Asking Questions
Checking out Peter Friedman's résumé
—Willy Stern
Peter M. Friedman, author of the extremely critical audit of ABS Partnership’s hush kits, is one of a new breed of highly trained aviation experts. He has earned respect for his meticulously detailed commentary on aviation safety issues, but he has also earned a reputation in some quarters as a “maverick” who is not afraid to go head-to-head with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). From 1989 to 1991, for example, Friedman worked undercover for the FBI in a sting operation that uncovered thousands of counterfeit and defective aircraft parts.
Until recently, few aviation professionals have been willing to buck the FAA system. Aviation industry insiders, including former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo, describe the FAA as a massive, inefficient, good-old-boy bureaucracy that can, with the stroke of a pen, destroy the reputation of its critics. But in the wake of the highly publicized ValuJet and TWA crashes, the U.S. Congress has thrown itself into the aviation safety debate. Hearings on Capitol Hill have raised serious doubts about the FAA’s efforts to ensure that planes are safe. In that debate, critics like Friedman have often come off looking like heroes.
Friedman’s credentials are impressive. Since 1994 he has been director of quality at Airweld Inc., a major aircraft repair facility in Oakland, Calif. The FAA itself has issued him several certificates and licenses. Friedman, 53, holds a commercial pilot’s license, and he is an FAA-designated manufacturing inspection representative. He has more than 20 years experience in developing and implementing FAA-approved training manuals and procedures.
Friedman has conducted seminars for the FAA and other aviation industry groups on aircraft maintenance, counterfeit aircraft parts, and quality issues. He holds two aviation-related patents and has published numerous articles about aviation safety. Attorneys around the country regularly call on Friedman as an expert witness in aviation cases.
Friedman’s own experience suggests that the FAA is indeed willing to play hardball to silence critics. In 1995 then-U.S. Sen. William S. Cohen, who now serves as secretary of defense, called him to testify on aviation safety before a Senate subcommittee, and Friedman agreed. A congressional investigator says Friedman later changed his mind, but only after FAA officials indirectly threatened to retaliate against Friedman and Airweld if Friedman appeared. The next year, the FAA refused to renew Friedman’s certificate of authority as an FAA-designated airworthiness representative, based upon charges that Friedman alleges were fabrications.
Friedman’s critics allege that he is a nitpicker when it comes to seeking out technical violations. Several sources in the aviation industry said his style can be abrasive and annoying. Meanwhile, none of his critics question his knowledge of aviation.
Friedman has many fans around the country, particularly among public officials who believe the FAA has ignored aviation safety issues. His admirers describe him as helpful, gutsy, and knowledgeable. Ernest Fitzgerald, management systems deputy for the U.S. Air Force, has used Friedman as a resource in investigating unsafe practices in the aviation industry. In 1989 Friedman provided technical assistance to the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) of the U.S. Department of Defense. In a letter written to Friedman at that time, John F. West, DCIS special agent in charge, said Friedman had made an “invaluable contribution” to the DCIS.
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