For those of you who will soon walk down a ramp and into an aluminum cylinder with wings, a.k.a. an airplane, do you wonder if the laws of physics will let you down or will human failure?

With American Airlines grounding flights on a daily basis to fix a “wiring” problem, one begins to question the veracity of the maintenance records. Recently inspector general Calvin Scovel told a Senate subcommittee that the FAA continues to give airlines too much freedom on complying with safety regulations. In my opinion, you either comply or don’t. There shouldn’t be any in-between.

“We are concerned that FAA relies too heavily on self-disclosures and promotes a pattern of excessive leniency at the expense of effective oversight and appropriate enforcement,” Mr. Scovel said in his testimony to the committee. When was the last time you drove up to a police station and told them you’d been speeding and asked for your ticket?

Another concerning fact is that many airlines have been outsourcing maintenance work in an effort to save costs. In the testimony of Nicholas A. Sabatini, Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety at the FAA to the Senate, he stated “I am very aware of your concern with U.S. carriers having more of their maintenance performed by repair stations, both foreign and domestic.”

Congress needs to take a hard look st the safety laws that they pass and how the regulations implemented place all of the responsibility for safety on the airlines. The FAA is just responsible for ensuring that the airlines comply with safety standards and requirements. This is a prime example of a law of unintended consequences; the cost of keeping a plane safe versus the cost of human life.