The Federal Aviation Administration proposes huge civil penalty against American Airlines

WASHINGTON - The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed the largest ever civil penalty against American Airlines.

They said the $24.2 million dollar penalty would be for failing to correctly follow maintenance guidelines for the McDonnell Douglas MD-80 aircraft.

“We put rules and regulations in place to keep the flying public safe,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We expect operators to perform inspections and conduct regular and required maintenance in order to prevent safety issues. There can be no compromises when it comes to safety.”

The FAA claims American did not follow steps outlined in a 2006 Airworthiness Directive requiring operators to inspect wire bundles located in the wheel wells of MD-80 aircraft.

It required a one-time general visual inspection by March 5, 2008, for chafing or signs of arcing of the wire bundle for the auxiliary hydraulic pump.

FAA officials said they first detected the violations on March 25, 2008, during an inspection of two aircraft.

The FAA said they informed American’s management that the aircraft did not comply with guidelines and needed to be inspected again.

FAA officials said they came to Tulsa after that and found eight aircraft that still didn't comply with the guidelines.

On April 8, American began grounding its MD-80 fleet to conduct new inspections.

The FAA subsequently determined that 286 of the airline’s MD-80s were operated on a combined 14,278 passenger flights while the aircraft were not in compliance with Federal Regulations. American ultimately completed the work required by the 2006 Airworthiness Directive.

Over the last year and a half, FAA safety officials have reported progress in working with American Airlines on improving the airline’s maintenance.

American has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

A copy of the civil penalty letter can be found at: www.faa.gov.