FAA Inspectors skipped over evidence in air-safety case, official says

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors overlooked potential evidence before clearing an Alaska Airlines contractor of air-safety violations alleged by a whistle-blower, according to newly disclosed government records.

Some people with additional information were not interviewed by the FAA during the 2007 investigation, prompting an investigator for the federal Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA), who separately examined the whistle-blower's case, to write a pointed letter to FAA officials.

The letter identified broader safety allegations against the repair contractor, American Power, than those raised by the whistle-blower.

OSHA, after its investigation, found American Power retaliated against the whistle-blower by laying her off, leading to a settlement in October of nearly $30,000. The Auburn tool-supply and repair company went out of business about Jan. 1.

FAA officials declined to comment on the case, but the agency recently released copies of the OSHA investigator's letter and other records to The Seattle Times under a Freedom of Information Act request.

The FAA began investigating the allegations against American Power in late 2007, when former employee Melodee Nixon alleged she was laid off after accusing the company of ignoring federal air-safety standards.

Nixon said she warned superiors the company was providing false data to Alaska Airlines relating to the recalibration of gauges on oxygen and nitrogen regulators. The regulators are used by the airline, among other things, during maintenance of oxygen masks, tires and struts.

American Power's work for Alaska was done by a subcontractor, Hansen & Miller Service Center of Seattle.

Nixon told the FAA that American Power was receiving incomplete information from Hansen & Miller certifying how each regulator was calibrated, FAA records show.

"Ms. Nixon stated she was instead asked to cut and paste the calibration information from a previous invoice and paste it into the current invoice," an FAA inspector wrote.

Even if work is done correctly, the FAA requires strict record-keeping to catch errors before they lead to major problems and to trace the maintenance history after a crash or other mishap.

FAA inspectors determined American Power had asked its employees to cut and paste previous data relating to Hansen & Miller's work, according to FAA records. But the FAA concluded American's action wasn't falsification because the company believed the practice was acceptable, based on the data it was receiving from Hansen & Miller.

American Power acknowledged shortcomings, agreed to bolster its procedures and stopped doing business with Hansen & Miller, the records show.

The FAA considered opening a preliminary investigation of Alaska Airlines, which is responsible for its contractors. But the airline was ultimately found to be not at fault after producing adequate paperwork.

The FAA investigation consisted of interviewing Nixon, Alaska officials and the president of American Power, but no other company employees, according to the records.

OSHA gets involved

Nixon then went to OSHA, which investigated her layoff under a law designed to protect aviation-industry whistle-blowers.

After a lengthy investigation, OSHA determined American Power had retaliated against Nixon after she raised a valid safety issue. She received nearly $30,000 in lost wages and medical benefits from American, which denied any wrongdoing.

OSHA said it did not determine whether safety violations occurred because that is the FAA's job.

But during its inquiry, OSHA investigator Rebecca Phelps wrote a letter to the FAA, dated April 2, 2008, that raised questions about other work done by American Power for Alaska.

"Another American Power employee, other than Ms. Nixon, indicated that in-house calibration of tools and hoists at American Power are being 'fabricated' or falsified," Phelps wrote. "The employee stated that calibrations in the morning when the shop is cold are basically 'fixed' so that the tools and hoists can pass calibration."

For some tools, environmentally controlled rooms are required if called for by the original equipment's manufacturer for the tool's calibration, according to Alaska.

The employee also reported that calibration work on devices called transducers had been shortened to save time, leading to false results, Phelps wrote. Transducers transfer power from one system and supply power usually in another form to a second system.

Phelps informed the FAA that the employee knew about an FAA visit to American Power in November 2007 during its investigation of Nixon's complaint.

"According to this employee, the FAA Inspector did not go into the shop or talk with employees working in the shop," Phelps wrote.

Phelps also informed the FAA that Hansen & Miller "told us that they were instructed by American Power to calibrate and/or repair the Alaska regulators, but were not instructed to provide certification paperwork to American Power."

Hansen & Miller indicated it had not been questioned by the FAA, Phelps wrote.

Harold Heia, the owner of Hansen & Miller, confirmed part of Phelps' account, telling The Times that American Power didn't ask his company for certification information. However, he said an FAA official might have been part of a telephone conversation involving him, American Power and Alaska, but he wasn't sure.

No response to letter

Phelps, who was a new employee when she wrote the letter, acted within bounds, said Dean Ikeda, OSHA's deputy regional administrator in Seattle. She was counseled about the letter's tone because it went beyond factual allegations and implied the FAA wasn't doing its job, Ikeda said.

The FAA didn't respond to the letter, Ikeda said.

FAA officials in Renton, SeaTac and Washington, D.C., declined to comment on the letter or the agency's investigation of American Power.

The FAA came under intense criticism last year when it was revealed that Southwest Airlines was allowed to fly at least 117 aircraft past mandatory inspection deadlines.

U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said at the time that the FAA should "clean house from top to bottom" and had too cozy a relationship with airlines.

Alaska stopped using American Power for calibration work in 2007 when it became aware of the FAA investigation, and it halted other repair work last year when it learned of OSHA's inquiry.

Nixon said Phelps' letter confirms what she related to one of the FAA inspectors. "You did not want to find anything wrong," Nixon said she told the inspector.

Information from The Associated Press and Seattle Times archives is included in this report.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com