By Glenn Pew, AVweb
Furlough of FAA aviation safety inspectors and NTSB accident investigators may put the country in default of its obligations under an aviation treaty that sets standards for safety for ICAO, former FAA lawyer Loretta Alkalay told Forbes magazine this week. The U.S. failure to approve a federal budget and subsequent partial government shutdown has furloughed some 3,000 FAA safety inspectors and stalled NTSB investigations.
Alkalay told Forbes that the inspectors perform oversight and surveillance required under the Chicago Convention treaty. "It's hard to imagine that the FAA can meet its ICAO obligations without 3,000 inspectors," Alkalay told the magazine. "And violation of the treaty could have consequences for U.S. airlines."
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