Federal safety regulators have been hampered in their ability to oversee aircraft maintenance at United Airlines by inadequate staffing, high employee turnover and the improper use of virtual inspections, according to a government watchdog report released on Friday.
The US Transportation Department's inspector general said the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lacks sufficient staffing and workforce planning to effectively monitor United's large fleet. The audit, conducted between May 2024 and December 2025 amid a series of maintenance-linked incidents at the carrier, identified ongoing shortages at FAA inspection offices responsible for United's oversight, resulting in fewer inspections and limited surveillance of maintenance operations.
The report noted that FAA personnel sometimes conducted inspections virtually when staffing or travel funds were unavailable, despite agency policy requiring postponement of reviews that cannot be done on site. Inspectors told the watchdog that front-line managers had instructed them to perform virtual inspections rather than postpone them, a practice that can create safety risks as problems may be missed or misidentified.
The FAA declined to comment on the findings but referred to a letter included in the audit report. In the letter, the agency said it agreed with most recommendations and was taking steps to address them by the end of the year. These include a reevaluation of staffing rules, an independent workplace survey of inspector workloads and office culture, and improved training on accessing and using United's safety data.
United said in a statement that it works closely with the FAA on a daily basis and employs its own internal safety management system. The carrier added that it has long advocated for providing the FAA with the resources needed for its work.
The audit follows a number of incidents involving United aircraft, including the evacuation of passengers in March 2024 after a plane rolled off a runway in Houston, a blown tyre on a departure from San Francisco the following day, and an engine failure during takeoff from Dulles International Airport in December 2025.
