[By Robert P. Mark of AIN Online]
According to the Transportation Trades Department (TTD) of the AFL-CIO union, 70 percent of airline maintenance is conducted by outside contractors, and some of the most comprehensive work on transport aircraft “should be conducted only by Part 145 certified repair stations,” according to TTD president Edward Wytkind.
His remarks were part of formal comments submitted to an FAA notice of proposed rulemaking calling for increased surveillance of contract maintenance facilities. WhileTTD supports the overall increased oversight of these stations the FAA is seeking, the proposal still falls short, Wytkind said. The agency should require an air carrier representative to be physically present to observe the work being performed, he added.
“How can anyone argue that outsourced work, much of it performed overseas, does not need to meet the same safety standards as in-house maintenance, or that employees do not need the same level of training and oversight?” Wytkind argued.