U.S. watchdog says FAA, Southwest ties too close

By John Crawley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Aviation Administration oversight of Southwest Airlines Co maintenance was so cozy the agency allowed the carrier to violate safety orders repeatedly for years and put travelers at risk, a government watchdog said on Thursday.

Calvin Scovel, inspector general of the Transportation Department, told a House of Representatives hearing the problem likely extends to other airlines -- but not nationwide.

"FAA oversight lapses at the local and national level allowed weakness in Southwest's maintenance program to go undetected for years," Scovel told a 9-1/2 hour hearing by the House Transportation Committee.

Last month the FAA proposed fining Southwest a record $10.2 million for knowingly operating aircraft that were not in compliance with an agency order to check for fuselage cracks.

Scovel said the FAA regional office in Dallas, which is responsible for Southwest oversight, "developed an overly collaborative relationship" with the carrier.

This allowed Southwest to repeatedly self-disclose violations of mandatory FAA safety directives with an agency "rubber stamp" and no follow up, which is required to avoid fines, Scovel said.

Southwest, according to Scovel, had inspection lapses dating to 1999. Most recently, the airline violated four different safety directives eight times since December 2006, including five this year.

Scovel said the breakdown in compliance at Southwest "unnecessarily increased risk" to travelers.