SPECIAL UPDATE
January 14, 2014
On Monday, January 13th, the TSA released its
finalized US based repair station security rule. Significantly, because
of the release, the moratorium placed by Congress on new certification
of facilities has now been lifted. Lobbyists for the MRO industry
including ARSA are now pushing for the FAA to quickly certify new
facilities.
As reported previously in the TAMC newsletter and the
Mechanics Dispatch the Airline Division is strongly opposed to lifting
the moratorium, especially in regards to foreign repair stations. The
reason is clear; two previous and the most current DOT IG reports have
shown that the FAA “Does not have an Effective Oversight process for
Foreign and Domestic Repair Stations.” This is troubling given that
there are currently 4700 domestic and 750 foreign repair stations. The
TAMC has been on the Hill lobbying for some time that the moratoriums
remain in place until the FAA has the ability to do what it was designed
to do.
On Monday, the day the new rule was released a letter was
sent to Administrator Huerta outlining our objections to any new
certifications. That letter is attached for your review. In our view it
is inconceivable that the government would further risk the lives of the
flying public by burdening a system that historically has not been able
to police itself. For ten years the Inspector General has been ringing
the alarm bells about this oversight issue and that warning should not
be ignored.
What can you do about this? Get the word out, share this
on social media, share this with your friends and family and finally ask
everyone to write or call their members of Congress. We do not need
more regulation in this industry paid for by the blood of the flying
public.
