Whistleblower agency calls for probe of aircraft mechanics

May 1st, 2009 Byron Harris reports No one can forget what happened on Sept. 11, 2001, but for years, the Federal Aviation Administration has forgotten the problems it has had certifying aircraft mechanics, who could represent a terror threat to the airline industry. Last week, News 8 reported on questions concerning hundreds of repair licenses for mechanics who fix planes in Texas and nationwide. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower complaints and abuse of authority in the federal government, has now called for a probe based on the testimony of Gabe Bruno, a former FAA manager. “He made a whistleblowing disclosure that the FAA didn’t have a system in place to trace back to who the people were when it was confirmed that they were unqualified,” explained Tom Devine of the Government Accountability Project. In probing questionable mechanics licenses issued at St. George Aviation in the late 1990s, Bruno discovered 33 mechanics from Saudi Arabia — all with the same post office box address — who were certified by the FAA to repair aircraft in the United States. One of them, Saeed al Ghandi, has the same surname as a Sept. 11 hijacker. After taking four years to investigate, the FAA suspended his mechanic’s license just nine months ago. “We found that information wasn’t shared with anybody,” Bruno said. “We found the FAA didn’t share this with the 9/11 Commission.” Although the questionable licenses were issued a decade ago, records obtained by News 8 indicate that as many as 80 of the mechanics still haven’t been tracked down. A News 8 investigation found additional licensing problems in San Antonio, where the FAA admits that 1,300 repair certificates are in question. They were issued from 2002 through last October. Mechanics who took tests at the Texas facility report that van loads of Spanish speaking mechanics — possibly from South America — came to Tobias Aerospace to be tested by owner Bryan Tobias through a translator. The FAA denies Tobias tested mechanics from South America, but it closed his operation down last fall. Former FAA Inspector Bill McNease says mechanics represent a definite security threat to aircraft. “A mechanic can cause an airplane to crash just as much as a pilot can,” he said. The Inspector General of the Department of Transportation has been ordered to investigate how much of a terrorist threat exists from the Saudi Arabian licenses issued at St. George Aviation. It has 60 days to make a report. E-mail bharris@wfaa.com