The Office of Special Counsel has said it will forward to Congress the results of an internal Transportation Department review substantiating whistleblower allegations that the FAA failed to provide effective oversight of Northwest Airlines and to address Northwest’s systemic non-compliance with FAA airworthiness directives – also known as "ADs."
According to OSC, the whistleblower, an aviation safety inspector and partial program manager, alleged that audits of Northwest’s AD compliance conducted in 2008 revealed that the carrier did not have adequate policies and procedures in place to ensure current or future AD compliance, and that the status of Northwest’s compliance with more than 1,000 ADs was unknown.
He also said the FAA failed in its oversight role by accepting voluntary disclosures of non-compliance, declining to pursue legal enforcement actions with civil penalties, and issuing letters of correction without requiring Northwest to implement comprehensive corrective action to address the deficiencies.
The report further concluded that the status of Northwest’s compliance with more than 1,000 ADs was unknown, adding that FAA administrator Randolph Babbitt has established an internal assistance capability review team to oversee the implementation of additional reviews and audits recommended in the report.
