letters are from another board, and do bring some topics up for debate.
I have been flying commercial aircraft around the world for nearly twenty years. Additionally, I am a veteran of US Naval Service. In my years of flying experience, I have observed Southwest Airlines operate on the barest margins of safety. Their corporate culture encourages cutting corners and pressing margins of safety to gain an economic edge. I have watched as SWA aircraft routinely taxi at unsafe speeds and ignore tower instructions to hold at intersections or slow down, in order to beat other aircraft into position for gates and runway departures. The corporate culture at SWA has emboldened and encouraged breaking the rules in order to get ahead.
SWA has built a financial incentive into it’s pilot’s pay structure that encourages this type of unsafe aircraft operation. They have also curried favor with FAA Air Traffic Controllers with parties and gifts, which has encouraged the Controllers to overlook SWA’s Pilot’s infractions. On many instances I can remember, when an SWA aircraft is issued instructions to hold short to allow another aircraft to pass, or to slow down, those instructions have been ignored. The SWA aircraft continues as if the instruction was not heard, and no enforcement action ensues.
Southwest Airlines’ corporate mindset of cutting corners in order to gain an advantage has once again come to light with the revelation that SWA has knowingly used illegal replacement parts in more than 80 of it’s Boeing 737 jets. These parts were built by a company that did not have FAA authorization to make these parts, at the request of SWA. Because of SWA’s overt decision to circumvent the regulatory authority of the FAA, these jets flew with unsafe airframe parts for three years.
Yesterday, SWA announced that an agreement had been reached with the FAA to “fix” the problem. The correction plan included no grounding of aircraft, no criminal probe, an extended period of time to remove the bad parts (while the jets continue to fly), and no fine whatsoever.
Gentlemen, knowing SWA’s corporate culture of cutting corners, their cozy relationship with the FAA, and their history of currying favor with Controllers and Inspectors, I fear that safety has been compromised and that SWA will continue to operate outside the regulatory envelope. I am truly concerned that the corporate culture that allowed this type of breach has not been addressed, and that without punishment, future safety will be compromised. I must address the concern that this is only the most recent issue in a long history of issues, and may only be the tip of the iceburg with respect to SWA’s maintenance issues.
Additionally, there rises the issue of fairness in the regulatory arena. Please recall when it was discovered that newly replaced wiring bundles onboard American Airlines’s MD-80 aircraft were zip-tied at an incorrect spacing interval, the entire MD-80 fleet was GROUNDED until they could be inspected and the problem corrected. And this was not a purposeful breach, nor was it an emergent safety-of-flight issue, unlike the use of illegal and unapproved parts in this instance.
By embarking on this course, SWA has operated outside the regulatory envelope of the FAA. Because of this, it operates at an economic advantage in the marketplace. SWA can offer lower fares because their maintenance costs are lower... because they aren't performing the required maintenance in the required fashion, using approved parts. SWA has a documented history of operating outside the regulations, and in my opinion, has never truly been forced to take responsibility for it's actions, or lack thereof.
The way in which the FAA has handled this latest fiasco smacks of obvious favoritism; the history of parties and gifts indicates that SWA may have bought it’s way out of it’s maintenance crimes. I use the term “crimes” very specifically in this case, because I believe that willful disregard of Federal Aviation Regulations to be a criminal act.
Sir, I fear for the safety of all passengers riding on a Southwest Airlines aircraft today. I believe that every SWA aircraft should be grounded immediately and inspected for illegal and unapproved parts and for compliance with all maintenance procedures. Cost should NOT be a factor in this decision, nor should economic damage to the corporation. The aviation industry is the most regulated industry in the world… for a reason. Lives depend on each airline self-regulating and following the rules. SWA’s conscious and purposeful abrogation of the rules indicates that the system designed to keep SWA customers safe while traveling has failed. There is currently no way to ensure that SWA aircraft are safe without a thorough inspection of each and every one, and of the maintenance procedures that have been performed on each one.
It is my hope that you will grasp the enormity of this emergent problem and begin the process of investigating the FAA’s regulatory favoritism and abrogation of it’s duties. The public should be made aware of the true issues surrounding SWA’s aircraft maintenance.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I do believe that time is of the essence and that lives are at stake.
