The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed fines totaling $9.2 million against US Airways and United Airlines for operating planes that did not comply with FAA safety directives or the airlines’ own maintenance procedures.
US Airways faces a $5.4 million civil penalty for operating eight aircraft on 1,647 flights from October 2008 to January 2009 that did not comply with safety requirements.
United could be fined $3.8 million for flying one of its Boeing 737s on more than 200 flights between February and April 2008 with shop towels covering the oil sump area on one engine instead of protective caps, a violation of company maintenance procedures.
On April 28, 2008, the United Boeing 737 returned to Denver after shutting down an engine due to low oil pressure indications. During teardown of the engine a week later, United mechanics found that two shop towels, instead of required protective caps, had been used to cover openings in the oil sump area when maintenance was done in December 2007.
United said it immediately reported the incident to the FAA and is “fully confident” it has taken the right steps to address the matter.
US Airways said “today’s proposed penalty dates back to challenges we experienced during the integration of maintenance systems and processes on flights that occurred in 2008 and January 2009. Our team worked cooperatively with the FAA to investigate and correct any discrepancies to the FAA’s satisfaction.
“Over the past nine months, we and the FAA have completed a formal review of our aircraft maintenance tracking systems as well as a comprehensive review of our maintenance program. This collaborative process included efforts to identify the issues, drill down to find the root cause and develop comprehensive fixes.
“The changes we have made have improved upon an already solid maintenance program. With these challenges behind us, we look forward to continuing our relationship with the FAA to deliver on our common mission of safety first, it said in a written statement.
“US Airways will continue to work with the FAA in a cooperative manner to promptly achieve a negotiated resolution of the FAA’s civil penalty proposal.”
The FAA cited US Airways for these violations:
- Operated one Embraer 190 aircraft on 19 flights from October 22, 2008 to October 26, 2008 while the aircraft was not in compliance with an AD that required inspections to prevent a cargo door from opening during flight.
- Failed to perform inspections required by an AD for cracking of a landing gear part on one Airbus A320. The airline operated the aircraft on 26 flights from November 2, 2008 to January 20, 2009 while not in compliance with the AD. The airline also operated another A320 for 17 flights from December 3, 2008 to January 21, 2009 while not in compliance with the same AD.
The FAA found the following problems with maintenance practices:
- US Airways failed to meet the requirements of its Maintenance Policies and Procedures Manual, which required inspections related to engine work on a Boeing 757 aircraft. The airplane was flown on 505 flights from May 2, 2008 to December 3, 2008.
- From October 20, 2008 to November 14, 2008, US Airways operated one Boeing 767 aircraft on 51 flights after failing to perform the inspections, tests, and samplings required by its maintenance program on that aircraft.
- From October 1, 2008 to November 24, 2008, US Airways operated one Boeing 757 aircraft on 121 flights without proper maintenance.
- The airline failed to follow its maintenance program and perform a weekly maintenance check for one Boeing 767 aircraft, which was then operated from November 2, 2008 to November 6, 2008 on 53 flights.
- From May 22, 2008 to January 13, 2009, US Airways operated one Airbus A320 aircraft on 855 flights while the aircraft did not meet the airline’s maintenance program requirements for an engine repair. US Airways could have deferred maintenance of this item for ten days under its maintenance program but failed to do so. Fifty-one of the flights occurred after the FAA, on December 31, 2008, brought the problem to the airline’s attention.
The FAA gave the two airlines 30 days to respond. Carriers typically negotiate with the FAA to reduce the proposed fines.