FAA PROPOSED PENALTIES
July 29, 2015
- $75,000 against Murray Aircraft Manufacturing, LLC (“Murray”) for operating an aircraft that was not in compliance with FAA regulations. The FAA’s investigation revealed that Murray operated a Jetstream 3101 on 300 flights when 11 required maintenance checks had not been performed. Under FAA regulations, maintenance checks are required every 200 flight hours.
- $84,700 against Image Air of Florida for allegedly allowing an unqualified pilot to fly one of its aircraft. The FAA alleges that between June and September of 2014 the pilot flew at least 16 revenue flights. The pilot had not passed an FAA required competency check within the past 12 months for the category, class and type of aircraft he was operating.
- $91,500 against Air Methods Corp. (“Air Methods”) for operating a Bell 407 helicopter in an unairworthy condition. Air Methods operated the helicopter four times when a required torque check inspection on its tail rotor drive shaft components was overdue. In addition, the FAA alleges that Air Methods did not update the aircraft log books to show completion of the inspection and the next inspection deadline.
- $266,375 against Allegiant Air, LLC (“Allegiant”) for violating drug and alcohol testing regulations. According to the FAA, Allegiant failed to include 25 employees in its drug and alcohol testing pools. These employees were in safety-sensitive positions, and 11 of these employees performed safety-sensitive duties on multiple occasions. In addition, another employee’s follow-up test was not observed directly after the employee had previously tested positive for drug use. The employee continued to perform safety-sensitive duties following the improperly observed test.
- $735,000 against Volaris of Mexico for returning a U.S.-registered Airbus A319 to service after performing a heavy maintenance inspection despite its mechanics not performing certain required safety inspections including: removing and replacing an emergency slide, verifying that ailerons were properly rigged, and verifying the aircraft’s weight and balance calculations. FAA inspectors reviewed the carrier’s maintenance records and requested that the required inspections be done. At another inspection two weeks later, Volaris allegedly performed the required inspections on the slide and aileron tasks, but not the weight and balance calculation and had allegedly failed to perform the required inspections for two additional tasks related to the heavy maintenance: a right wing slat seal edge replacement and a nose landing gear spring nut replacement. The FAA alleges that Volaris flew the aircraft on a total of 121 passenger flights before bringing the aircraft into compliance.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).