Company Says No Intentional Violations

Fort Lauderdale Based Gulfstream Airlines is preparing a response to the $1.3 million fine imposed by the FAA after it found the company over-scheduled pilots and violated other regulations. The regional carrier operates flights in Florida and the Bahamas. In response to the FAA findings, Gulfstream President and CEO David Hackett told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that in a couple of "extremely isolated instances," records show scheduling discrepancies that were the result of "human error. In no case, did anyone here do anything wrong on purpose," Hackett said. Occasionally, "scheduling [pilots] may extend out because of a storm or something."

The FAA began the investigation of the carrier last summer, after a pilot who had been fired complained about scheduling. Reviewing the airline records, agency investigators found discrepancies between the company's electronic records and pilot log books for an 8 month period beginning in October, 2007.

FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said the agency has no evidence the airline deliberately made record-keeping errors, but the discrepancies make it impossible to prove Gulfstream pilots followed FAA work rules. The agency found six pilots whose rest times had been violated, as well as a large number of problems in flight-time records from a June 2008 inspection.

Gulfstream's Hackett told the paper that regional airlines, including his own, look for ways to trim costs. But those tough business decisions do not compromise safety, he said.

Former Gulfstream pilot Kenny Edwards, who filed the whistleblower complaint that spurred the review of the airline by the FAA, says he was fired in December 2007 because he would not fly a Gulfstream aircraft he thought was unsafe.

FMI: www.faa.gov