The Failures of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) One hundred and ten people were killed aboard ValueJet Flight 592 on May 11, 1996. The Failures of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) correct the problems found in an inspection contributed to this tragic accident (McKenna 59). FAA inspections are contributing to too many deaths aboard major airlines. Corruption in the system has led to many scary statistics and problems, but there are still many improvements for the FAA. The FAA's failure to inspect and report malfunctions resulted in 26 cases of uncontained disks/spacers. Also 10 cases of uncontained blades, 9 inverters, 9 underbody fires, 6 engine separations, 6 case breaks and 1 cowl separation. Airworthy aircraft flying into terrain are the leading cause of accidents. The pilots don't know where they are going in relation to the ground, but the plane is under control. It killed 2,396 people from 1987 to 1996. Statistics show that US airlines are the safest in the world. However, NASA's Safer Skies program predicts that by 2010 there will be 6 or 7 catastrophic accidents per year if timely changes are not made (Hilkovitch 4). The FAA has acquired a reputation as a tomb agency because it only addresses dangerous scenarios after deadly airline disasters have occurred. The General Accounting Office (GAO) found that inspectors often fail to record violations because they are fired and proposed fines are set aside by their superiors. FAA inspectors found that contractors painting several ValueJet planes had improperly reinstalled the rudders used to steer the plane. AirTran Airlines had falsified documents, improper maintenance, faulty repairs and repeated failures to supervise contractors. Here is a sample inspection report for AirTran Airlines:-- 3 instances where proper aircraft weight and balance were not properly calculated to determine safe takeoff and landing speeds.-- An experienced pilot supervising qualifications of other pilots falsified information about the experience of an unknown number of them. - Failure to examine seven planes' transponders, which send altitude and heading information to traffic controllers, after the planes received major overhauls. - Inadequately trained workers renovated an unknown number of cabins to make room for larger business class seats and modified passengers' emergency oxygen system (Associated Press 12).