In 2004, The Century Foundation and Understanding Government cooperated on a detailed report about the FAA and aviation security after 9/11 that telegraphed a number of the problems happening today.  Authored by Harvard professor Marla Felcher, the report included a brief history of the FAA and pointed out its too-cozy relationship with airplane manufacturers and the airlines themselves.  If the information in our report is any indication, the latest congressional outrage over Southwest’s transgressions and American Airlines’ inability to follow FAA directives will probably fade like a jet trail.  Too many members of Congress are dependent on the industry for contributions, and neither Republican or Democratic presidents have shown the stomach to fight for real safety improvements if the industry’s commercial viability is challenged. 

In other words, the most recent FAA "story" may well repeat the boom and bust cycle typical of reporting on federal agencies.  When there’s a problem, reporting is no problem.  When the urgent problems dissapate, the deep-set faults of an agency have even less chance to come to light — until a tragedy. 

One way to fight this is by knowing more.  We invite journalists and others interested in this story to read Marla Felcher’s outstanding overview of the problems at FAA, which is not only very readable, but still very relevant a few years later.  See the report here.

The Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration has announced that by 2010 they will screen all cargo on passenger planes. This means freight packages, often shipped by manufacturers, which are stored beneath a plane’s passenger cabins.

But USA Today’s Thomas Frank reports that the plan relies on the packing and shipping companies doing the screening voluntarily. TSA also has no plan to pay for screening equipment and screeners. So who is making sure the cargo is screened?  Read Frank here.  MB

The Pentagon lacks the lawyers and other legal resources necessary to defend six Guantanamo Bay detainees in a planned military commissions trial. The New York Times’ William Glaberson reports that while Defense is out of resources, the CIA and FBI have the prosecutors they need.

The Bush administration’s call to try the six would have been the first use of the military commission system. But what the administration probably viewed as a way to win back people to the “war on terror” has become another poorly-planned headache.  Read Glaberson here. MB

Julie Meyers is the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary, which means she heads Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Last Halloween, Meyers awarded first prize in a costume contest to an employee in blackface. The employee was dressed as a detainee with dreadlocks and dark makeup and Meyer — who as head of ICE runs a 32,000-bed detention system — voted for the employee to receive a "most original costume" prize.

But she says she regretted her vote (enough to push for all photos of the event to be erased immediately), and the worker has apparently been relocated. The Washington Post’s Spencer S. Hsu says this is not enough for Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. Thompson has called for an independent investigation into whether the costume contributed to a “hostile work environment.” 

Meyers is still at ICE and her New Year’s Party managed to avoid hitting the Post’s A-section. Read Hsu here.  MB

The New York Times’ Jeff Bailey reports that American Airlines has cancelled 900 more flights, leaving more than 100,000 travellers stranded in various airports around the country.  This is due to a broad round of retroactive inspections by the Federal Aviation Administration following evidence that Southwest Airlines had disregarded FAA inspection orders.  American cancelled more than 1,000 flights Wednesday to inspect planes’ electrical wiring.

The FAA has been in inspection mode since the House Transportation Committee started investigating the agency.  But industry insiders claim the airlines are overreacting to political pressures and the possibility of bad PR, leading to more disruptions than needed.  Both the regulator and the airlines are now in a bind – they either fly potentially dangerous planes or disrupt thousands of passenger’s lives.  Read Bailey here.