10:03 AM CDT on Saturday, May 16, 2009
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV

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News 8 has recently revealed serious flaws in the way the FAA licenses mechanics who fix planes.

There is evidence of years of problems in testing these mechanics. There is also evidence that hundreds of mechanics with questionable licenses are working on aircraft in Texas.

Now there is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics who can't read English.

Twenty-one people were killed when U.S. Airways Express Flight 5481 crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003. The plane went wildly out of control on takeoff.

One reason for the crash, investigators found, was that mechanics incorrectly connected the cables to some of the plane's control surfaces in the repair shop. The FAA was cited for improper oversight of the repair process.

Repairing airplanes is a complicated business. Airplanes have many manuals. Typically, when mechanics repair a part, they open the manual, consult the book, and make the repair step-by-step, as if it were a recipe book.

They make a list of every action they take, so the next person to fix the plane (as well as the people who fly it) will know exactly what has been done.

If mechanics don't speak English, the international language of aviation, they can't read the manual and they can't record their activities.

There are more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in Texas, according to the FAA's Web site. News 8 has learned that hundreds of the mechanics working in those shops do not speak English and are unable to read repair manuals for today's sophisticated aircraft.

Former FAA inspector Bill McNease told News 8 he regularly encountered applicants for pilots’ licenses who tried to pretend they could speak English - but could not.

"When I was based in Dallas, I had that happen every week," McNease said. "It was not uncommon at all to have foreign flight students. We had mechanics, but I handled the pilot end of it.... and I turned down people every week because they couldn't speak English."

"There are people [where I work] who do not know how to read a maintenance manual as they are spelled out, because they don't have a clue," said one certified aircraft mechanic who works at a Texas aircraft repair station. He wished to remain anonymous to protect his employment.

To certify a part for flight or repair an engine, a mechanic must be licensed by the FAA as an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, known in the business as an "A&P."

News 8 discovered that mechanics at one licensing center in San Antonio were being tested in Spanish as late as last fall. The FAA ultimately shut the facility down.

Supervisors in Texas repair stations say they are supposed to oversee the repairs of dozens of untrained mechanics who can't read the manuals and can't write down the work they've done.

But the FAA does not require every person working at a repair station to be a certified A&P. One certified A&P can sign off on the work of dozens of uncertified mechanics.

That creates a huge problem, another certified mechanic told News 8. "I need an interpreter to talk to these people," he said. "They can't read the manuals, they can't write, and I have so many working for me I can't be sure of the work they've done."

To be sure of proper quality, the supervisor has to either re-do the work himself or take the chance that no mistakes have been made. There is a push to get work out the door and planes back in the air. But when he signs his name to certify the repair for flight, he is legally responsible for it.

The root of the problem is money, mechanics say. A certified mechanic can earn upwards of $25 an hour in Texas. Technicians who can't speak English are often hired for less than $10, according to mechanics interviewed by News 8.

"I've been wanting to leave this company since the day I got there," said one certified A&P. "But with the economy the way it is, I've got kids to feed and I have to stay there. I don't want to be anywhere near one of those planes when it kills somebody."

The FAA is supposed to police repair stations, but insiders say the agency is more focused on looking at paperwork than inspecting the facilities. Insiders also say inspectors warn repair stations when they're coming.

"In Dallas, most of them would map it out and tell them what day they were going to be there," said Gene Bland, a former FAA inspector.

Safety, mechanics say, is at risk. "In my opinion," said one, "company owners should all be locked up because someone's going to die eventually, if it hasn't already happened."

Texas' two biggest airlines, American and Southwest, both require mechanics and the technicians who work under them to speak, read and write English.

But mechanics who work elsewhere - whose repairs often end up on commercial airliners - say their shops are filled with non-English speakers.

The FAA declined to be interviewed for this report.



Tuesday, May 19, 2009

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Investigators reportedly have uncovered evidence of airline repair centers hiring low-wage mechanics who are unable to read English.

