Mon, Mar 12, 2007
Paperwork Issue Turns Into Question About Pilot
Certification
There were a lot of unhappy passengers stuck this weekend at
several Midwestern airports... as for the second weekend in a row,
the FAA grounded the Smyrna, TN-based regional carrier
RegionsAir.
RegionsAir, which flies 19-seat Jetstream 32 turboprops for
American Airlines and Continental Airlines, was also grounded last
weekend, over a dispute regarding wording in the company's training
manual. After three days, the airline resumed service last
Monday... only to be grounded again Thursday afternoon.
"We have been in discussions with the FAA today and will honor
the requests outlined in the consent order with the intentions of
satisfying any and all requested modifications to our Line Check
Airman training and certification program," Nathan Vallier,
RegionsAir’s director of sales and marketing, said Thursday.
"Effective at 4:36 pm (Thursday), all flights were canceled for the
remainder of today as part of the order. We hope for a return to
air service once these items have been satisfied and agreed upon by
the FAA."
FAA spokesperson Laura Brown told the Southeast Missourian the
latest delay comes after the agency discovered an unspecified
number of pilots at RegionsAir weren't properly certified.
"We determined that the line check airmen, the pilots who
instruct and check out other pilots, were not properly trained
themselves," Brown said.
The grounding affects American Connection flights out of St.
Louis' Lambert Field to nine cities in Iowa, Illinois, Missouri,
Kentucky, and Tennessee. Continental Connection flights to three
cities in West Virginia were also affected.
Both airlines were working to rebook affected passengers on
alternate flights. As for when RegionsAir will be back in the
air... that's still up in the air.
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