Improperly Licensed Aircraft Mechanics, a Plane Crash Hazard
It is appalling enough that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) drags its feet on airline safety, leading to conditions conducive for a plane crash; but now we find that there may be hundreds of aircraft mechanics working in the airline industry who are barely licensed to work with the plane.
According to an investigation by WFAA-TV, the mechanics in question were trained in FAA-approved centers that had extremely poor educational standards. These bogus testing centers function like “diploma mills,” where mechanics are given Aircraft Mechanic certificates without being properly tested. In some centers, mechanics were unable to speak or read English.
The investigation reveals the utter failure of the FAA to regulate the testing centers it has approved. The agency has been aware of the problem for years and has done little to fix it. In instances where the agency uncovered improperly tested mechanics, they simply gave the mechanic a skeletal retest and allowed them to continue “fixing” planes. Even mechanics who managed to fail the retest were not banned from repairing a plane. In other words, workers who have been through bogus testing are still out there working for aircraft manufacturers and repair stations.
What is even more shocking is that the FAA does not warn companies of these mechanics or that their employees may be improperly skilled. According to the agency “it is not their job”. An earlier federal investigation found that many mechanics were not given enough time to complete large portions of the written, oral, and practical exams. A test intended to take a single day or several days to complete was packed into a one-hour time period. Cheating was rampant during tests.
Unfortunately, the FAA does little to regulate the flight of turboprop planes at an increased risk of crashes in icy weather, and fails to act on National Transportation Safety Board recommendations. Now, we find that the agency fails to strictly ensure that mechanics who receive certification from centers it approves are 100% qualified and trained to do their job.
With a number of airline accidents in recent years being attributed to mechanical malfunctioning, aviation accident attorneys should not be surprised at what this investigation has turned up. The bogus testing process could have been going on since the early 90’s which means that there are, by the FAA’s own admission, at least 1,300 mechanics whose “credentials may be in question.” As far as plane crash lawyers are concerned those credentials should not be questioned, but revoked.
Ten days before the accident the aircraft experienced starting trouble; mechanics replaced the starter valve at least six times before the day of the accident. Also on that day, the engine failed to start and had to be started manually. After the accident, investigations revealed that a metal filter had disintegrated due to poor maintenance. This created a variety of mechanical failures that, ultimately, led to the engine catching fire. Investigations also found that the crew members of the plane made errors that added to the problem and could have, potentially, resulted in tragic consequences. For one, the pilot abandoned his emergency checklist and did not inform passengers of the trouble or shut off the fuel supply to the fire. The co-pilot, meanwhile, tried to get the cockpit door open after short-circuiting had set off an automatic door locking system. There was a set of safety measures that should have been followed in an orderly manner, and instead, crew members, at the highest level downward, failed, exacerbating the situation.
Another Colgan turboprop that flew through the area about half an hour after Flight 3407 reported "moderate" icing and landed safely. Also, 50 miles south of the accident site, another flight crew reported the most dangerous category of icing, "severe," this crew also landed without incident.