A cozy arrangement

Monday, April 21, 2008 | 2:05 a.m.

With maintenance inspection problems cited in at least four airlines recently, questions have been raised anew about the relationship between the airline industry and the federal agency that regulates it.

As a story by the Associated Press pointed out last week, it is not uncommon for top airline industry officials to go to work for the Federal Aviation Administration or for top FAA employees to take leadership positions with airlines.

For example, the AP reports that Hank Krakowski, the FAA’s chief air traffic control official, was a United Airlines vice president and a committee member of the Air Transport Association, the industry’s top lobbying group, until taking a job with the FAA last year.

And Russell Chew worked for American Airlines for 17 years before becoming the FAA’s chief operating officer — a post he held for four years until taking a top job at JetBlue Airways.

FAA ethics rules prohibit agency workers who earned at least $148,000 annually and have gone to work for private companies from contacting the FAA on behalf of their new employer for one year. And all FAA employees who leave the agency are barred from contacting the FAA for two years regarding projects or duties performed during their final year at the agency.

The FAA now plans to ban former FAA safety inspectors from working on inspections issues in their first two years with a new employer.

That new rule came about after inspectors accused top FAA officials of ignoring missed maintenance inspections at Southwest Airlines and other carriers. Southwest has since been fined $10.2 million. American Airlines canceled more than 3,000 flights last week, and Alaska and Midwest airlines also have grounded flights because of missed inspections.

The FAA’s existing ethics rules show that the agency acknowledges the potential for conflicts. Still, the recent inspection failings suggest these rules are not enough.

Congress, which has promised to crack down on the FAA, should continue to scrutinize the seemingly too-cozy relationship between airlines and the government body that is supposed to regulate it.