Airline Mechanics don't speak, read EnglishAnd if you think this is only happening in Texas you are more incurious than the DC news media.
News 8 has recently revealed serious flaws in the way the FAA licenses mechanics who fix planes.
There are more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in Texas, according to the FAA's Web site. News 8 has learned that hundreds of the mechanics working in those shops do not speak English and are unable to read repair manuals for today's sophisticated aircraft.
The root of the problem is money, mechanics say. A certified mechanic can earn upwards of $25 an hour in Texas. Technicians who can't speak English are often hired for less than $10, according to mechanics interviewed by News 8.
"I've been wanting to leave this company since the day I got there," said one certified A&P. "But with the economy the way it is, I've got kids to feed and I have to stay there. I don't want to be anywhere near one of those planes when it kills somebody."
Source: News8 - wfaa.com
Meanwhile, the Chinese are poisoning us and our pets with everything from food to drywall, but at least we're getting it all at bargain prices!
A few points to ponder: Free trade does not mean accepting sub-standard crap from your trading partners. Illegal immigration drives down wages. Finally, there is no free lunch. You get what you pay for. Think about that next time you fly.
News8 - wfaa.com
2 comments:
Don't let the mechanics scare you, from what I've read they are making more than the pilots.
The copilot of the flight that crashed in Buffalo was Rebecca Shaw:
"Shaw had worked for Colgan for 13 months. Colgan spokesman Joe Williams said Shaw's salary was $23,900. NTSB investigators calculated she was paid just over $16,000."
So, would you like fries with that?
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2009229223_pilots17.html
Cheers!
There's qualified and there's English-speaking and they are not necessarily the same. Ask any German mechanic. But the focus is rightly on the cheap SOBs who hire unqualified mechanics to save money instead of acting with integrity and assuring that their planes are checked/repaired by qualified people. I wonder if they fly their own airlines.
As for pilots, I agree with Finntann-- when pilots are making less than the housekeeping staff where I work, i have to concur--- we get what we pay for. Greyhound drivers make more--time to take to the highway?
Rie
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