Aircraft repair requires even experienced mechanics to frequently consult manuals that are written in English and leave a detailed record of what repairs they have made, according to WFAA-TV.

Still, hundreds of mechanics working in the more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in Texas were not familiar enough with the English language to even read the manuals that coincide with the kinds of planes they were expected to fix, WFAA reported.

"There are people [where I work] who do not know how to read maintenance manuals as they are spelled out, because they don't have a clue," one Texas aircraft mechanic told the station.

But hiring a certified mechanic in Texas costs upwards of $25 an hour, compared to the less than $10 technicians who can't speak English will do the work for.

The desire to save money is putting airline safety at risk.

"In my opinion," one mechanic told the station, "company owners should all be locked up because someone's going to die eventually, if it hasn't already happened."

First we've got to worry about untrained pilots, or those that fail repeated tests flying the secondary or commuter flights.  Now, we gotta worry about the people who are supposed to make sure every plane in the air is in tip top shape, but they can't read English.

Shit.  This really makes me want to reconsider my US Air flights to St. Thomas in September.    NAH!  Just cross your fingers for me.

Sandy

What Brew said.   Except it is in july not Sept.   


Nah.....St Thomas under any circumstances is worth the risk.

(Attributed to other airlines as well but still worth the read, Brian.)

Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution recorded by maintenance engineers.

By the way, Qantas is the only major airline that has never had an accident.

(P = The problem logged by the pilot.) (S = The solution and action taken by the engineers.)

P: Left inside main tyre almost needs replacement.

S: Almost replaced left inside main tyre.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.

S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.

S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.

S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.

S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.

S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.

S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.

S: That's what they're there for.

P: IFF inoperative.

S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.

S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.

S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.

S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.

S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.

S: Cat installed.

P: Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.

S: Took hammer away from midget

My daughter is boarding a plane in Dallas right now.  I don't feel reassured.

But, I still would be more concerned about her if she were driving instead.

Batch wrote on Jun 26^th, 2009 at 11:37pm:


unions aren't unions anymore, they are clubs. the soul purpose of a union is to assure that the workers have rights. these so called unions seek out companies who have workers that already have a good wage and benefits. for instance the teamsters union. the teamsters seeked out overnight. overnight driver already made union scale and had comparable benefits. if overnight drivers went union they would actually make less factoring in the union dues. why would these drivers need any kind of representation from the teamsters.

also the teamsters union is not interested in these companies who's drivers stay out for weeks at a time and clear $600 a week and have no benefits what so ever. these are the people that desperately need to be unionized and the teamsters union doesn't give 2 shits about them.

i just got hired on at con way a non union carrier. most of the ltl trucking companies around columbus have closed there doors that have been around for 80 or so years however conway pays their drivers more than scale and they are hiring by the 100s. union carriers have allot of bullshit rules and allot of politics. not to mention allot of severely damaged freight.

unions tell you what to do, when your going to do it, and how to vote. i'll vote for someone because i believe in what they stand for not because i'm told to. in wich case you could blame this on the "Democrats"

I noticed you artfully dodged the suggestion of coming to St. Louis in July.

Tell you what - we'll pray for talented mechanics and high pressure systems in September if you'll come and hug my neck in July. Deal?

Well, sheeeuut, Sandy. I sure am gonna miss you.

Like I already do.

Batch wrote on Jun 26^th, 2009 at 10:54pm:


Actually, it is much simpler than that. When a company gets a contract to provide qualified mechanics, or has a airline schedule to carry passengers, they have to hire qualified mechanics. If they don't, they create a problem - no need to blame society.

Likewise, when you see a kid at a burger stand picking his zits and then handling food, don't blame schools or gay marriage or the recent Earth Day celebration ... this is a problem that comes from a lack of training and supervision from the fast food chain. Period.  

The fact that we have FAA oversight or a local food inspector does not relieve businesses of their responsibility to consider safety in all they do.... although these government overseers sometimes could use more oversight themselves.