I’ve written periodically about FAA enforcement and what I consider to be abuses of the process, along with sanctions that are significantly disproportionate to the safety impact of the offenses charged. Faithful readers might remember my articles on FAA emergency revocations of two A&P mechanics for violations that allegedly occurred three full years before the orders were issued. Fortunately, in those cases, the mechanics had a union willing to go to bat for them and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their defense. Yes, you read that correctly: hundreds of thousands of dollars. The FAA made the cases as expensive as possible for the airmen to litigate–deposing the airmen before emergency orders were issued and then again after the emergency orders were issued. The costs from the first depositions are never reimbursable under the Equal Access to Justice Act, even if you prevail at the hearing and meet the criteria for reimbursement. Full disclosure: I was an expert witness in the cases. While the airmen lost their cases before the NTSB Administrative Law Judge, the full Board dismissed the FAA’s case, finding the airmen had been actually prejudiced by the FAA’s three-year delay. I still can’t understand why the FAA needed the NTSB to tell it that it was patently unfair to revoke the certificates of two airmen three years after it learned of alleged violations and after they had worked on airliners for those three years.
Punishment Hurts Safety
With more than 40 years experience in the aviation industry, The Honorable John Goglia, was the first and only Airframe and Powerplant mechanic to receive a presidential appointment to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). He served from August 1995 to June 2004.
As a Board Member, Mr. Goglia distinguished himself in numerous areas of transportation safety. In particular, he was instrumental in raising awareness of airport safety issues, including the importance of airport crash fire and rescue operations and the dangers of wildlife at airports. He played a key role in focusing international attention on the increasing significance of aircraft maintenance in aviation accidents. He pressed, successfully, for greater integration of civilian and military safety information, becoming a featured speaker at national aviation symposiums attended by military leaders and major defense contractors. He is a leading proponent of airplane child safety seats.
Prior to becoming a Board Member, Mr. Goglia held numerous positions in the airline industry. He started as a mechanic for United Airlines and eventually joined Allegheny, which became USAir. Additionally, he was involved for more than 20 years as a union flight safety representative on accident investigation teams. There, he developed a safety program for his union, the International Association of Machinists, and was its representative for NTSB investigations. For twelve years, he operated his own aircraft service company.
Numerous prestigious groups have recognized Mr. Goglia’s contributions to aviation safety. Aviation Week & Space Technology awarded him a coveted 2004 Laurel for his outstanding service as an NTSB Board member. The Society of Automotive Engineers presented him with the Aerospace Chair Award for outstanding leadership in 2003 and the Marvin Whitlock Award for outstanding management accomplishment in 2002.
