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The Federal Aviation Administration discovered a litany of safety violations in a recent routine inspection of O'Hare International Airport, the Tribune reports today. The FAA sent a "letter of notice" to O'Hare officials which also called out the Chicago Department of Aviation. According to the Trib:
An object as small as a stone on a runway can pose a danger to flight by being ingested into aircraft jet turbines or piercing a fuel tank and sparking an explosion and fire.Yet FAA inspectors found rocks, garbage and wood survey stakes used during construction on runways and taxiways at O'Hare...
The problems at O'Hare the FAA cited in its warning notice are considered major violations -- not just housekeeping issues -- because airfields are supposed to be sterile environments free of debris and other hazards that could interfere with flights.
Other violations included workers driving vehicles they weren't fully trained to operate and incorrect inspection reports. Karen Pride, spokeswoman for the Aviation Department, told the Trib many of the violations have already been cleared up but that remaining violations will be cleared by the end of November.
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The allegation that the city's Dept of Aviation has been lax on inspections is worrisome. I certainly hope this is some sort of misunderstanding, or that things are not as bad as they seem. If the city is basically faking inspections at our main airport, or even failing to do them because of poor training or what not, I frankly wouldn't know what to say.
Didn't the current CTA head come from the Dept of Aviation?
Not to be conspiracy minded, or to defend anything Daley does, but I seem to remember the FAA and city butting heads on expansion-related issues. Don't know if my memory is correct, and I can't research now.
Why does it seem like Daley and his appointees seem to have the Midas Touch as of late? Oh yeah, and instead of gold everything turns to shit. It can't be good if IOC people see this story as O'Hare is one of Chicago's crown jewels in its bid package. Lets just hope things get put back on the right track before a plane has a serious problem.
Side Note: the leading cause of the deadliness crash in O'hare history was the result of lax routine maintenance procedures. That time it was American Airlines maintenance procedures at fault but the lesson should be the same: procedures are in place for a reason, follow them.
Because they are good politicians but piss poor managers who wouldn't last two days on the fry line at McDonalds. Used to be, Daley could rely on some decent technocrats, but now, the whole system is rotten and needs to be burned down and rebuilt.