It’s a familiar airport routine. You’ve shown the required ID, taken off your shoes, removed your laptop from its case, and ensured that you have the correct size of allowable liquids. You board your plane reasonably assured that all necessary safeguards are in place, and that includes a mechanical check on the plane on which you’re about to fly.
But who checked the plane? Most passengers don’t know it, but some commercial planes are serviced overseas where requirements are different from ours. That means no background checks, no drug or alcohol screening, and no unannounced inspections from the likes of the FAA.
The outsourcing, of course, is done the name of cost-cutting. All businesses have a right to pursue greater profits, but when it’s done at the expense of national security, we are left wondering if there’s a better way?