A new audit from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General found significant gaps in the Federal Aviation Administration’s oversight of United Airlines’ maintenance practices. According to the report, released Wednesday, oversight has been affected by limited inspection resources, staffing shortages and barriers to accessing safety data.
The report examined how the agency addressed maintenance noncompliances and violations at the carrier and identified multiple areas where oversight activities were constrained. United operates one of the world’s largest commercial fleets and carries more than 160 million passengers annually.
The audit said the FAA’s Certificate Management Office overseeing United lacked sufficient inspectors and, in some cases, even conducted inspections virtually when resources or travel were unavailable.
“FAA’s under-resourced inspections, low Certificate Management Office (CMO) inspector staffing levels, and ineffective workforce planning are insufficient to oversee safety risks,” the report found.
The report also said the office had vacancies in 33% of its positions and has experienced high turnover among inspectors.
According to the office, the FAA had not fully implemented prior recommendations tied to safety management system oversight, nor had it ensured inspectors could consistently access air carrier safety data. It noted that some inspectors were unaware of their ability to request and review such records and that access limitations affected oversight activities.
The Office of Inspector General issued six recommendations, including developing clearer guidance on when inspections should be postponed, reevaluating staffing models and workload distribution, creating plans to address staffing shortages and retirements, and expanding inspector training and outreach on access to safety management system data.
