Safety
Torqued: Fight for voluntary safety programs
The last few months have been difficult for a number of aviation players.

The last few months have been difficult for a number of aviation players. First, there were several whistleblower complaints from FAA aviation safety inspectors who risked their futures to make serious allegations against their management in the southwest region. These allegations had been under investigation for some time when the U.S. Congress decided to hold hearings and have FAA senior management respond to them in a public forum. This can be a painful process for any government executive. Many of these events become a media circus, prolonging the pain over several days or, in this case, several weeks.

In part, the allegations involved the certificate holding office of Southwest Airlines, which was drawn into the battle when it disclosed that it had overlooked an Airworthiness Directive affecting some 47 aircraft.

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