I have been flying commercial aircraft around the world for nearly twenty years. Additionally, I am a veteran of US Naval Service. In my years of flying experience, I have observed Southwest Airlines operate on the barest margins of safety. Their corporate culture encourages cutting corners and pressing margins of safety to gain an economic edge. I have watched as SWA aircraft routinely taxi at unsafe speeds and ignore tower instructions to hold at intersections or slow down, in order to beat other aircraft into position for gates and runway departures. The corporate culture at SWA has emboldened and encouraged breaking the rules in order to get ahead.
SWA has built a financial incentive into it’s pilot’s pay structure that encourages this type of unsafe aircraft operation. They have also curried favor with FAA Air Traffic Controllers with parties and gifts, which has encouraged the Controllers to overlook SWA’s Pilot’s infractions. On many instances I can remember, when an SWA aircraft is issued instructions to hold short to allow another aircraft to pass, or to slow down, those instructions have been ignored. The SWA aircraft continues as if the instruction was not heard, and no enforcement action ensues.
Southwest Airlines’ corporate mindset of cutting corners in order to gain an advantage has once again come to light with the revelation that SWA has knowingly used illegal replacement parts in more than 80 of it’s Boeing 737 jets. These parts were built by a company that did not have FAA authorization to make these parts, at the request of SWA. Because of SWA’s overt decision to circumvent the regulatory authority of the FAA, these jets flew with unsafe airframe parts for three years.
Yesterday, SWA announced that an agreement had been reached with the FAA to “fix” the problem. The correction plan included no grounding of aircraft, no criminal probe, an extended period of time to remove the bad parts (while the jets continue to fly), and no fine whatsoever.
Gentlemen, knowing SWA’s corporate culture of cutting corners, their cozy relationship with the FAA, and their history of currying favor with Controllers and Inspectors, I fear that safety has been compromised and that SWA will continue to operate outside the regulatory envelope. I am truly concerned that the corporate culture that allowed this type of breach has not been addressed, and that without punishment, future safety will be compromised. I must address the concern that this is only the most recent issue in a long history of issues, and may only be the tip of the iceburg with respect to SWA’s maintenance issues.
Additionally, there rises the issue of fairness in the regulatory arena. Please recall when it was discovered that newly replaced wiring bundles onboard American Airlines’s MD-80 aircraft were zip-tied at an incorrect spacing interval, the entire MD-80 fleet was GROUNDED until they could be inspected and the problem corrected. And this was not a purposeful breach, nor was it an emergent safety-of-flight issue, unlike the use of illegal and unapproved parts in this instance.
By embarking on this course, SWA has operated outside the regulatory envelope of the FAA. Because of this, it operates at an economic advantage in the marketplace. SWA can offer lower fares because their maintenance costs are lower... because they aren't performing the required maintenance in the required fashion, using approved parts. SWA has a documented history of operating outside the regulations, and in my opinion, has never truly been forced to take responsibility for it's actions, or lack thereof.
The way in which the FAA has handled this latest fiasco smacks of obvious favoritism; the history of parties and gifts indicates that SWA may have bought it’s way out of it’s maintenance crimes. I use the term “crimes” very specifically in this case, because I believe that willful disregard of Federal Aviation Regulations to be a criminal act.
Sir, I fear for the safety of all passengers riding on a Southwest Airlines aircraft today. I believe that every SWA aircraft should be grounded immediately and inspected for illegal and unapproved parts and for compliance with all maintenance procedures. Cost should NOT be a factor in this decision, nor should economic damage to the corporation. The aviation industry is the most regulated industry in the world… for a reason. Lives depend on each airline self-regulating and following the rules. SWA’s conscious and purposeful abrogation of the rules indicates that the system designed to keep SWA customers safe while traveling has failed. There is currently no way to ensure that SWA aircraft are safe without a thorough inspection of each and every one, and of the maintenance procedures that have been performed on each one.
It is my hope that you will grasp the enormity of this emergent problem and begin the process of investigating the FAA’s regulatory favoritism and abrogation of it’s duties. The public should be made aware of the true issues surrounding SWA’s aircraft maintenance.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. I do believe that time is of the essence and that lives are at stake.