airline is subject to strict regulations and inspections. "Economic pressures have stimulated many US airlines to contract out more of the maintenance traditionally performed "in-house," and the repair stations are relying ever more on contract labor" ("Air Safety Week"). The problems arise when the airlines initiate cost saving measures such as these and the quality of work is not maintained. There has been a five hundred percent increase in the incidents of unsatisfactory maintenance quality since the airlines began to use the third party repair facilities. There was one incident where the right engine separated from a Boeing 737-200 immediately after takeoff in 1992("Air Safety Week"). The aircraft landed safely and no one was hurt, but this wasn't the case when an engine caught fire on a 737-200 during takeoff. The aircraft overran the runway and stopped in a golf course ("Air Safety Week"). The result was seventy passengers killed out of one hundred and fifteen plus one person killed on the ground. Faulty maintenance procedures were found to be the cause of both accidents. It has been said by FENA that if the DC-10's owned by Bangladesh Airlines had been maintained properly there would be no need to replace them at this time ("Proper Maintenance of DC-10's") . This is one example where refusal to maintain an aircraft properly will severely reduce it's lifespan.The largest concern of the Federal Aviation Administration, and the passengers flying on the airlines, is the apparent lack of quality maintenance when the maintenance is not being done "in house" but is rather being contracted out to a repair facility under FAR Part 145. The mechanics at these repair stations have varying levels of experience and competence and are, for the most part, not paid as well as those working directly for the airlines. Southwest airlines now contracts out over ninety percent of its maintenance and repairs. It has proven to be extremely beneficial fi...
