“There is nothing in place to support the inspectors that are intimidated by the FAA management and by the airline because they do their job,” Bobby Boutris, the inspector at Southwest, testified in 2008. “In the performance of my duties, I have been asked by Southwest Airlines management to make a violation go away. In addition, I have been threatened by Southwest Airlines management that they could have me removed from the certificate”—denied the authority to certify planes—“by picking up the phone.”
