Report Says Agency Changed Rules At 11th Hour
The recent grounding of more than 3,300 American Airlines
flights, impacting travel for more than 300,000 passengers, could
have been avoided if the FAA hadn't reversed a tentative agreement
between the airline and local FAA officials, alleges a report
issued Friday to the US Department of Transportation by the
carrier.
The report, delivered to US Transportation Secretary Mary
Peters, is reported to have language stating that American Airlines
believed it had a handshake agreement with FAA managers in the
region that outlined a scheduled plan for Airworthiness Directive
(AD) compliance on its fleet of MD80 aircraft without disrupting
passengers and allowing the fleet to remain operational.
The report accuses FAA headquarters of overruling regional
managers and moving forward with a more aggressive plan that
blindsided the airline overnight, according to the Wall Street
Journal.
As reported in April by ANN,
American accused the FAA of changing long-standing rules on how
airworthiness directives are administered. Specifically, American's
MD-80 lead engineer, Greg A. Magnuson, says the company has
traditionally had the leeway to decide on its own how to resolve
ambiguities or conflicts within ADs, but that's suddenly not being
permitted.
Sources familiar with
the report state American stressed the company believed
it was in full compliance with a 2006 airworthiness
directive from the FAA. American further stated it worked
directly with Boeing Co. as early as 2004 to develop safety
bulletins for voluntary MD-80 wiring fixes that would used
throughout the industry.
Relying on those guidelines, the airline was on track to finish
inspections and modifications by late 2006 -- 16 months before
the federal compliance deadline. The FAA later changed some
technical criteria within the directive, and ultimately determined
that the airline was not in compliance with the new
requirements.
The MD-80 fleet grounding came on the heels of an earlier FAA decision
against Southwest Airlines, levying a record $10.2 million civil
fine against Southwest for the carrier's failure to conduct
mandatory fuselage fatigue and rudder inspections on 46 of its
older 737-300 models.
Both measures point to new steps taken by the DOT to examine FAA
standards in respect to air carriers to improve the safety
inspection program. Secretary Peters recently reinforced that the
improvement should not, however, come at a cost to passenger
convenience.
"The mark of an effective safety system is the ability to
constantly improve and adapt," said Peters in a report by ANN last
month. "These steps will help make inspectors and
managers more accountable, keep airlines focused on safety and
minimize disruptions for travelers."