Christian Klein, legislative counsel for the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), recently testified before the aviation subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. Klein reassured the subcommittee that contract maintenance is not a new phenomenon.

“Contract maintenance has played an important role in the aviation industry for decades,” Klein said.

Klein also testified that the increased use of contract maintenance has coincided with the safest period in the history of civil aviation. “ARSA does not contend that the former necessarily caused the latter, but the industry’s excellent safety record confirms that the increased use of contract maintenance does not undermine aviation safety,” he said. “Safety and oversight do not begin and end with the FAA.”

ARSA has called for an increase in FAA funding to ensure sufficient resources to provide oversight. But Klein emphasized that all players in the industry are responsible for maintaining a high level of safety and oversight, noting, “In our industry, safety is good business.”

The complete text of Klein’s testimony is available at: www.arsa.org/files/ARSA_Testimony_111705.pdf.