A B737-800 pilot reports about his concerns with the limited FAA oversight of his Air Carrier's Maintenance practices involving repetitive sign-offs of chronic aircraft malfunctions that eventually lead to 'expected' failures.
Synopsis
A B737-800 pilot reports about his concerns with the limited FAA oversight of his Air Carrier's Maintenance practices involving repetitive sign-offs of chronic aircraft malfunctions that eventually lead to 'expected' failures.
Narrative
I have a concern with FAA oversight of my Air Carrier's Maintenance practices. In a conversation with a company Mechanic yesterday; I learned that [one of our] B737-800 aircraft had a takeoff engine failure out of ZZZ. From what I gathered from the conversation; the engine that failed had a history of problems yet was continually approved for further flights right up until the time of failure. His implication was Management's fix for the problem was lets keep it out of ZZZ1; but keep flying it. He also stated that he learned that there was a Management decision in order to save money; not to have spare engines. I do not know if this is true. We as pilots have been screaming that Maintenance is broken and must be fixed. It falls on deaf ears when we say it; but where is the FAA in this. The history of this aircraft is not a secret. Pulling a KVA [Generator] on this aircraft verifies that it is a ticking time bomb. My concern is of FAA oversight and company Management accountability. Please correct me if I am wrong; but this is a trend; yet nothing [has been] done to address it.
NASA callback
Reporter stated he was referring to one of their company B737-800 aircraft; that he also flies that had an engine failure and a history of mechanical malfunctions that ended with a contained failure of the CFM-56 engine on departure; at 1;500 FT above ground. The incident was not an unforeseen engine failure. That particular aircraft was being monitored and deliberately routed for domestic routes and low altitude; long runways; which was why Maintenance Control/ Dispatch kept the aircraft out of ZZZ1 with the short runways.Reporter stated that as a pilot; he has no problem flying an aircraft knowing that abnormal situations may develop at any given time. But there is a big difference between an unexpected 'Abnormal' mechanical situation and an 'Expected' mechanical failure that Maintenance knows will eventually occur; especially with repetitive sign-offs of chronic aircraft malfunctions. He has seen a trend develop over the past ten years; a 'LAISSEZ-FAIRE' type attitude his company Management has taken towards aircraft maintenance issues. He is hoping the FAA will address these types of issues.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.