ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 19, 1996 TAG: 9606190056
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: Associated Press
NOTE: Above
INSPECTION RULES are expected to tighten as the agency tries to deflect criticism and ease the public's worries.
The Federal Aviation Administration forced out its top safety official Tuesday and said it would tighten inspection rules in an attempt to ease public concern about air safety as well as criticism of its own handling of the ValuJet investigation.
Pledging to eliminate any doubts about the FAA's mission, the Clinton administration asked Congress to restructure the agency to focus on ``safety and only safety.''
In the days after the May 11 crash in the Everglades, which killed 110 people, federal transportation officials declared that ValuJet was safe to fly. However, they reversed themselves Monday, pressuring the low-cost airline to halt operations to improve maintenance and safety practices.
Then, on Tuesday, the agency ordered changes in rules and a top enforcer.
``The FAA looked itself in the mirror. It found that organizational and management changes were needed,'' Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said.
An intense probe of problems at ValuJet revealed difficulties in government supervision of the new, low-price airlines that hire contractors to do much of their maintenance and training.
The FAA and its parent Transportation Department have been under pressure from both Congress and the White House to allay public concerns about airline safety since the ValuJet crash. That culminated Monday when agency officials laid out their plans to White House chief of staff Leon Panetta and presidential adviser George Stephanopoulos.
FAA Administrator David R. Hinson announced the retirement, effective June 30, of Anthony J. Broderick, associate administrator for certification and regulation.
As the man in charge of approving new airlines and airplanes for use, and overseeing their ongoing inspections, Broderick has become one of the most powerful men in aviation.
``The events of the past weeks mandate that you make major, visible changes to improve the public confidence in the safety of our air transportation system,'' Broderick wrote in his letter of resignation. ``My leaving will provide you with the maximum amount of flexibility to make those changes.''
Hinson defended the FAA's handling of the ValuJet investigation: ``We have to present a case that would stand up in court. We have done that.''
When officials insisted the airline was safe shortly after the accident they were acting on the information available, he said: ``At some point they were safe and at some point they became noncompliant.''
Calling the agency's inspection of ValuJet a collection of lessons learned, Hinson announced changes to take effect immediately.
These include requiring airlines to prove that contractors they hire are capable of handling the work, that their maintenance programs confirm to regulations, that all contractors are listed for the agency and new ones are approved before being used. New requirements also are being set for inspectors.
In addition, Deputy Administrator Linda Hall Daschle was designated to review FAA inspection efforts and report on any further needed improvements within 90 days.
Hinson said plans call for the certification and regulation functions exercised by Broderick to remain consolidated in a single office, but that was subject to review. Critics of the agency have urged that those functions be separated so the people who inspect airlines for rule compliance are not the same ones who approved them in the first place.
Pena said Congress will be asked to review the law governing the FAA to make clear that its focus is safety.
By changing the mission statement, Pena said, ``there should never be another question about the top priority of the FAA.''
``They probably need to restructure to make sure they can keep pace with the ValuJets of the world,'' commented Michael Goldfarb, former FAA chief counsel and now a consultant. But ``Tony Broderick's not the problem.''
Darryl Jenkins, who teaches airline management at George Washington University, also said pushing Broderick out could send the wrong message.
``The FAA is doing the worst possible thing in the world right now, firing a long-term public servant. They're going to lull people into thinking this was caused by a person, which it was not.''
But aviation consultant Michael Boyd of Golden, Colo., said Broderick and others must go.
``Hinson should go too, he has no credibility,'' he said, also urging the departure of Pena. ``The FAA must be taken out of the control of politicians,'' he said.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Broderick. color.by CNB