Today in Chicago History: Passenger’s dynamite causes midair explosion on plane that departed O’Hare

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SUBSTANTIATES WHISTLEBLOWER’S SAFETY CONCERNS ABOUT UNITED AIRLINES5 EMERGENCY DOOR BATTERIES AND OVERHEAD BINS

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Press Release: The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC)transmitted to the President and Congress the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) response towhistleblower allegations that Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees compromised thesafety of the flying public by failing in their oversight and regulatory responsibilities.

The whistleblower, Cheryl Henderson, Aviation Safety Inspector, DOT, FAA, United AirlinesCertificate Management Office, Daly City, California, specifically disclosed concerns about the lackof proper FAA oversight of United Airlines’ compliance with an Airworthiness Directive (AD)concerning emergency door batteries on United’s Boeing 777s and the improper self-disclosure ofdefective overhead bins on its Boeing 767s.

The August 2009 report from Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood to OSC found that two FAAsenior supervisory inspectors had improperly permitted United Airlines to self-disclosenoncompliance with an AD about the installation of overhead bins in violation of FAA’s VoluntaryDisclosure Reporting Program (VDRP). The AD had been issued to prevent the failure of tie rods tothe center overhead stowage bin modules, which could result in a collapse of the bins and,consequently, injuries to passengers and crew.

The investigation also found that the then-FAA Principal Avionics Inspector for United Airlines inDaly City, California, failed to adequately address the expiration of emergency door batteries andthe reliability of battery restoration equipment. DOT substantiated that the battery restorationequipment was not properly calibrated and, therefore, inadequate for measuring accurately thequality of the batteries. The investigation found that while United Airlines eventually replaced allthe emergency door batteries in question, FAA improperly delayed by 18 months a decision aboutUnited Airlines’ use of non-calibrated equipment. In addition to addressing the safety concernsidentified in the investigation, FAA also proposed suspensions for the senior managers for theirmismanagement and failure of oversight.

OSC determined that the agency’s report contains all the information required by statute and thefindings appear reasonable.