An excellent discussion of safety issues is available here. Also,
see the Air Safety Home Page for
further safety information concerning air travel. Detailed data on
domestic aviation accidents and incidents is available from the National Transportation Safety Board
and its Aviation Accident/Incident Database.
In 1997-98, I received a number of letters alleging
serious problems with UAL's safety procedures. In the first two weeks
of January 1998 alone, I received one letter discussing an emergency
landing at Heathrow due to an electrical fault that was not repaired
prior to takeoff and another dealing with a faulty aircraft
flap that was inadequately repaired.
That same month, a former UAL pilot
described a number of safety violations that United was unwilling
to correct, including at least one case of direct violation of FAA
rules. While there may be good explanations for the incidents
described in the previous two letters, one cannot help but be troubled
by the account of UAL's attitude toward safety issues when coming from
someone with extensive personal experience with the company.
When the pilot's article was posted, Untied.com gave United
Air Lines an opportunity to respond:
And please, this time, spare us the ad campaign.
Most interestingly, a
UAL Coordinator under the supervision of Mr. Soliday, UAL's former
Vice President of Corporate Safety and Security, received a letter of
reprimand on August 4, 1992, from the National Transportation
Safety Board, regarding UAL's withholding of information related to
the investigation into the fatal air crash of United flight 585
(that crashed in Colorado Springs). Could it be that UAL was
more interested in covering up their questionable practices than
fixing them?
As we wrote back in 1998,
"If United wishes to whitewash over its glaring lapses in customer
service, poor training procedures, incompetence of senior employees,
and so on, with a laughable public relations campaign, that's one thing.
However, turning a blind eye to serious safety issues is inexcusable.
Once again, we offer UAL an opportunity to explain what it is doing to
correct these problems -- we remain happy to publish the news here.
Many readers have commented that they appreciate the candor of those
pilots who give passengers honest information rather than excuses.
Isn't it time for the airline to do the same?"
Since that time, there have been numerous additional charges
of inattention and disregard for safety, many by current UAL
employees.
At the end of May 2001, UAL terminated the employment of Tim Hafer,
a former Warranty Coordinator with the airline, following his informing the FAA of maintenance
safety issues related to the servicing of aircraft by third
party vendors. These concerns for maintenance issues at UAL were
subsequently reported by Forbes magazine.
In Jaunary 2002, we reported on a case involoving a whistleblower, who was reprimanded
after reporting a crack in an aircraft frame and another regarding poor training for security staff.
In April 2002, Forbes magazine
ran a feature on airline safety, specifically citing incidents of
maintenance oversight with subcontractors used by United. Not
surprisingly, UAL took exception to the
article, denying the problem and further claiming that the
"Forbes story cites several maintenance errors that are not
substantiated in any of United's extensive maintenance records or
quality- assurance reports." This was apparently an outright lie,
given that a UAL mechanic was able to send us copies of the maintenance reports
in question.
In September 2002, as UAL was spiraling into Chapter 11, we
featured a discussion concerning the maintenance of U.S. Air Force
aircraft at the Charleston
Air Force Base by United Airlines' mechanics. By this time,
numerous UAL mechanics had raised allegations of violations of FAA,
Air Force and airline policies, and each time, UAL's response was
the same denial of all wrongdoing. At present, this case is
proceeding in the courts.
Of course, now that UAL is in bankruptcy protection, many of these
issues are moot, but as the airline continues to fly planes with
passengers on board, we should remain aware of United's attention
to safety issues.
In December 2002, the Federal Aviation Administration announced a
$805,000 civil penalty against UAL for making improper wing
repairs using duct tape on three Boeing 727s. UAL's spokesman
Joseph Hopkins says the airline will contest the fine because "the
planes were not unsafe and no passengers were ever in danger."
That would be easier to believe if not for the evidence of years
of UAL's deliberate inattention to safety while hiding behind
insulting slogans of "Safety First."
In May 2007, a commercial vehicle inspector wrote: "I was at O'Hare a
couple of weeks ago and saw a United flight come in. One of the tires
on the nose gear was completely bald. The tire next to it looked
fine. I asked a retired USAF pilot about acceptable tire wear on
airplanes. He said pilots compensate for tire wear on nose gear by
keeping the weight off the nose as much as possible when landing. I
showed him some photos of the plane at Chicago. He said the tire
looked bad and should have been changed." The inspector legitimately
wonders what the acceptable tread depth minimums are for tires on
airplanes...
Here's my challenge to the brass at UAL:
I'm willing to open up my web site and give you the opportunity to
respond. Tell us how you've corrected the problems described in the
letters and assure your passengers that you value their safety more
than their money. Describe how you monitor the performance of your
pilots and ensure that all of your crew members, including reserve
pilots, have adequate rest as required by the FAA. Finally, explain
what you've done to prevent your pilots from taking off with
undiagnosed or unrepaired electrical or mechanical problems.
Unfortunately, United's reply
simply denied the allegations without providing any details, and
suggested that the former pilot "left [the] airline ... for reasons
quite different from [those stated]." Since then, the pilot's
supervisor from his Air Force days, an active duty Lt. Colonel,
has vouched for the integrity
and professionalism of the former UAL pilot.