May 21st 09, 05:44 AM
News 8 Investigates: Airline mechanics who can't read English
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV
>> "News 8 has recently revealed serious flaws in the way the FAA licenses mechanics who fix planes.
There is evidence of years of problems in testing these mechanics.
There is also evidence that hundreds of mechanics with questionable
licenses are working on aircraft in Texas.
Now there is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics
who can't read English.
Twenty-one people were killed when U.S. Airways Express Flight 5481
crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003. The plane went wildly
out of control on takeoff.
One reason for the crash, investigators found, was that mechanics
incorrectly connected the cables to some of the plane's control
surfaces in the repair shop. The FAA was cited for improper oversight
of the repair process.
Repairing airplanes is a complicated business. Airplanes have many
manuals. Typically, when mechanics repair a part, they open the
manual, consult the book, and make the repair step-by-step, as if it
were a recipe book.
They make a list of every action they take, so the next person to fix
the plane (as well as the people who fly it) will know exactly what
has been done.
If mechanics don't speak English, the international language of
aviation, they can't read the manual and they can't record their
activities.
There are more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in
Texas, according to the FAA's Web site. News 8 has learned that
hundreds of the mechanics working in those shops do not speak English
and are unable to read repair manuals for today's sophisticated
aircraft.
Former FAA inspector Bill McNease told News 8 he regularly encountered
applicants for pilots’ licenses who tried to pretend they could speak
English — but could not.
"When I was based in Dallas, I had that happen every week," McNease
said. "It was not uncommon at all to have foreign flight students. We
had mechanics, but I handled the pilot end of it.... and I turned down
people every week because they couldn't speak English."
"There are people [where I work] who do not know how to read a
maintenance manual as they are spelled out, because they don't have a
clue," said one certified aircraft mechanic who works at a Texas
aircraft repair station. He wished to remain anonymous to protect his
employment.
To certify a part for flight or repair an engine, a mechanic must be
licensed by the FAA as an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, known in
the business as an "A&P."
News 8 discovered that mechanics at one licensing center in San
Antonio were being tested in Spanish as late as last fall. The FAA
ultimately shut the facility down.
Supervisors in Texas repair stations say they are supposed to oversee
the repairs of dozens of untrained mechanics who can't read the
manuals and can't write down the work they've done.
But the FAA does not require every person working at a repair station
to be a certified A&P. One certified A&P can sign off on the work of
dozens of uncertified mechanics.
That creates a huge problem, another certified mechanic told News 8.
"I need an interpreter to talk to these people," he said. "They can't
read the manuals, they can't write, and I have so many working for me
I can't be sure of the work they've done."
To be sure of proper quality, the supervisor has to either re-do the
work himself or take the chance that no mistakes have been made. There
is a push to get work out the door and planes back in the air. But
when he signs his name to certify the repair for flight, he is legally
responsible for it.
The root of the problem is money, mechanics say. A certified mechanic
can earn upwards of $25 an hour in Texas. Technicians who can't speak
English are often hired for less than $10, according to mechanics
interviewed by News 8.
"I've been wanting to leave this company since the day I got there,"
said one certified A&P. "But with the economy the way it is, I've got
kids to feed and I have to stay there. I don't want to be anywhere
near one of those planes when it kills somebody."
The FAA is supposed to police repair stations, but insiders say the
agency is more focused on looking at paperwork than inspecting the
facilities. Insiders also say inspectors warn repair stations when
they're coming.
"In Dallas, most of them would map it out and tell them what day they
were going to be there," said Gene Bland, a former FAA inspector.
Safety, mechanics say, is at risk. "In my opinion," said one, "company
owners should all be locked up because someone's going to die
eventually, if it hasn't already happened."
Texas' two biggest airlines, American and Southwest, both require
mechanics and the technicians who work under them to speak, read and
write English.
But mechanics who work elsewhere — whose repairs often end up on
commercial airliners — say their shops are filled with non-English
speakers.
The FAA declined to be interviewed for this report. "<<
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/investigates/stories/wfaa090515-_lj_harris.7a4a7d4.html
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA-TV
>> "News 8 has recently revealed serious flaws in the way the FAA licenses mechanics who fix planes.
