A U.S. Department of Transportation report criticizes the Federal Aviation Association and Southwest Airlines for lax safety standards. A New York Times article summarizes the report findings:

“The report found that the Federal Aviation Administration had allowed Southwest to routinely provide inaccurate data to pilots and to operate more than 150,000 flights on planes whose airworthiness had not been confirmed.

“The agency also failed to investigate concerns raised by its own representatives ‘ranging from senior executives to local inspectors’ over Southwest’s safety culture.”

The DOT includes “Four SMS Components,” the FAA’s own description to fault safety culture in both organizations.

Discussion:

• What business communication principles are illustrated in the report? Who are the primary and secondary audiences, and how well does the report meet its communication objectives?

• The report does a particularly good job of using “message titles” (also called “talking headings”). What are some examples?

• What else do you notice about the report? Consider the writing style, organization, and other features. What could be improved?