Essay - Business the Ethics of Compliance - Southwest Airlines the Purpose...

Business

The Ethics of Compliance - Southwest Airlines

The purpose ***** this paper is to introduce, d*****cuss, and analyze the topic of ethical ***** social responsibility. Specifically it will discuss Southwest Airlines' failure to comply with the Federal Aviation Administration's rules on inspecting aircraft and what violati*****s occurred. Southwest Airlines is a discount *****irline serving the United States. They have never experienced a plane crash, and *****y fly Boeing 737 ***** exclusively. In March 2008, Southwest was forced ***** ground 47 of their *****s until the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors could inspect the aircraft for safety issues. Previously, Southwest had ignored ***** safety inspections ***** continued to ***** the planes without *****m, endangering passengers and crewmembers. The missed inspections became known because ***** two ***** whistleblowers who alleged their FAA supervisor was working with a ***** ***** official ***** cover up the missed inspections. Clearly, this is an ********** tied to social ***** ***** ethics at the highest level, because ignoring the ***** inspections put people's lives in jeopardy.

This situation actually began in 1988, when an Aloha Airlines Boeing 737 suffered ***** accident that killed a flight **********. ***** ********** of the plane's fuselage tore off, opening up a large section of the plane's ro*****, killing the flight attendant. The accident ***** because of cracks in the ***** *****. Ever s*****ce then, the FAA has required regular inspections ***** 737 fuselages to ensure an accident like this does not occur again. In 2007, two ***** inspectors ***** to question documentation and ***** at Southwest Airlines. ********** had reason ***** 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 ***** experiences, ***** asked for whistleblower status, meaning they can***** be fired from their jobs because of ***** testimony. Boutris was the first to question records kept by ***** ***** airplane inspections. ***** 2003, he was in charge of inspecting engines for the 737, and he could not make sense out of Southwest's reports. He *****ld an NPR Radio reporter, "'I had found a lot ***** inconsistencies with the *****,***** ***** s*****ys. 'They were different from aircraft to aircraft; it ***** very hard to determine compliance'" (Goodwyn, 2008). He ********** ***** he complained ***** his supervisor, Douglas Gawadzinski, but he ignored Boutris' complaints.

In 2006, Boutris took over safety responsibility ***** the entire **********700 series aircraft, and when he reviewed Southwest, he found the same recordkeeping problems he ***** unc*****ed in 2003. He notified his supervisor and wanted to send a letter of investigation (a ***** serious matter for any airline, but his supervisor (*****) refused. Boutris believes it is because Gawadzinski had a close friendship with P*****ul Comeau, a former FAA employee who went to work for Southwest ********** *****ir manager for regula*****ry compliance. Anything to do with Southwest and t***** ***** went through these ***** men, and Boutr***** believes they routinely covered up inspection irregularities or lack of