Maintenance And Completion Issues Draw Fines From The
Administrator
The FAA is proposing a civil penalty of $700,000 against
Executive Airlines, Inc., and $450,000 against Dassault Falcon.
Both proposed penalties were announced Monday.
Executive Airlines, the San Juan, Puerto Rico airline, which
does business as American Eagle Airlines, allegedly operated eight
of its ATR-42 twin-turboprop airliners when they were not in
compliance with FARs.
The FAA alleges that when Executive Airlines did heavy
maintenance checks on its aircraft in 2007 and 2008, mechanics did
not perform and document required, detailed visual inspections to
detect possible cracks on the aileron center hinge bearing
fittings. Executive Airlines operated the eight aircraft on
6,479 flights between the incomplete earlier inspections and
September 26-27, 2008, when the company completed the proper
inspections and procedures.
"All maintenance procedures must be followed at all times.
There are no exceptions when it comes to safety," said FAA
Administrator Randy Babbitt.
The proposed civil penalty against Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. and
its completion center in Little Rock, AR, alleges that certain
parts were improperly plated and installed on airplanes.
Installation of improperly plated parts made the aircraft not
compliant with FARs.
The FAA alleges that after receiving a warning notice on this
issue in January 2008, Dassault Falcon approved 18 airplanes for
return to service between March 2008 and April 2009. Those
aircraft were outfitted with hundreds of parts electroplated by the
company or its contractors, but the companies did not have the
required FAA rating to perform such work. The electroplated
parts included both decorative pieces and structural parts.
Electroplating uses electric current to deposit a thin coating
of precious metal on the base metal of a particular part. Because
of the precision and quality required, repair stations or their
contractors must have a specialized service rating to perform the
work. If the process is not completed properly, the
base metal might be weakened by "hydrogen embrittlement," a
condition that might lead to catastrophic failure of a part at
stresses well below the metal's normal strength.
"All those performing maintenance on an aircraft must have the
appropriate skills and credentials," said FAA Administrator Randy
Babbitt.
Both Executive Airlines and Dassault Falcon have 30 days from
the receipt of the FAA's enforcement letter to respond to the
agency.