2019年经济学人 波音和FAA:亲密之罪(2)

 

Boeing's team is in Ethiopia helping¹ the investigators². The company says it is "devoted³ to the quality and safety of the aircraft we design, produce and support".

波音的团队正在埃塞俄比亚帮助调查。该公司表示将“致力于我们所设计、生产和支持的飞机的质量和安全性”。

Jim Hall, former chairman of America's National Transportation Safety Board, another regulator,

另一监管机构，美国国家运输安全委员会的前主席吉姆·霍尔

sees the root of the problem in the FAA's close relationship with Boeing.

认为问题的根源在于FAA和波音的亲密关系。

Since 2001 the company has lobbied vigorously to perform more of its own safety tests.

自2001年起，该公司积极游说要求更多的进行自家的安全测试。

In 2005 the FAA began to allow Boeing to do more self-certification. "It's like putting children in charge of the sweet shop," says a former Boeing adviser⁴.

2005年，FAA开始允许波音进行更多的自我认证。“这就像是让孩子负责管理糖果店一样，”一名前波音顾问表示。

An investigation⁵ by the transportation department in 2012 found that the FAA had not done enough to "hold Boeing accountable".

2012年交通部的一项调查发现FAA在“让波音尽责方面”做得不够。

It quoted FAA employees who had reported retaliation⁶ for speaking up about problems with Boeing's previous designs.

其引用FAA员工的话，他们称自己因公开谈论波音之前设计中存在的问题而遭到报复。

Scott Brenner, a former associate administrator⁷ at the FAA, points out that safety inspectors⁸ at the FAA's office in Seattle,

FAA前副行政官斯科特·布伦纳指出，FAA西雅图办公室（这里也是波音主要生产设备所在地）的检察员

home to Boeing's main production facilities, may have worked closely with Boeing's own safety experts for decades.

可能在几十年来都和波音自家的安全专家有着亲密的合作。

A once-antagonistic relationship has grown chummier in recent years. Posters warning "don't talk to the FAA" are no longer a common sight.

在近些年中，曾今的敌对关系已经变得越来越亲密。“不要和FAA说话”的警告海报已经不再常见了。

It has not helped that President Donald Trump⁹ has left the top job at the FAA vacant since January 2018.

自2018年1月以来，唐纳德·特朗普总统就把FAA的局长一职空了出来，但这并没有起到帮助。

The acting¹⁰ administrator lacks all the powers of a permanent head, notes Mr Hall.

霍尔先生指出，代理管理者缺乏局长的所有权利。

Financial constraints¹¹ encouraged the FAA to outsource certification to planemakers.

财政紧缩促使FAA将认证外包给飞机制造商。

Its budget increased by a sixth between 2002 and 2018, while American air traffic grew by 40%.

在2002年和2018年间，其预算增加六分之一，而美国空中交通增长了40%。

On March 19th Mr Trump named Stephen Dickson, a respected former senior executive at Delta¹² Air Lines, to head the FAA.

3月19日，特朗普任命史蒂芬·迪克森这位备受尊敬的前达美航空公司高层出任FAA局长。

By then, other regulators' confidence in the FAA had been shot.

到那时，其他监管机构对FAA的信心已经大打折扣了。

The Ethiopian authorities have declined to give the black box to the FAA for data retrieval, sending it to France instead.

埃塞俄比亚当局已经拒绝将黑匣子交给FAA进行数据检索，而是将它交给了法国。

Those in Canada and Europe are re-examining decisions to approve the 737 Max based on mutual-recognition agreements with America.

加拿大和欧洲监管机构正在重新审查那些基于和美国的相互认可协议而批准的737 Max飞机。

Rather than trust the FAA, they may order their own tests before certifying¹³ future Boeing aircraft as airworthy.

他们或许宁愿在未来认证波音飞机的适飞性能前制定自己的检测也不愿再相信FAA了。

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 retaliation   

n.报复，反击

参考例句：

• retaliation against UN workers 对联合国工作人员的报复
• He never said a single word in retaliation. 他从未说过一句反击的话。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

8 inspectors   

n.检查员( inspector的名词复数 )；（英国公共汽车或火车上的）查票员；（警察）巡官；检阅官

参考例句：

• They got into the school in the guise of inspectors. 他们假装成视察员进了学校。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Inspectors checked that there was adequate ventilation. 检查员已检查过，通风良好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

10 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

11 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

12 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

13 certifying   

（尤指书面）证明( certify的现在分词 )； 发证书给…； 证明（某人）患有精神病； 颁发（或授予）专业合格证书

参考例句：

• Signed Commercial in quintuplicate, certifying merchandise to be of Chinese origin. 签署商业发票一式五份，证明产品的原产地为中国。
• Other documents certifying the truthfulness of the contents of the advertisements. （三）确认广告内容真实性的其他证明文件。