Originally Posted by
Capot
There is no doubt whatsoever that in the engineering and maintenance areas of the UK CAA things have deteriorated over the last decade (or longer) to the point where compliance is largely a matter of box-ticking, with Surveyors rarely seen in person, and when they are seen they are more often than not unfitted for their job; incompetence and ignorance are commonplace. I have observed sufficient Surveyors (Part 145 and Part 147) in the last 10 years to know that it is fair to generalise that with one or two exceptions (no more) they are there because they are unemployable in a maintenance organisation in any capacity except, possibly, unlicensed mechanics.
The management in Gatwick has long consisted of time-servers with no particular ability; they are in thrall to the larger operators and would no more dare to come in with a Level 1 and enforce it than they would give up their pension rights.
The good guys left the building long ago; look no further than Baines Simmons or Avisa for most of them.
To revert to the OP's question; the reason that the CAA is unlikely to prevent an air accident, at least one due to maintenance error, is far more complex than simple cost-cutting, although cost-cutting plays its part. As an enforcer of EASA regulations it is hardly going to attract the highly-skilled, forward-looking people it needs. Low pay is not the reason its present staff are low-grade; they are paid well. Staff reductions, removing regional offices and so on are the effects of cost-cutting and must take some of the blame.
Strangely enough, I now believe that if the UK leaves EASA after Brexit, or as part of it, things could improve in the medium-long term. Given the motivation to run its own show, and the money to do it properly (no more expensive, all in all, than with EASA) there are enough good people around to give it the leadership it needs to get back to the
pre-eminent position it had at one time. But the present management would need to be cleaned out first, starting with the Board, where aviation knowledge and experience is in very short supply among the rag-tag of rail "experts" and others, especially the non-Execs, who appear to have no qualification whatsoever to be there.
Take this, for example;
I'm sure he's a jolly good fellow, but is he someone who can lead the aviation industry into the future? How exactly did he get a job on the CAA Board? By climbing Kilimanjaro? Both Centrica and Royal Mail are notorious for their appalling communications, customer service and
PR; no wonder the CAA is joining them.
And here they are: spot the number of pilots!!Chair
Dame Deirdre Hutton
Deidre Hutton
Dame Deirdre Hutton, DBE became Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority on 1 August 2009 and was previously Chair of the Food Standards Agency until July 2009. She has served on a number of public bodies and has considerable experience of corporate governance, risk-based regulation and consumer policy. She is Honorary Vice President of the Trading Standards Institute. She sits as a Non-Executive on the board of Thames Water Utilities Ltd and Castle Trust and is also Pro-Chancellor of Cranfield University. She was, until June 2008, the Vice-Chair of the European Food Safety Authority Management Board and was Deputy Chair of the Financial Services Authority until December 2007. For five years, until 2005, she was Chair of the National Consumer Council, having formerly chaired the Scottish Consumer Council. Prior to her appointment at the Food Standards Agency, she was a member of the Better Regulation Task Force. She has held a number of positions on bodies dealing with food issues, including Chair of the Foresight Panel on the Food Chain and Crops for Industry, Chair of the Food Chain Centre, and membership of the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food (the Curry Commission). In April 2010 she was awarded a Fellowship of City and Guilds.
Executive board members
Andrew Haines
Andrew Haines
Andrew Haines was appointed as a Board Member and Chief Executive in August 2009 and for a further 5 years in August 2012. He joined the CAA after a wide-ranging career in the rail industry, latterly as Managing Director of South West Trains, and then as Managing Director of the Rail Division for First Group plc, which, under his leadership, became Britain’s largest and most profitable train operating business. He is also a Non-Executive Director of Eversholt Rail UK Ltd.
Chris Tingle
Chris Tingle
Chris Tingle is currently Chief Operating Officer, a Trustee of the Air Travel Trust Fund and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Chris is responsible for the management of Finance and Corporate Services and the Shared Service Centre. Chris joined the CAA in January 2016, previously having a career in a variety of financial and operational roles within the private sector, predominantly in the rail freight and consumer good industries.
Mark Swan
Mark Swan
Appointed to the Board as Group Director Airspace Policy in March 2008, Mark previously held numerous appointments in the Royal Air Force since joining as a pilot in 1979, and he was formerly Director of Operational Capability for the Ministry of Defence from 2006 to 2008. In July 2013 he was charged with merging the Airspace and Safety groups and re-structuring the combined group to focus on performance-based regulation. He is currently Director Safety and Airspace Regulation.
Richard Moriarty
Richard Moriarty
Richard joined the CAA in January 2016 as Group Director of Consumers and Markets and Deputy Chief Executive. He is responsible for the ATOL scheme, the economic regulation of airports and air navigation providers, our competition powers, and our consumer redress and enforcement activities. Before joining the CAA Richard was the CEO of the Legal Services Board, which oversees the regulation of the legal profession in England and Wales. Richard has also held senior public and private sector roles in a number of regulated sectors including water, energy, aviation, postal communications, and social housing. Richard is a non-executive Director of the Homes and Communities Agency Regulation Committee.