WASHINGTON — American Airlines might face $7.1 million in U.S. penalties for deferring maintenance, deficiencies in drug and alcohol testing and inadequate lighting inspections.
American violated Federal Aviation Administration rules by flying two Boeing Co. MD-83 planes 58 times in December after pilots reported problems, the FAA said in a statement.
“We do not agree with the FAA’s findings,” American said in a statement. “The proposed penalties are excessive.”
The FAA’s announcement follows criticism from U.S. lawmakers that the agency has been too “cozy” with carriers it regulates. An FAA supervisor allowed Southwest to fly 46 planes for eight days last year without fuselage inspections, prompting congressional hearings.
After the Southwest incident, the FAA forced American in April to ground 300 MD-80s for inspections. In all, 3,300 flights were canceled and 360,000 passengers were stranded.
The carrier operated an MD-83 on Dec. 11-12 on eight flights in airspace from which the jet should have been barred after the carrier improperly deferred maintenance on the autopilot system, the FAA said. American flew the plane for another 10 flights after an inspector discovered the deferral and informed the airline, the agency said.
American “did not check for the actual problem” and instead put off maintenance after the autopilot disconnected during landing in an incident involving the same aircraft Dec. 21, the FAA said. The FAA said the plane made another 36 flights, and workers later discovered the fault was with an altimeter, not the autopilot.
