Congressional testimony this week on lax enforcement of federal airline inspection requirements paints a troubling picture of a system that is supposed to be providing a basic safety service for Americans.

Two former inspectors for the Federal Aviation Administration told members of Congress this week that their jobs were threatened when they reported violations of inspection requirements by major U.S. airlines. They pointed to an especially cozy relationship between the Southwest Airlines compliance officer and an FAA official who allowed many violations to go unreported. Even when Southwest self-reported a violation the affected planes reportedly were left in service for 10 days.

A congressional investigation found that Southwest kept flying dozens of aircraft that hadn’t been properly inspected. When they did the inspections, they found that six of 47 planes had fatigue cracks that could have caused the planes to lose air pressure or even break apart in midair.

And Southwest isn’t the only airline under suspicion. Perhaps prompted by recent congressional scrutiny, the FAA announced this week that it was investigating four U.S. airlines for failure to comply with federal maintenance regulations.

It is, perhaps, good news that the FAA is getting around to acting on this issue, but it is disturbing that it allowed – and perhaps was complicit in some cases – these maintenance issues to go undetected for so long.

The American public depends on its government to ensure the safety of such basic necessities as its food supply and its transportation system. The trend toward deregulation may work in some industries that work hard to lure customers who, in turn, have various ways to obtain information and make judgments about products.

“Let the buyer beware,” however, is an unacceptable strategy to apply to the airline industry. The only indication most consumers would have of improper maintenance by an airline would be a tragic accident that could cost hundreds of lives.

In the highly competitive airline industry, there is predictable pressure to keep airplanes flying and perhaps take shortcuts on maintenance procedures. That’s why government is empowered to enforce regulations that individual American consumers cannot effectively monitor. Failure to do so is a breach of faith with American citizens.

Government regulation can go too far, but airline maintenance is a poor place to cut corners. Congressional leaders deserve the nation’s thanks for looking into this important issue.