Agency Hasn't Collected On Fines For Oversights

At least one 2008 aviation story will produce a New Year's hangover in 2009. The FAA still hasn't settled up with Southwest Airlines and AMR's American Airlines for those carriers' infamous breaches of safety regulations.

Even as Southwest fights a record $10.2 million fine assessed by the FAA for missing fatigue-crack inspections on its 737s -- and American execs worry their fine may be even higher after wiring bundles were routed through MD-80 landing gear wells with inadequate clearance -- the industry appears to have tightened internal controls on compliance.

The Wall Street Journal reports that just eight months after its scandal, Southwest is investing close to a million dollars to update its maintenance manuals, and has created a maintenance-compliance team to alert senior Southwest executives about possible new oversights.

As ANN reported, Southwest did not pay its fine by the August 29 due date... in what looked at the time like open defiance of the FAA. More recently, FAA officials have said negotiations are still in progress, and the case has not been turned over to the US Justice Department.

American, which had its entire MD-80 fleet grounded by the FAA in April over the wiring issues, and some of the aging planes grounded again over the summer to check for fatigue cracks, has already lost millions in revenue and passenger compensation for resulting cancellations of over 3,000 flights. The Journal reports execs privately fear the FAA fines may reach $20-$30 million.

Tighter oversight of maintenance has since resulted in the replacement of a senior maintenance official last month, special training sessions for mechanics, and new paperwork documenting maintenance manual references. Two mechanics have already been suspended following the tighter scrutiny, and several more are under investigation, all related to procedures used to replace airliner nosegear tires.

American and the FAA declined to comment on that case, but unidentified insiders told the journal the airline will argue its remedial measures should be acknowledged with reduced penalties.

FMI: www.southwest.com, www.aa.com, www.faa.gov