Ethics of Compliance Southwest
Southwest Airlines – Ethics of Compliance
Embry-Riddle University
The purpose of this paper is to present, discuss, and examine the topic of ethical and social responsibility. It will discuss Southwest Airlines ' failure to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration 's rules on inspecting aircraft and what violations occurred. On March 6, 2008, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors submitted documents to the United States Congress, alleging that Southwest allowed 117 of its aircraft to fly carrying passengers despite the fact that the planes were "not airworthy" according to air safety investigators. In some cases, the planes were allowed to fly for up to 30 months after the inspection deadlines had passed, rendering them unfit to fly. Records indicate that thousands of passengers were flown on aircraft deemed unsafe by federal standards. Clearly, this is an issue tied to social responsibility and ethics at the highest level, ignoring the safety inspections put people 's lives in jeopardy.
This situation actually began in 1988, when an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 suffered an accident that killed a flight attendant. The top of the plane 's fuselage tore off, opening up a large section of the plane 's roof, killing the flight attendant. The accident occurred because of cracks in the plane 's fuselage. Since then, the FAA has required regular inspections of 737 fuselages to ensure an accident like this does not occur again. In 2007, two FAA inspectors began to question documentation and inspections at Southwest Airlines. They had reason to be concerned, because they felt their concerns were being ignored, and their supervisor was not investigating their complaints.
FAA inspectors Bobby Boutris and Douglas Peters testified before Congress about their experiences, and asked for whistleblower status, meaning they could not be fired from their jobs because of their testimony. Boutris was the first to question records kept by Southwest about
Embry-Riddle University
The purpose of this paper is to present, discuss, and examine the topic of ethical and social responsibility. It will discuss Southwest Airlines ' failure to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration 's rules on inspecting aircraft and what violations occurred. On March 6, 2008, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors submitted documents to the United States Congress, alleging that Southwest allowed 117 of its aircraft to fly carrying passengers despite the fact that the planes were "not airworthy" according to air safety investigators. In some cases, the planes were allowed to fly for up to 30 months after the inspection deadlines had passed, rendering them unfit to fly. Records indicate that thousands of passengers were flown on aircraft deemed unsafe by federal standards. Clearly, this is an issue tied to social responsibility and ethics at the highest level, ignoring the safety inspections put people 's lives in jeopardy.
This situation actually began in 1988, when an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 suffered an accident that killed a flight attendant. The top of the plane 's fuselage tore off, opening up a large section of the plane 's roof, killing the flight attendant. The accident occurred because of cracks in the plane 's fuselage. Since then, the FAA has required regular inspections of 737 fuselages to ensure an accident like this does not occur again. In 2007, two FAA inspectors began to question documentation and inspections at Southwest Airlines. They had reason to be concerned, because they felt their concerns were being ignored, and their supervisor was not investigating their complaints.
FAA inspectors Bobby Boutris and Douglas Peters testified before Congress about their experiences, and asked for whistleblower status, meaning they could not be fired from their jobs because of their testimony. Boutris was the first to question records kept by Southwest about
References: Goodwyn, W. (2008). FAA whistleblowers: Southwest probes stymied. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from the NPR Web site: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89328997. Kelly, G. (2008). Southwest Airlines provides testimony to U.S. House of Representatives Committee On Transportation and Infrastructure. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from the Southwest Airlines Web site: http://www.southwest.com/swamedia/trust_in_southwest.html. Levin, A. (2008). Inspectors: FAA officials gave Southwest a pass on safety checks. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from the CNN Web site http://articles.cnn.com/2008-03-07/us/southwest.planes_1_faa-cracks-inspections?_s=PM:US Wilber, D.Q. (2008). Airlines, FAA under fire on the hill: Lawmaker links safety lapses to 'cozy relationship, ' will hold hearing. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from the Washington Post Web site: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040102696.html