Watchdog finds flaws in FAA oversight of American Airlines

DALLAS (AP) — A government watchdog said Friday that federal safety regulators routinely fail to ensure that American Airlines gets to the cause of maintenance shortcomings when they are discovered.

The Transportation Department’s inspector general said that in some cases, the Federal Aviation Administration closed compliance cases before American took steps to correct the problem.

The report raised questions about the FAA's policy of relying on airline “safety management systems” to find and fix issues before they become hazards.

In one case, American flew a plane with a broken emergency-evacuation slide for nearly three years before telling the FAA.

In another, no risk assessment was done for a plane that had missing engine bushings and improperly installed struts holding the engines in place. The plane made 1,002 flights “in an unairworthy condition,” according to the report.

An FAA spokeswoman said the agency “agrees with many of the recommendations in the report and is taking steps to address them.”

American said it is proud of its safety record and stays in constant touch with regulators including the FAA and welcomes their feedback.

“This has always been our approach: open, transparent communication and collaboration with our regulators and immediate action to remedy issues and ensure the continued safety of our airline and the industry,” an airline spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “We plan to work with the FAA to ensure we take positive action and continuously refine and improve our safety controls.”

The inspector general’s office said that in 171 of 185 of cases that it examined, FAA inspectors took American’s word and accepted airline analyses “that did not identify the true root cause of the problem.” In nearly two dozen cases, the FAA closed...