Hush Job?

Last summer, aviation consultant Peter M. Friedman was hired to inspect parts being installed on DC-9 airplanes at a Trans World Airlines maintenance facility in Kansas City, Mo. Friedman’s specific objective was to perform a routine audit of the airplane’s “hush kits,” the devices used to muffle engine noise. These particular hush kits had been designed and sold by ABS Partnership, a low-profile, privately held company based in Sparks, Nev. In fact, ABS itself had hired Friedman to double-check the hush kits to make certain they were of top quality and were being installed properly.

Friedman’s credentials indicated that he was the right man for the job. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has designated him one of its “manufacturing inspection representatives,” and he is certified by the American Society for Quality Control as a “quality auditor.” But in addition to his work as an aviation consultant, Friedman also serves as vice president and director of quality at Airweld Inc., a major aircraft repair facility in Oakland, Calif. Airweld specializes in DC-9s, the only planes that use ABS’s hush kits.

In some sectors of the aviation industry, Friedman has a reputation as a relentless safety hound. Sometimes his critics describe him as a stickler for technical violations. But no one seems to doubt his abilities or knowledge of aviation safety issues.

A month after making his TWA inspection in Kansas City, Friedman continued his audit with a two-day, weekend inspection of ABS’s warehouse in Sparks. His audit resulted in three reports totaling 19 pages. All three reports were submitted to ABS.

ABS had hired Friedman on a “confidential basis,” meaning that he could only divulge the contents of his report to the company. Nevertheless, his reports, copies of which have been obtained by the Nashville Scene, were so explosive, and his safety concerns so troubling, that his 19 pages of comments have created a storm of controversy in aviation safety circles.

Friedman’s findings raise fundamental questions about the safety of the more than 200 DC-9s that have been outfitted with ABS’s hush kits. His report also appears to have triggered an FAA investigation of ABS. And the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG), which can investigate criminal activity in the aviation industry, has also “expressed interest in ABS,” the FAA says. Nevertheless, the feds have been accused of dragging their feet in the investigation, and the airlines have taken their own steps to deal with their concerns about the hush kit. Airline representatives called a closed-door meeting last September in Kansas City to “discuss DC-9 hush kit issues.”

As the public learns about the evidence amassed by Friedman, aviation experts across the country are raising grave doubts as to whether DC-9s flying with the hush kits are safe for air travel. One of those experts is Jim Frisbee, who was manager of quality assurance at Northwest Airlines until 1992 and who now works as an international aviation consultant. After reviewing the Friedman report at the Scene’s request, Frisbee said it raised “serious safety problems.” According to Frisbee, “Depending on the circumstances, the FAA may well have to ground these planes.”

The Scene also submitted a copy of the Friedman report to George Breckel, a veteran aircraft mechanic who has inspected the type of Pratt & Whitney engines to which the hush kit is attached. Breckel now coordinates the aircraft mechanics’ training program at Vincennes University in Vincennes, Ind. “There’s no way I’d let my family fly on a plane with one of those hush kits,” Breckel said. Richard Martz, manager of the FAA’s flight standards district office in Nashville, also reviewed Friedman’s findings. After reading the report, Martz said, “If what Friedman says is true, then [there is] a serious problem.”

If you travel by airplane, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll find yourself boarding a DC-9 one day. U.S. airlines own almost 600 of them, and it is estimated that at least one-third of the DC-9s in the country are flying with ABS hush kits. The major U.S. air carriers currently flying DC-9s with ABS’s hush kits are TWA, Airborne Express, US Airways, and Northwest Airlines. On a typical day, the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority says, 23 DC-9s depart from Nashville International Airport.

For airline passengers, Friedman’s report is chilling. The report warns of numerous problems that could arise from the hush kits and “affect safety of flight” for the DC-9s. The report recommends that ABS take corrective action before a “catastrophic incident” occurs.

Specifically, Friedman’s audit says the hush kit sold by ABS simply does not fit properly onto the back of the Pratt & Whitney engine that powers the DC-9. What’s more, the report says, engineers and mechanics for each airline must figure out how to attach the kit’s parts without the benefit of proper plans or workable instruction manuals. That state of affairs, which is in blatant violation of FAA regulations, increases the likelihood that mechanics will make mistakes when installing the hush kits.