The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said today it has downgraded the safety rating for the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) after a review found that the agency does not meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards.
The FAA said that CAAM received a Category 2 rating, which means that the agency “is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record keeping and/or inspection procedures.” CAAM previously was assigned a Category 1 rating, which means that it complied with ICAO standards for aviation safety oversight; it had held the Category 1 rating since 2003.
The FAA emphasized that the rating, issued following an assessment of CAAM in April, was based on an assessment of CAAM, not of any individual airline. The Category 2 rating means that Malaysian carriers may…
