'Diversion, Distraction and Power': Federal Investigation Slams FAA Oversight of Southwest Airlines
The Federal Aviation Administration has “not effectively overseen Southwest Airlines’ systems for managing safety risks,” even though its staff raised concerns about the Dallas-based carrier’s safety culture, according to a government watchdog report made public Tuesday.
The highly critical report concludes nearly two years of investigations by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General into the relationship between the airline and its regulatory agency. It said Southwest was permitted to make more than 150,000 flights carrying 17.2 million passengers on planes that didn’t meet safety standards.
“Southwest Airlines continues to fly aircraft with unresolved safety concerns,” the report said. “As a result, FAA cannot provide assurance that the carrier operates at the highest degree of safety in the public’s interest, as required by law.”
A spokeswoman for Southwest said the airline “adamantly" disagrees with what it described as unsubstantiated references to its safety culture.
“Southwest maintains a culture of compliance, recognizing the safety of our operation as the most important thing we do,” said the statement from Southwest spokeswoman Brandy King. “We are considered one of the world’s most admired companies and uphold an unprecedented safety record. Our friends, our families board our aircraft and not a single one of us would put anything above their safety – this mission unites us all.”
The report paints a dark picture of Southwest’s safety culture, as described by FAA employees in interviews with investigators.
“The safety culture at Southwest Airlines consists of using ‘diversion, distraction, and power’ to get what the company wants,” one FAA official told investigators.
Another FAA employee who deals with Southwest said the company bypasses the local oversight office and goes straight to FAA headquarters when there is a disagreement.
“Southwest’s management is very skilled in what they have to do," the report quoted another FAA employee. "If it costs money, they won’t do it.”
Investigators interviewed 46 FAA employees and 28 raised concerns about Southwest’s safety culture.
Another FAA employee quoted in the report said, “It’s not a positive culture with these issues at Southwest Airlines. Arrogance gets the best of them.”
The inspector general began investigating FAA’s oversight of how Southwest handles risk after an engine explosion caused a passenger’s death in April 2018. The on-board fatality on Flight 1380 was the first in Southwest’s history.
The review found various problems.
The flights that didn’t meet safety standards took place on 88 used jets that Southwest bought from foreign airlines and without confirmed maintenance histories. Southwest also frequently failed to give pilots correct information about the weight and balance of loads on their planes, which the inspector general called an important safety lapse.
Investigators recommended 11 changes the FAA needed to institute in its oversight of Southwest, including retraining for FAA employees overseeing Southwest and other airlines. The FAA agreed with the recommendations and said it would try to accomplish them all in 2020 and 2021.
The inspector general finished the report in December and turned it over to the FAA. After the FAA received the report, it proposed $3.92 million in fines against Southwest Airlines for problems with reported aircraft weights on 44 planes flown between May 2018 and August 2019.
Southwest said the aircraft weight discrepancies were caused by a software error and the problem has been fixed.
The inspector general’s report said Southwest bought 88 planes between 2014 and 2018 from carriers in China, Canada, Argentina, Russia and Mexico. The FAA approved 71 of those planes the same day reports were submitted, even though it should take three to four weeks to vet every plane, the report said.
The FAA threatened to ground 49 of those jets in October after Southwest was taking too long to complete required checks. Southwest agreed to accelerate the process and none of the planes were grounded.
“Given the significant unresolved safety concerns that FAA has identified at Southwest Airlines, it is clear that the agency is not yet effectively navigating the balance between industry collaboration and managing safety risks at the carrier,” the report said.
In June, the FAA reassigned three senior managers overseeing safety and maintenance at Southwest.
King said Southwest cooperated with every step of the investigation.
“The success of our business depends, in and of itself, on the safety of our operation, and while we work to improve each and every day, any implication that we would tolerate a relaxing of standards is absolutely unfounded,” King said in an emailed statement.
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