FAA Is Alleging Maintenance Violations

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proposes a $464,300 civil penalty against American Southeast Inflatables and Oxygen, Inc., for allegedly performing unauthorized and improper maintenance work on emergency equipment.

The FAA alleges that between June 2018 and January 2019, the Miami-based company performed unauthorized and improper maintenance on two evacuation slides and one safety raft and installed them on a Boeing 737. All three pieces of equipment failed to work properly when the crew deployed them after the aircraft overran the end of the runway at Jacksonville Naval Air Station and came to rest in the St. Johns River on May 3, 2019.

The FAA also alleges that American Southeast performed unauthorized maintenance on an additional 41 emergency evacuation slides between December 2017 and May 2019. Furthermore, the FAA alleges the company failed to have a sufficient number of employees with proper training and expertise to ensure maintenance was performed according to FAA regulations.

The company has 30 days to respond to the FAA after receiving the agency’s enforcement letter.

FMI: www.faa.gov