When safety officials miss a flaw through inspections that are careless or too infrequent, that's appalling enough. But when the top brass actually directs the inspectors to look the other way when problems come to light, it's time for a swift changing of the guard.

Last week's revelations before the U.S. House Transportation Committee were stunning. Southwest Airlines knowingly flew jets that had not received required inspections for fuselage cracks.

The most distressing part of the report, presented by the Department of Transportation's inspector general, is that the Federal Aviation Administration gave them a pass. Southwest mechanics found cracks on six of the jets, and when the airline notified the principal FAA maintenance inspector, he did not ground the affected planes.

There's reason why we in Hawai'i shudder at such news. Twenty years ago, those types of cracks caused a fatal air disaster here. An Aloha Airlines flight attendant died and 61 people were injured when the jet on Flight 243 from Hilo to Honolulu lost a large section of fuselage.

The essential conclusion of the inspector general's report is that the FAA developed too close a relationship with Southwest. And in general, the report said, the agency has been far too reliant on the airlines to self-police.

That has to change. Proper oversight of jet safety inspections must be restored. Congress should implement the inspector general's recommendations. They include: