(19 Jun 1996) English/Nat
The US Federal Aviation Administration it to tighten inspection rules in an effort to ease concern about air safety as well as criticism of its handling of the ValuJet investigation.
The probe into the ValuJet crash revealed difficulties in government supervision of the new, low-price airlines that hire contractors to do much of their maintenance and training.
And pledging to eliminate any doubts about the FAA's mission, the Clinton administration has now asked Congress to restructure the agency to focus on "safety and only safety".
The Federal Aviation Administration announced major changes in both its management and organisation Tuesday.
It said the moves were designed to reflect the "lessons learned" since the 11 May crash of a ValuJet plane in the Florida Everglades.
In the days after the crash, in which 110 people were killed, federal transport officials declared that ValuJet was safe to fly.
However, they reversed themselves Monday, successfully pressuring the low-cost airline to halt operations to improve maintenance and safety practices.
Of primary concern to the FAA were the procedures used to monitor the compliance of contractors providing service to US carriers.
SOUNDBITE:
"These changes are made specifically to broaden, toughen and improve our oversight of airlines that rely upon contract maintenance and contract training."
SUPER CAPTION: David Hinson, FAA administrator
ValuJet was unique among US carriers in that the airline relied almost exclusively on outside contractors for its operations, including ticketing, training and maintenance.
Even so, this did not seem to be a cause for strong concern at the FAA, which had considered the airline to be safe - until Monday.
And in its first public reaction to the FAA's decision to ground the company, ValuJet Tuesday said it had been unfairly treated.
SOUNDBITE:
"I am bothered by the fact that we were subjected to an intense inspection, the degree of which the airline industry has never seen. I wish we had some basis for comparison, but we don't. I happen to think it's unfair but I think I could be forgiven if right now I'm a little on the sensitive side and maybe a little too defensive of my company."
SUPER CAPTION: Lewis Jordan, President ValuJet Airlines
In Washington, Transport Secretary Federico Pena called for Congress to modify the FAA charter.
Since 1958, the charter has been giving the FAA the dual role of promoting air safety and air commerce.
SOUNDBITE:
"I am urging that Congress change the FAA charter to give it a single primary mission: safety. Let me be as clear as I can about this: there should never be another question about the top priority of the FAA."
SUPER CAPTION: Federico Pena, Secretary of Transport
Clearly, the example of the rise and fall of the fastest growing American airline this decade has exposed weaknesses in both the industry and in its regulation.
For the FAA, faced with an ever-increasing number of airlines and passengers, lessons learned from the ValuJet investigation will reduce the chances of a similar disaster.

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