Airlines Putting Passengers At Risk Trying To Cut Fuel Costs — BushCo FAA Looks The Other Way

Another excellent benefit of Big Oil’s record profits.

Pilots are complaining that their airline bosses, desperate to cut costs, are forcing them to fly uncomfortably low on fuel.

Safety for passengers and crews could be compromised, they say.

The situation got bad enough three years ago, even before the latest surge in fuel prices, that NASA sent a safety alert to federal aviation officials.

There has been no action.

Since then, pilots, flight dispatchers and others have continued to sound off with their own warnings, yet the Federal Aviation Administration says there is no reason to order airlines to back off their effort to keep fuel loads to a minimum.

"We can’t dabble in the business policies or the personnel policies of an airline," said FAA spokesman Les Dorr. 

WTF? I know the Bush administration is fundamentally allergic to regulation of any kind, but the reason the FAA exists is to dabble in the business policies of the airlines. Here’s what they say they do.

We issue and enforce regulations and minimum standards covering manufacturing, operating, and maintaining aircraft. We certify airmen and airports that serve air carriers.

That would seem to cover "dabbling" Les.

Asshole.

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