User talk:ContiR

Hey Ryan & Stephanie- I think this is how the discussion works. I am just trying to test it out. I don't know if this goes to everyone or what. PS I found an interview with Mark Lund may be helpful for your background research http://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=423! ContiR (discuss • contribs) 23:39, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

we can also use this clip for our presentation (not about lund but similar with FAA) http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=3991462n

do you guys wanna break this up into the same sections we did for the powerpoint? 1) ryan >>> -intro >>> -clip >>> -corporate culture of FAA, NW/DELTA >>> -whistle blowing in general >>> -inspector review process >>> >>> 2) becca (2005) >>> -airline constraints, 9/11 >>> -strike background >>> -lund intro >>> -121 problems, 4 big problems >>> -3 reccemendations to FAA headquarters >>> -took badge away/ desk job >>> -dayton at DOT senator >>> -job back in 6 weeks >>> -noted brake problem attributed to strike >>> 2 years of misery >>> >>> 3) stephanie >>> 2007 >>> -IG released report punishing FAA & calling for new practcies >>> 2010 letter to obama >>> -interviews & phone calls >>> -his ethics perspective >>> -awards ACFEA & PASS union >>> >>> 4) stephanie >>> conflict of interest >>> regulatory agencies vs industries >>> family constraints >>> fda vs pharma >>> tunnel vision >>> >>> 5) >>> compare to people in class >>> -frances >>> -nasa >>> -enron >>> -mickaeh jackson dr >>> -vioxx >>> >>> 6) >>> whistleblowing stats >>> overall lessons >>> words of week relevance? >>> hotlines/websites/supportgroups/whistleblower protection program >>> closing >>>==Background==--ContiR (discuss • contribs) 01:42, 7 May 2012 (UTC) The post 9/11 airline budget cuts tested the moral fibers of the airline companies in the United States. In fact, these financial constraints revealed the true colors of the 6 largest U.S. airlines; in the years following 9/11, the number of Enforcement Investigative Reports for the “big 6” dropped by 62% despite the number of commercial passengers increasing by 45%. Clearly the airlines’ priority for sound planes was compromised as funds for passenger flight security increased. Financial constraints such as this led Northwest Airlines’ mechanics to go on strike on August 20th, 2005. Northwest Airlines did not let the strike restrict their business, within one day the airline had replaced the mechanics with substitute mechanics. The skills of these Replacement engineers, however, were not up to par. The airline was conscious of their inadequacy; many had never worked on planes and were trained on simulators.

This inadequacy eventually led Mark Lund, a Minnesota based Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, to blow the whistle. Just days after the replacement mechanics started, Lund noted several avoidable errors made due to the insufficient training of the new mechanics. The first several errors Lund noted were: 1) a DC-10 with a broken lavatory duct allowing waste products to spill onto critical equipment on a flight from Amsterdam to Minneapolis when Northwest Airlines planned to let the plan continue onto Honolulu before it was fixed until an FAA inspector interfered, 2) a maintenance mechanic could not find a switch to test the engine on an airbus a320 , 3) a mechanic was unsure of how to close a cabin door on a Boeing 757 , 4) a mechanic failed to lock the brakes on another Boeing 757 before checking the break wear pins , 5) a Boeing 757 blew out its main tires when it landed in Detroit the first morning after replacement mechanics took over.

There were 121 other problems in the first week following the strike. Immediately after Lund began to notice these mistakes and the inadequacies of the replacement mechanics he wrote his FAA supervisors in Washington. with 3 recommendations. He claimed that there was a situation that existed “that jeopardized lives” and made several suggestions that needed to be carried out until mechanics and inspectors could do their job “without error”. In his memo he recommended : 1) cutting back flight schedules, 2) upgrading mechanic training program, and 3) increasing FAA surveillance. The FAA and Northwest Airlines had a cozy relationship, which led to immediate repercussions for Lund.  The FAA took away his badge and gave him a desk job1. Lund’s claims were verified in a 2010 investigation it was confirmed that Northwest Airlines violated more than 1,000 FAA directives.

Lund, still concerned about the dangerous situation, fought back. He hand delivered his suggestions to the Senator of Minnesota (Northwest’s home state), Mark Dayton. Dayton was appalled by the behavior of the airline and the FAA. Dayton sent letter to inspector general at Department of Transportation (DOT), because the DOT oversees the FAA. Dayton helped Lund get his job back within six weeks. Once he was back on the job, Lund immediately inspected the Boeing 757 whose breaks went out upon landing. He concluded that “probable cause for the tire failure was a brake failure caused by a brake control cable that a replacement mechanic inadvertently jammed after routine maintenance to an unrelated system”. Lund immediately wrote a letter notifying his FAA supervisors again. In his letter he cited this incident as an example and stated that Northwest “is not a school to train mechanics while it operates at a safety risk to the public”.

Sources: 1)	http://www.eturbonews.com/1108/airline-safety-whistleblowers-tale 2)	http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_06/b4070000689813.htm 3)	http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-22/us/northwest.airlines.faa_1_faa-inspectors-safety-directives-faa-airworthiness-directives?_s=PM:US 4)	http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/09/08_zdechlikm_faafolo/ 5)	http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/play/slideshow.php?feature=2005%2f09%2f08_zdechlikm_faafolo&slide=2 6)	http://www.fraud-magazine.com/article.aspx?id=423