ADDITIONAL CIVIL PENALTIES PROPOSED BY FAA
October 29, 2015
The FAA recently imposed the following, additional civil penalties:
- $735,000 against the City of Cleveland for failing to meet FAA requirements for maintaining a safe airport during winter weather. The FAA alleged that over a 15 month period ending in March 2015, the managers at Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport failed on numerous occasions to keep the runways and taxiways safe and clear of snow and ice.
- $154,000 against G&B Investment Management (G&B), N3344D Partners, LLC, Two Five Delta, LLC, and Gene Curtis for conducting commercial flight operations in violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Each of the above mentioned entities was controlled by Gene Curtis. The FAA alleged Mr. Curtis entered into an agreement under which he offered air transportation for compensation using two aircraft owned and operated by Curtis and G&B. These services were provided on 12 occasions. The aircraft were operated without an air carrier certificate, DOT economic authority and operations specifications. The FAA also alleged Mr. Curtis and the entities did not comply with operational and maintenance rules relating to commercial operations and advertised the operations without FAA authority.
- $360,000 against Empire Airlines, Inc. for operating an aircraft not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. One of the airline’s aircraft experienced a lightning strike and the aircraft maintenance manual required the propeller be removed from service and inspected for damage following such an event. The FAA alleged that Empire inspected the aircraft but did send the propeller to an authorized repair station. The airline operated the aircraft on 35 revenue flights before sending the propeller to an authorized repair station.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).