The Office of Special Counsel has told Congress and the White House that the former Secretary of Transportation, Mary E. Peters, failed to submit a report regarding the department’s investigative findings and corrective action taken regarding a whistleblower disclosure referred to her last year.
OSC says it informed Peters last July of “serious allegations" from an FAA safety inspector regarding “noncompliant and potentially unsafe modifications made to hundreds of emergency service helicopters operating across the country, and FAA’s alleged failure to appropriately address this problem."
FAA officials and employees likely “engaged in a violation of law, rule, or regulation, gross mismanagement, and an abuse of authority, all of which contributed to a substantial and specific danger to public safety," OSC continued.
The secretary was required by law to conduct an investigation and submit a written report to OSC within 60 days, and although OSC granted several extensions to the department as the office of the secretary, the OIG and the FAA investigated the matter, OSC has decided “it is no longer in the public interest to grant further extensions of time in this matter."
