Latest In Series Of Fines Against Carrier

As their contracted Sea-Tac ground crews receive additional training on the importance of telling someone when you accidentally hit an aircraft with your luggage cart, the FAA has proposed a half-million dollar fine against Alaska Airlines for flying an aircraft for two weeks without required emergency lighting -- and then going an additional two weeks with the wrong parts.

According to the Seattle Times, the 737-200 in question flew 478 flights between December 2004 and mid-February 2005 without required emergency-exit identifier lights at the plane's two front doors. According to regulations, commercial airliners are not airworthy without such lighting.

The FAA alleged Goodrich Aviation Technical Services -- one of three companies contracted to perform heavy maintenance work for the carrier after Alaska shut down its own facility in September 2004 -- signed off on the aircraft in December 2004 after performing "C" and "D" checks on the airliner, without verifying the lighting was operational.

Alaska discovered the problem in early February -- after the aircraft had undergone about 40 routine checks, the FAA noted -- and while the airline replaced the needed components... it used the wrong parts.

An FAA inspector noticed the improper parts during a February check, according to the Times, although Alaska did not fix the problem for good until nearly a week later.

While "safety was not adversely affected" for the two weeks the 737-200 (one of seven "combi" models Alaska has in its fleet, photo above) was operating with the incorrect parts, said the FAA, the agency chided the airline, and Goodrich, for their "repeated failures to follow Alaska's [maintenance program], both during the original maintenance and in the 40 inspections that failed to detect the unairworthy condition."

An Alaska spokeswoman told the Seattle Times the FAA's proposal is not final, and that company officials are scheduled to meet with the agency January 18 to discuss the matter.

"Alaska Airlines and the FAA continue to be engaged in legal discussions on this matter," said Amanda Tobin.

News of the fine comes as Alaska fights the perception the company's reliance on outside contractors has perhaps compromised safety -- and two problems in recent weeks involving ramp mishaps at Seattle-Tacoma International haven't helped bolster confidence.

Both incidents -- one of which led to an MD-80 losing cabin pressure at 26,000 feet -- were caused by employees of Menzies Aviation, which Alaska hired last May to replace unionized ground crews at the airport.

If the latest fine holds, it would be second-largest levied against the airline since 1998. In 2000, the FAA fined the airline nearly $1 million based on a safety audit conducted after the downing of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 in January of that year. Most recently, the airline was fined $211,000 for operating an MD-80 on 47 flights with landing gear damage in 2001.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.alaskaairlines.com, www.ats.goodrich.com