Ralph Nader’s gotta find a new favorite airline. (Actually, I think he once called Southwest his favorite for-profit corporation, but can’t find the citation.)

Until a few weeks ago, my only beef with Southwest was the hokey comedy routines their attendants always ram down the ears of their passengers. But the news that’s been trickling out of the FAA hearings on Southwest’s negligence is, err… a bit more disturbing than those failed attempts at humor:

Douglas Peters, a seven-year veteran of the Federal Aviation Authority, told a congressional committee that his supervisor, during a visit to Peters’ home, pointed to a photograph of Peters’ family on a shelf, and said: “This is what’s important.”

Then, his voice halting and shaking, Peters said his boss told him, “You have a good job here and your wife has a good job. … I’d hate to see you jeopardize yours and her careers trying to take down a couple of losers.”

According to the whistleblowers:

Southwest specifically hired former FAA inspectors as compliance managers because they were tight with the current government inspectors. As a result the carrier was allowed to slide on numerous crucial inspections involving fuselage cracks that should have been repaired under FAA rules, according to the Whistleblowers. The cracks could result in a sudden fracture and failure of the skin panels and fuselage and lead to rapid decompression which would have a catastrophic impact during flight, according to Boutris.

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