Is There Cause for Fear of Flying?

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Some critics fear that deregulation may be hurting safety. They argue that the rapid growth of air travel has stretched equipment thin and pushed carriers into unsafe procedures. Says Donald Engen, chief of the Federal Aviation Administration: "We are beginning to wonder whether economic deregulation may have led to maintenance practices that would justify certain fears." Problems that worry him range from the falsification of records to the use of improper repair parts.

The fleet of civilian aircraft is generally well regarded. While the Boeing 747 was involved in both the Air-India and the Japan Air Lines disasters, pilots still give the jumbo jet high marks. One British Airways captain, referring to the 747's ability to tolerate errors, calls the plane "the most forgiving thing that flies." Experts are concerned, though, that some carriers may be flying their aircraft too long. "The problem of an aging fleet is a constant one," says John Galipault, president of the Aviation Safety Institute, an Ohio-based consumer watchdog group. "Planes are like people--you have to know when to retire them."

Even the newest equipment can fail, however, if it is not properly repaired and maintained. The 747 that struck a mountain in Japan apparently lost control of its rear navigation system. Boeing has since acknowledged that a repair of the back hull, which it performed seven years before the accident, was improperly done. In view of that, the FAA ordered immediate reinspection of all similar repairs. The agency has been cracking down on improper maintenance practices. Says Engen: "In the past two years, we have put on the ground, or severely restrained, 52 airlines." A grounded carrier may not legally fly until the problems that led to its suspension have been rectified. Last year's actions included a record $1.5 million fine for maintenance violations against American Airlines.

The FAA is taking a careful look at the jet engines used in commercial aircraft. Inspectors began fanning out last month to investigate the 20 U.S. repair shops that service the jets. They are particularly interested in the Pratt & Whitney JT8D series, a highly respected engine that powered the aircraft involved in three of last year's major accidents. Said one inspector: "The series powers more than half of all the jet planes flying in the Western world, and they've been flown a long time. So naturally we wonder if we've all gotten complacent about them." Pratt & Whitney denies any link between the engines and the fatalities. "The investigations into these crashes are not completed," said a company spokesman, "but so far there are no indications that the engines were at fault or the cause of the accidents."

How qualified are the pilots who fly the U.S. commercial fleet? The rapid growth of airlines since deregulation has created a need for more people in the cockpit, and major airlines have raided commuter carriers for some of their top personnel. In addition, a few pilots are jumping from one airline to another in order to gain higher pay. Warns Patricia Goldman, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board: "The enormous turnover rate of the pilot population results in pilots who just meet FAA requirements. It means crews flying together who have limited experience of working with each other, or with the equipment they are operating."