Even if you think the federal government should stay out of most things, you're probably glad somebody's keeping an eye on airplane safety.
Too bad the guy in the White House is making that harder to do.
President Donald Trump has moved swiftly to roll back federal regulations on businesses, signing an executive order that put all new and pending regulations on hold for 60 days (a fairly standard move for new presidents), and another that blocked federal agencies from introducing rules that would cost businesses or members of the public more money than they're currently spending. Additionally, the President's order says that every time an agency creates a new regulation, it has to get rid of at least two old ones.
The orders come with exceptions for regulations affecting health, safety, and national security.
And yet, as CNNMoney reports, the White House's rush to remove regulations has hindered the Federal Aviation Administration's ability to issue safety orders relating to aircraft.
The FAA's frequently released "airworthiness directives" are the agency's way of formalizing instructions to get a plane inspected or make changes to correct unsafe conditions.
The most recent finalized directive came out on January 18, two days before Pres. Trump's inauguration.
In the meantime, a backlog of 15 to 20 directives have not yet been finalized, thanks to the freeze on federal regulations.
According to aviation experts, that doesn't mean that airlines are unaware of safety concerns. Aircraft operators typically receive bulletins from manufacturers about potential problems, and the FAA says it's working to ensure that no safety orders are being withheld.
Still, industry officials told CNNMoney that before taking required safety actions, aircraft operators sometimes wait for final notices from the FAA—notices that aren't going out at present.
