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US report confirms Detroit Metro safety lapses

By AP

ROMULUS, MI – A federal report has confirmed an air traffic controller's complaints about a pattern of unsafe practices at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel said Thursday it confirmed Vincent Sugent's claims that Federal Aviation Administration managers "compromised the safety of the flying public" in how they operated a former flight arrival and departure system known as the "Southwest Flow."

The report says that for six months, operations were "often noncompliant" with FAA regulations, and it says FAA managers were in part responsible for the unsafe conditions.

The report also says FAA officials "provided disingenuous information" in 2007 in response to a question on the issue from Sen. Carl Levin, a Democrat from Michigan.

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