(Washington, D.C.) – Today Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) revealed startling new information revealing the potential hazards of the new Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) air traffic control system, the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS).  Internal FAA documents received by CAGW about STARS show an incredible disregard by the agency for the safety of the flying public – the very citizens that they are charged to protect.

“It is amazing that the FAA would potentially jeopardize the public’s safety in order to promote a flawed program while attempting to push their own agenda and hide their own failings,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “There are experts and technicians who work on STARS that say it is unsafe to use, yet they are being overruled by government bureaucrats in pursuit of political gains.”

CAGW has received copies of internal FAA reports written by program officers, whose job it is to determine whether or not there are any technical problems with the air traffic control system.  In one case, a program officer submitted a report about a serious problem with the STARS system recently deployed at the Syracuse Airport.  However, the final report was dramatically altered in content, tone and tenor at higher levels of the FAA in an apparent effort to downplay the significance of the problem and its impact on the program.  Another report shows that the FAA has been aware of a major problem with the STARS system since it went operational in El Paso, but has continued to deploy the program even though the problem poses a “serious safety risk” to the flying public.

“It is outrageous to believe that the FAA would try and sweep these potentially dangerous problems under the rug, especially in light of the deployment of this system in Philadelphia, one of the most heavily traveled airports on the east coast” continued Schatz.  “CAGW originally started following this issue due to the cost overruns and delays with the system, but now it takes on a much greater significance.”

CAGW has received reports covering only six days of recent troubles which will cost nearly $10 million to rectify.  At that rate, overruns could reach $600 million annually.  This is over and above the $1.33 billion the FAA has spent to roll out the STARS program to three airports and the remaining 71 airports scheduled to receive the system.  The original price tag was $940 million, and the system was to be installed in all 172 FAA airports.

“There must be more oversight of this project by both Congress and new FAA Administration Marion Blakey.  The flying public and taxpayers deserve to know whether there are more trouble reports and alterations of documents, and whether air safety is taking a backseat to politics in the deployment of STARS,” said Schatz.”

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.