FAA to order retesting of 1,400 airplane mechanics

11:50 AM CDT on Thursday, July 30, 2009

By BYRON HARRIS and MARK SMITH / WFAA-TV


NEWS 8 INVESTIGATES July 30th, 2009Byron Harris reports More WFAA Latest News video View larger E-mail clip More video Related links: MORE: Reports on this topic
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Search Video: The Federal Aviation Administration confirmed to News 8 that it will require 1,400 airplane mechanics certified at a San Antonio facility to retest or have their licenses revoked.

The facility was the target of an on-going News 8 investigation into improper mechanic licensing that began this April. The FAA plan would make it the second largest retest of air mechanics in agency history.

FAA officials said they became concerned last fall that mechanics were being improperly licensed at Tobias Aerospace Services, an airplane mechanic testing facility. Their concerns were triggered by the unusually high success rate and volume of mechanics tested and certified by Bryan Tobias, an FAA-designated mechanical examiner. Tobias has certified mechanics for eight years.

Possible conflicting test dates and paperwork irregularities submitted by Tobias and mechanic applicants spurred further FAA questions, leading to pending civil action against him.

“In the course of reviewing the airmen's applications and the certificates that were issued, the inspectors began to have a number of questions about the qualifications of those applications,â€