Aviation Safety FAA's Risk-Based Oversight for Repair Stations Could Benefit from Additional Airline Data and Performance Metrics
Description:... FAA is responsible for overseeing nearly 4,800 FAA-certificated repair stations in the United States and in foreign countries. While U.S. airlines' rely on repair stations for much of their maintenance, some aviation stakeholders have questioned FAA's oversight of foreign repair stations. GAO was asked to examine maintenance contracting trends and FAA oversight of repair stations. This report assesses: (1) trends and factors influencing airline maintenance contracting from 2010 through 2014, (2) how FAA's oversight of foreign and domestic repair stations differs and associated challenges, and (3) efforts taken by FAA to improve its risk-based oversight. GAO analyzed BTS data on airlines' maintenance spending from 2010 through 2014 for 28 selected U.S. commercial airlines with the largest number of flights, and interviewed representatives for 10 U.S. airlines. GAO visited seven foreign repair stations in three countries, and interviewed industry representatives. GAO also analyzed FAA inspection and enforcement data for repair stations from 2010 through 2014.
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