Airline Offers Immediate Response Concerning Training Of Flight Crews

The FAA has proposed a civil penalty of $1,892,000 against Colgan Air, of Manassas, VA, a subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines, for allegedly allowing flight attendants to work on 172 revenue passenger flights when they were not properly trained to use the planes’ cabin fire extinguisher system. “FAA rules on flight crew training are designed to help ensure the safety of passengers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We require carriers to comply with all of our safety rules, and we will not hesitate to take enforcement action when they do not.”

The 84 newly-hired flight attendants worked flights on the Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 twin turbo-prop aircraft between Nov. 3 and Nov. 9, 2009 after the FAA told Colgan the flight attendants had not completed the required training. The FAA inspected the carrier’s new-hire flight attendant training for the Q400 on Nov. 2, 2009. The FAA alleges the new Colgan flight attendants were trained with fire extinguishers used on the airline’s Saab 340s, which operate differently than those used on the Q400.

“The airlines have to properly train crewmembers on the use of emergency equipment,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “The flight attendants’ primary responsibility is to know exactly how to handle emergency situations, and they can’t carry out that responsibility if they’re not properly trained.”

Colgan issued an almost immediate response to the proposal, saying strict compliance with all FAA rules and regulations is essential to the airline. Officials said in a news release that, in accordance with FAA rules and Company policy, Colgan Air regularly trains all of its Flight Attendants on the use of cabin fire extinguishers as well as all other safety equipment on every aircraft we operate.

"This proposed fine is related to Flight Attendant training on the use of the cabin fire extinguisher; alleging that the bottle carried in the Q400 aircraft was a different type than the one used in training. Colgan Air was using the same type extinguisher for both the Saab 340B and Q400 training, although the Q400 extinguisher has a hose," the statement reads.

Upon notification and "out of an abundance of caution," Colgan says it updated its training manuals and retrained all Flight Attendants to ensure full Flight Attendant understanding.

Colgan says the flights in question occurred in Nov. 2009, and all flights during this period were completed safely. The carrier says it remains in compliance with these requirements today, that it intends to cooperate with the FAA, and will respond to the allegations per their process.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.colganair.com