PAUL LEWIS / WASHINGTON DC
FAA's audit of the country's civil aviation bureau raises areas of concern over safety that should have been addressed
The US Federal Aviation Administration is threatening to downgrade South Korea to Category 2 under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme. The move would freeze Korean Air (KAL) and Asiana air services to the USA and add further strain to already delicate political and trade relations between Seoul and Washington.
The FAA in May conducted a fresh IASA audit of the Korean Civil Aviation Bureau (KCAB) and is understood to have found 10 areas of concern that have not been addressed since its inspection last year. The FAA audit was triggered by problems raised in an earlier International Civil Aviation Organisation inspection. Sources say the FAA is giving the Korean regulatory authority three months' grace to sort things out.
If no improvements are made, the country could be reclassified as Category 2 for failing to meet minimum safety standards laid down by the ICAO. Concerns focus on the KCAB's lack of technical ability and qualified personnel to oversee specific airframe and powerplant equipment, and the lack of policing of KAL and Asiana crew training.
KAL's poor safety record in recent years has resulted in particular attention being paid to the Korean regulatory authority. The US National Transportation Safety Board's report into the 1997 crash of a KAL Boeing 747-300 in Guam singled out the KCAB for criticism. There have been a further four KAL hull losses since then.
There is also likely to be political fall out from Category 2, which would further undermine Korean-US political relations. Washington and Seoul are already at odds following South Korean president Kim Dae-jung's recent visit to the USA, and the rejection of its "sunshine" policy towards North Korea by the new Bush Administration.
Category 2 status would prevent either KAL or Asiana expanding their services to the USA unless using wet-leased aircraft, and is likely to forestall any new orders for Boeing aircraft, including a large pending KAL order for 747-400 freighters.
Also at stake are several lucrative arms deals which are nearing a decision. These include South Korea's $3.3 billion F-X fighter programme, for which the Boeing F-15 is competing against the Dassault Rafale and Eurofighter Typhoon and the $2 billion purchase of new AH-X attack helicopters.
Boeing is understood to be sufficiently worried about the situation to have hired a consulting firm to help assist the KCAB in addressing its problems.
Source: Flight International
