FAA inspector who warned of danger before Buffalo crash silenced, disciplined

Thursday, 04 June 2009

In a story that many New York personal injury lawyers will find disturbing, an inspector at the Federal Aviation was silenced and demoted after he warned his supervisors of Colgan Air's difficulties operating the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, the type of plane involved in February's crash, the New York Times reports.

The inspector, Christopher J. Monteleon, was in charge of overseeing Colgan's purchase of the Dash 8 early last year when he noted several deficiencies in the airline's handling of the aircraft. Colgan's pilots, Mr. Monteleon said, flew the plane too fast, refused to have it inspected for damage, flew with a broken radio and failed to properly land the plane on multiple occasions.

When Mr. Monteleon reported these problems to his supervisors he was reassigned, but he would not let the issue drop. Further confrontations with his bosses led them to send him home on paid leave.

Nor was this Mr. Monteleon's first such experience with his superiors. In a former position as Colgan's principal operations inspector he noted "violations and deficiencies in crew training, crew fatigue and other problems." Again, as in the later situation, when he tried to bring a case against the airline he was demoted.

For New York City personal injury lawyers and others concerned with public safety, this is a very distressing story. Agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration are supposed to act in the public interest, not in the interest of the very companies they are charged with inspecting. Employees like Mr. Monteleon should be applauded for their diligence, not demoted and reassigned.

[ The New York Times]