Musings of a Technonerd

On Aug 19, 2005, the mechanics at Northwest Orient went on strike. They didn't go out so much for pay increases. They did it more for job security. The Airline wanted big concessions from the union on the amount of work they outsource to foreign maintenance shops. The outsourcing would result in the loss of thousands of jobs. Northwest was well prepared, having hired a number of "replacement" mechanics, many of whom were former Northwest employees who had been previously laid off. This meant the strike was doomed from the beginning, as neither the pilot's nor flight attendants unions honored the picket lines.

Now, much of their heavy maintenance, engine replacement and repair, airframe repair and electronic and hydraulic work is outsourced. A lot of that work is done at overseas shops, where the mechanics do the work for cents on the dollar. Mostly light maintenance is done in house these days.

I don't know about you, but when I fly on an airliner, I want to know it's been worked on by the best mechanics this country had to offer. Yes, this country. Why?

1. Maintenance shops in this country employ mechanics who possess A & P (Airframe and Power plant) licenses, after extensive training and passing a strict test conducted by the FAA.

2. These shops are subject to surprise unannounced inspections of facilities and procedures by the FAA and DOT.

3. Their employees are subject to unannounced DOT drug and alcohol screening, and back ground security checks.

Now there's a dirty little secret the airlines, TSA and the FAA would rather you didn't know. None of the above happens at many overseas maintenance bases routinely used by many American flagship carriers. In some cases, the work is done by unlicensed and minimally trained mechanics (Who've undergone NO back ground security checks.) "under supervision" by licensed mechanics, and their work is only occasionally inspected by US government inspectors. The airlines are allowed to do their own policing for the most part. But because the airlines are all in a mighty struggle to cut costs any way they can to maintain lower airfares, I believe this truly is a case of putting the fox in charge of the hen house. In some cases, the overseas shops that ARE "inspected" by US officials then turn around and re-outsource the work to shops that our federal inspectors have never seen. Plus, to add insult to injury, the inspections that DO occur are almost always known about in advance, due to restrictions on any US personnel by nations like China and India.

There's another angle about this, besides worker competence, and that angle is security. Currently, there are close to 700 bases overseas that perform maintenance on U.S. flag carrier aircraft. That's just under 700 bases that the FAA does not have direct and immediate access to like they do in this nation. Now foreign bases that are directly within airport boundaries are probably secure enough, but some of the shops are located in industrial areas that are less secure. On October 16, Edmund "Kip" Hawley of TSA and Cathleen A. Berrick of the GAO both testified before the Senate Commerce Committee on the TSA's efforts to date. After opening statements, they were questioned about the TSA's failure to write any meaningful regulations regarding overseas repair shops. In both Hawley's and Berrick's opening statements, unless I've missed something, their silence on the issue was stunning. Here's a podcast of the questioning by the senators. They were indeed grilled about the fact that in 2001, TSA was directed by congress to write, implement and have in place by 2004 a complete set of regulations, rules and procedures to protect American aircraft at these bases. This included back ground checks for foreign mechanics and workers. They were also directed to commence investigations and inspections of these bases. It was noted by a questioner that to date, in the year 2007, absolutely NOTHING has happened in this regard. (Approx 50 minutes into the podcast.) The answer? Hawley: "I wasn't here then, and we're working on it."

I don't know about you, but I'm not comfortable getting on many American airliners any more. I never thought I'd hear myself say that, as I once considered the American aviation system one of the best in the world. I have a good friend who was one of the mechanics at Northwest. He worked there for 27 years, before being joining his co-workers on the picket line. I asked him the other day if he would get on a Northwest plane. He looked me right in the eye and said "No way in hell." Now, aircraft mechanics aren't exactly grease monkeys. They're highly trained technical personnel, and by Federal law, personally sign off on all repairs they've completed, or inspected. They also must report any safety issues or repairs they're not satisfied with. There are aircraft flying around to this day with his A & P number on it, that he's still responsible for. That's why, at least in this country, they get the big bucks. Your safety in the air is their personal and professional responsibility. A responsibility they do not take lightly. So when my friend makes a statement like that, I've got to take notice.

There are alternatives. To their credit, American Airlines bucked industry and trends have radically reduced the used of outsourcing, doing over 80% of their own maintenance in-house. I'd be more willing to get on one of their aircraft then anyone else's. Also, there's Amtrak. It's not as fast and in some cases the routes aren't convenient. But it's more relaxing, and you get to see spectacular scenery. And, there's the good old American auto and the freeway system. Traveling overseas is a problem, and I don't have a good solution for that one.

Happy trails!