FAA, IG spar over report

Federal Aviation Administration head Jane Garvey and the Transportation Department's inspector general are feuding over public release of a memo critical of STARS, a new air traffic control system being deployed across the country by Raytheon Co., Lexington, Mass.

Inspector General Kenneth Mead said the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System was seriously flawed and not ready to be installed.

"I was disappointed to learn that the June 3 memorandum to me had been released before we had a chance to respond," Garvey said in a June 5 memo rebutting the IG's report. "We fundamentally disagree with your conclusions."

FAA spokesman William Shumann said the disagreement would not change the agency's plans for STARS. "The IG has spoken, we have spoken, we disagree, and we are going about deploying STARS," he said.