FAA Proposes $10.2 Million Civil Penalty Against Southwest Airlines
Source: U.S. Federal Aviation Administration
Mar 6, 2008 - 2:59:50 PM
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today
initiated an action to collect a $10.2 million civil penalty from
Southwest Airlines for operating 46 airplanes without performing
mandatory inspections for fuselage fatigue cracking. Subsequently, the
airline found that six of the 46 airplanes had fatigue cracks.
“The FAA is taking action against Southwest Airlines for a failing to
follow rules that are designed to protect passengers and crew,” said
FAA Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety Nicholas A. Sabatini.
“We expect the airline industry to fully comply with all FAA directives
and take corrective action.”
From June 18, 2006 to March 14, 2007, the FAA alleges that Southwest
Airlines operated 46 Boeing 737 airplanes on 59,791 flights while
failing to comply with a September 8, 2004 FAA Airworthiness Directive
(AD) that required repetitive inspections of certain fuselage areas to
detect fatigue cracking.
The FAA alleges that after Southwest Airlines discovered that it had
failed to accomplish the required repetitive inspections, between March
15, 2007 and March 23, 2007, it continued to operate those same 46
airplanes on an additional 1,451 flights. The amount of the civil
penalty reflects the serious nature of those deliberate violations.
An AD is a legally enforceable rule issued by the FAA to correct an
unsafe condition in an aviation product. In this case, the FAA’s AD
mandated repetitive external detailed and eddy-current inspections at
intervals of no more than 4,500 flight cycles to detect fatigue
cracking in areas of the fuselage skin on some Boeing 737 models.
Southwest Airlines has 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.
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