Greek Flight Safety Inspectors “Unqualified”

Some Greek flight safety inspectors are being asked to return about $500,000 in salaries because they were not qualified for the job and they already had full-time work in other areas of Greece’s Civil Aviation Authority. In fact, a study by the State Audit Council found that the majority of flight safety inspectors were unqualified for the job, which included random safety inspections of aircraft. Not surprisingly, the report raised doubts about the safety of Greek-based aircraft. The report confirms earlier findings by the FAA that Greece did not comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The secret report, obtained by a Greek newspaper, said proper hiring practices for safety inspectors were not followed beginning in 2002, when vacant positions stopped being posted.