According to reporting in The Dallas Morning News, American Airlines will fight a record $24.2M fine levied by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for how the carrier failed to properly repair wiring harnesses on its 300 McDonnell-Douglas MD-80 jets.
Responding to being hit with the largest FAA fine ever - more than double the previous largest penalty – American Airlines executives said they would fight the penalty and work to smooth a fractured relationship with the safety regulator.
American grounded its fleet of MD-80s in April 2008 after inspections revealed flawed fixes on the planes. The move forced thousands of flight cancellations and launched exhaustive FAA audits into how American maintains its planes as well as how its own inspectors policed the airline.
FAA whistle-blowers prompted congressional hearings that concluded the regulator's relationship with airlines was "too chummy." The American investigations faulted both the carrier's procedures and FAA regional staff's lax enforcement.
SOURCE: American to fight record $24.2M FAA fine (www.dallasnews.com)