There is evidence of years of problems in testing these mechanics.
There is also evidence that hundreds of mechanics with questionable
licenses are working on aircraft in Texas.
Now there is evidence of repair facilities hiring low-wage mechanics
who can't read English.
Twenty-one people were killed when U.S. Airways Express Flight 5481
crashed in Charlotte, North Carolina in 2003. The plane went wildly
out of control on takeoff.
One reason for the crash, investigators found, was that mechanics
incorrectly connected the cables to some of the plane's control
surfaces in the repair shop. The FAA was cited for improper oversight
of the repair process.
Repairing airplanes is a complicated business. Airplanes have many
manuals. Typically, when mechanics repair a part, they open the
manual, consult the book, and make the repair step-by-step, as if it
were a recipe book.
They make a list of every action they take, so the next person to fix
the plane (as well as the people who fly it) will know exactly what
has been done.
If mechanics don't speak English, the international language of
aviation, they can't read the manual and they can't record their
activities.
There are more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in
Texas, according to the FAA's Web site. News 8 has learned that
hundreds of the mechanics working in those shops do not speak English
and are unable to read repair manuals for today's sophisticated
aircraft.
Former FAA inspector Bill McNease told News 8 he regularly encountered
applicants for pilots’ licenses who tried to pretend they could speak
English — but could not.
"When I was based in Dallas, I had that happen every week," McNease
said. "It was not uncommon at all to have foreign flight students. We
had mechanics, but I handled the pilot end of it.... and I turned down
people every week because they couldn't speak English."
"There are people [where I work] who do not know how to read a
maintenance manual as they are spelled out, because they don't have a
clue," said one certified aircraft mechanic who works at a Texas
aircraft repair station. He wished to remain anonymous to protect his
employment.
To certify a part for flight or repair an engine, a mechanic must be
licensed by the FAA as an Airframe and Powerplant mechanic, known in
the business as an "A&P."
News 8 discovered that mechanics at one licensing center in San
Antonio were being tested in Spanish as late as last fall. The FAA
ultimately shut the facility down.
Supervisors in Texas repair stations say they are supposed to oversee
the repairs of dozens of untrained mechanics who can't read the
manuals and can't write down the work they've done.
But the FAA does not require every person working at a repair station
to be a certified A&P. One certified A&P can sign off on the work of
dozens of uncertified mechanics.
That creates a huge problem, another certified mechanic told News 8.
"I need an interpreter to talk to these people," he said. "They can't
read the manuals, they can't write, and I have so many working for me
I can't be sure of the work they've done."
To be sure of proper quality, the supervisor has to either re-do the
work himself or take the chance that no mistakes have been made. There
is a push to get work out the door and planes back in the air. But
when he signs his name to certify the repair for flight, he is legally
responsible for it.
The root of the problem is money, mechanics say. A certified mechanic
can earn upwards of $25 an hour in Texas. Technicians who can't speak
English are often hired for less than $10, according to mechanics
interviewed by News 8.
"I've been wanting to leave this company since the day I got there,"
said one certified A&P. "But with the economy the way it is, I've got
kids to feed and I have to stay there. I don't want to be anywhere
near one of those planes when it kills somebody."
The FAA is supposed to police repair stations, but insiders say the
agency is more focused on looking at paperwork than inspecting the
facilities. Insiders also say inspectors warn repair stations when
they're coming.
"In Dallas, most of them would map it out and tell them what day they
were going to be there," said Gene Bland, a former FAA inspector.
Safety, mechanics say, is at risk. "In my opinion," said one, "company
owners should all be locked up because someone's going to die
eventually, if it hasn't already happened."
Texas' two biggest airlines, American and Southwest, both require
mechanics and the technicians who work under them to speak, read and
write English.
But mechanics who work elsewhere — whose repairs often end up on
commercial airliners — say their shops are filled with non-English
speakers.
The FAA declined to be interviewed for this report. "<<
http://www.wfaa.com/sharedcontent/dws/wfaa/localnews/investigates/stories/wfaa090515-_lj_harris.7a4a7d4.html