The FAA: airlines must put safety first

The airline industry, which now heads into a recession, may be tempted to save money by cutting maintenance and inspection. It cannot be allowed to do it and cannot allow itself to do it.

A month ago, the Federal Aviation Administration announced that Southwest Airlines had ignored for several months a federal order to inspect 46 Boeing 737s for cracks around the windows. An FAA inspector knew of the lapses and had let the airline get away with them. Inspectors who do that should be fired. Companies should be fined — which Southwest was, to the tune of $10.2 million — and publicly shamed.

We are not unbiased in this matter. The Seattle area is full of people who design airplanes, build them, fly them and rely on them. All this requires that airline travel be safe.

Airline people know it. It's just that sometimes some of them cut corners.

The reason may be financial, though that is not an acceptable excuse and in Southwest's case is not applicable anyway. Among major U.S. carriers, Southwest has been the most profitable.

Southwest also appears to be the safest. It has never had a fatality. Even so, complacency is not acceptable — and it is the FAA's job to remind everyone of that, regularly. The agency need not be a mean cop. But if an airline is not following the safety rules, there can be no months-long grace periods.

Safety is the price of flight.

In the wake of the Southwest fine, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines scrambled to pull planes out of service to inspect them. It was momentarily disruptive, but it was a good thing. The carriers were reminding the public and themselves of an elemental priority:

Safety first. No exceptions.