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Air Maintenance in Crisis

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Air Maintenance in Crisis

George’s Point of View

Oversight is one of those words in the English language that bothers me because it means the opposite of itself.

An oversight is something that was missed. Something that is over-looked is something that was not seen. That smudge on my windshield after a car wash–that is an oversight. The Christmas bicycle that came without it’s assembly manual–that is an oversight.

Oversight means the unintentional failure to notice. It’s an “oops.”

But–oversight also means the act of supervision. It is frequently mentioned in terms of aircraft; the FAA and the NTSB are responsible for Aviation oversight. But when I read that, I read two completely opposite sentences. The FAA and the NTSB are responsible for supervising aviation. AND the FAA and the NTSB are responsible for what they missed.

When I read the usage of “oversight” (meaning supervision) I am waiting for the other shoe. What have they overlooked (missed) now? What’s the oversight (supervisor) oversight (missed)?

And now I see the oversight (missed) is the licensing of aircraft mechanics.

Apparently the procedure to qualify aircraft mechanics is poorly administered. Hundreds of aircraft mechanics may have been improperly licensed

The crisis comes down to faulty testing by FAA examiners who profit from testing in “diploma mills.” Apparently the FAA does not keep employment histories on the mechanics they license. There have even been programs where testing was delayed; and when the program was discontinued, the untested mechanics kept working.

So where do we look when there’s an accident like the Indonesian Air Force Lockheed L-100-30(P) Hercules whose wing fell off in flight on May 20th 2009? (Granted that this is NOT a US plane–but there are US incidents. This is just a recent one.) Did the pilot cause that wing to fall off? Of course not. The pilot climbed into that plane in good faith, with complete trust in the mechanics whose job it is to keep the plane in safe running order. The pilot relies on the integrity of the mechanics to maintain the integrity of the plane. As do we all.

Fortunately, integrity is a word in the English language that always means what it means:
The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness; the state of being whole and undivided; the condition of being unified, unimpaired, sound in construction : the structural integrity; lack of corruption.

Is it too much to ask of our FAA to require integrity in our mechanics and the planes they maintain? Integrity is not an oversight; but lack of integrity in oversight is.

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Latvian arrested over scheme to export plane parts from U.S. to Russia – UPI.com

Latvian arrested over scheme to export plane parts from U.S. to Russia – UPI.com
Authorities in Latvia have arrested a 55-year-old man accused in the United States of participating in a multiyear scheme to illegally export aviation components to Russian companies amid the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Mumbai airport denies Pak media reports that plane was denied landing

Mumbai airport denies Pak media reports that plane was denied landing
Officials say the flight was permitted to land, medical team was on standby, aircraft chose to not land in Mumbai citing company policies

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Airpark Advisory Board discusses installing rotating beacon after deadly Clearwater plane crash

Airpark Advisory Board discusses installing rotating beacon after deadly Clearwater plane crash
The Airpark Advisory Board met Thursday afternoon to discuss future safety improvements at the Airpark after a deadly plane crash in Clearwater last month.

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.



Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Zags plane mistaken for undocumented immigrants

Zags plane mistaken for undocumented immigrants
A Michigan representative mistook the Gonzaga Men’s basketball team for “illegal invaders” on Thursday.

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Zags plane mistaken for undocumented immigrants

Zags plane mistaken for undocumented immigrants
A Michigan representative mistook the Gonzaga Men’s basketball team for “illegal invaders” on Thursday.

Read More

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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‘Big boom and a jolt’: B.C. family recounts flight where lightning strikes plane

‘Big boom and a jolt’: B.C. family recounts flight where lightning strikes plane
“Flying home in a tiny prop plane when it was hit by lightning is not an experience I care to repeat,” says Jessica McConnell.

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Phoenix Sky Harbor runway closed after jet goes off runaway

Phoenix Sky Harbor runway closed after jet goes off runaway
No one was hurt.

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

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Watch TAP Air Portugal plane almost nose dive in landing

Watch TAP Air Portugal plane almost nose dive in landing
Cameraman notices plane coming in for a landing in strong crosswinds, notices its nose is dangerously low even as front wheels touch down on tarmac

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Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.



Air Force Helicopter carrying 21 makes emergency landing near Agona Nkwanta

A Ghana Air Force Helicopter with registration number GHF 696 today [Tuesday, March 19, 2024] made an emergency landing Bonsukrom near Agona Nkwanta in the Western Region.Read More

To include the featured image in your Twitter Card, please tap or click their icon a second time.



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