The Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), the union representing Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors charged with oversight of outsourced work, says Delta Air Lines' plan to partner with Air Canada Technical Services of Vancouver is part of a troubling trend. Since 1998 the number of foreign repair stations that do work for U.S. carriers has increased 325 percent.

"We simply do not have the capability to provide oversight of contracted workers and outsourced work," said Linda Goodrich, PASS Region IV vice president. Without hiring any inspectors in 2005, the FAA will lose roughly 257 or 10 percent of field inspectors through attrition. The addition of only 97 in 2006 means a net loss of about 200 inspectors. "This is not the time to cut back on oversight ... the ongoing trend for airlines to sustain themselves financially in a competitive market combined with dwindling FAA inspector staff is like playing Russian roulette with the public's safety," she said.

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