FAA inspector cozy with American Air manager ignored safety tips

A federal inspector assigned to monitor American Airlines Group failed to act on safety complaints after developing a friendship with a company official, according to a government watchdog report. The FAA inspector, who had been assigned to the carrier for 28 years and had taken an overseas trip with an airline manager, didn’t address what was later shown to be a legitimate tip about how the carrier assured aircraft were safe following maintenance work, the report said. Concerns raised by American’s pilot union, the Allied Pilots Association, went largely unaddressed for more than 18 months, according to the report, obtained by Bloomberg News. The FAA’s oversight of American’s flight-test program “lacked objectivity,” the report said. The FAA inspector, who has retired from the agency, wasn’t named in the report. The report by the Transportation Department’s Inspector General puts a focus on how well FAA is overseeing safety at air carriers at a time when the agency has stressed cooperation with airlines rather than issuing fines or taking other enforcement actions. Story has more details.<br/>