Investigators said the systemic weaknesses uncovered during the investigation "increase the possibility of a suspected terrorist entering or remaining in the United States."

More Bad News In an interview last week, Mr. Connors said the department's problems stemmed from systemic weaknesses in data systems, personnel policies and "internal controls."

Investigators concluded that the failure to react appropriately to warnings of safety "suggests a systemic weakness in F.A.A.'s process to evaluate safety issues brought to the agency's attention."

The Office of Investigations will also issue Management Assistance Reports and/or Fraud Alert Bulletins when systemic weaknesses are uncovered.

It documents many systemic weaknesses in the nation's response to the October 2001 anthrax letter attacks that killed five people.

But Williams said implementing the order would erode the progress made over the past six years, and vowed to correct "systemic weaknesses" in the territory's government.

Ms. LaVecchia insisted that each of the troubled H.M.O.'s represented a discrete problem and not a systemic weakness.

"So we don't know yet whether we've been seeing a couple of aberrations or something that is symptomatic of a more systemic weakness."

Nonetheless, he said, he would immediately begin a broad study of previous corruption arrests to identify systemic weaknesses.

It will correct the errors made and take further actions to correct systemic weaknesses, as announced in the Action Plan for an Integrated Internal Control Framework.