Blacklisted for Lack of Aviation Maintenance
Airline blacklists are "not the answer" to improving aviation safety, says US FAA administrator Marion Blakey.
"The public has a right to know if an airline is banned in a country," says the director general of France's civil aviation authority (DGAC), Michel Wachenheim.
Rivalry Bleeds into Aviation Maintenance
Apparently, the acute rivalry between Europe's Airbus and the American Boeing bleeds into other aspects of aviation as well. Aviation blacklisting, the practice of letting the public know what companies have been consistently falling short of government safety regulations, is a source of cross Atlantic acrimony as well.The debate stems from the tragic series of major crashes that took place in the summer of 2005, killing about 500 people. The lion's share of these crashes took place with planes operated by lower-tier companies based out of developing countries. One of the deadliest crashes, a Venezuelan plane that went down killing scores of French citizens, particularly shocked the French public.
Aviation Maintenance Standards
The US, though not immune to airline crashes, argues that the crashes are really an aviation maintenance issue. If safety regulators do their job, then there shouldn't be any crashes, or the need for a blacklist.According to the French paper Le Monde, the European Parliament is about to approve a European blacklist that is expected to name fifty companies not suitable for European airspace.
Aviation Maintenance Career Certification
Aviation maintenance is at the source of many plane crashes. Standards in developing countries are likely to be lower than in Europe or North America. Many of the planes flown in developing countries are old planes that have long been decommissioned from top-tier airline companies.A US aviation maintenance career, because of the tight regulations, requires specific training. And there are many aviation maintenance programs throughout the country that provide the specific requirements needed for maintenance certification.
