FRANK SESNO, CNN ANCHOR: The White House is weighing in on airline safety by encouraging pilots and mechanics to admit mistakes made on the job. CNN White House correspondent Chris Black has details.</s>CHRIS BLACK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Clinton is expected to announce a new voluntary program to protect airline employees who report their own safety and security mistakes. Administration sources say the Federal Aviation Administration convinced the Airline Pilots Union and the major airlines to support a rule protecting pilots and other airline employees who admit to making a mistake. The Aviation Safety Action Program is an outgrowth of one of more than 50 recommendations made two years ago by the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security. That commission, headed by Vice President Al Gore, recommended the president seek legislation to protect aviation industry whistle-blowers. Industry experts say airline employees are reluctant to report their own safety shortcomings and near-misses to the government or airlines for fear of losing their jobs or being sued. One safety expert says:</s>BOB VANDEL, FLIGHT SAFETY FOUNDATION: What we want to do is find out when an error is made and determine why that error was made; not punish the individual for an inadvertent error, but find out if the system is wrong.</s>BLACK: Some airlines have already adopted this practice. But because the program is voluntary, the government needs to convince all airlines and their unions to participate.</s>BLACK: By dealing directly with the airlines and the pilots union, President Clinton is showing, once again, that he can achieve his policy goals without Congress by using his executive authority.
White House Encourages Airline Pilots, Mechanics to Admit On- The-Job Mistakes