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Even if this particular tragedy can be characterized as human error, however, the crash has laid bare ValuJet's uneven safety record. Since its start-up in October 1993, the airline has had more than 284 "service difficulties," according to the FAA, such as a plane rolling off the runway because of worn brakes. In the first five weeks of 1996, the carrier experienced four "incidents," as the FAA terms them: a hard landing and tail strike, a nose wheel that strayed off the runway when the crew could not see taxi lights, an aircraft that skidded on ice at low speed and a flight attendant injured in turbulence. The number and frequency of these incidents prompted the FAA to launch a 120-day "Special Emphasis Review" that resulted in extra training for the pilots and an agreement by Jordan to slow his company's rapid growth. Still, Jordan claims that his relationship with the FAA was cordial. "There is a mutual respect," he says.
That opinion was backed up, after the crash, by Department of Transportation Secretary Federico Pena, who professed satisfaction with ValuJet's zealous attention to regulators' concerns, a stance echoed by some of his colleagues. Not everyone agreed. DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo, a presidential appointee who acts as a watchdog for all the agency's programs, including the FAA, ruffled feathers by publicly declaring she would not fly ValuJet. Perhaps she was familiar with the FAA report issued just nine days before the crash and first published by the Chicago Tribune last week. According to that document, the low-cost carriers as a group--the analysts removed the large and well-established Southwest--had an accident rate that was far higher than that of the major carriers. (Accidents include such lesser incidents as momentary loss of engine power, as well as those in which a passenger is injured or killed.) And of the upstart group, ValuJet's rate--3.06 accidents per 100,000 departures, compared with 0.43 for the 14 other low-cost carriers studied--was the second worst (Tower Air was the worst). When asked about this report, Jordan said, "We've had incidents and a tragic accident, and now we are looking forward to a high level of safety."