Aviation Technical Services may face US$530,250 FAA fine

THE US Federal Aviation Administration has proposed fining Everett's Aviation Technical Services US$530,250 for failing to follow approved procedures regarding the maintenance of 14 Southwest Airlines' Boeing 737s.

The FAA alleges that ATS failed between January 2007 and March 2008 to follow Southwest's 'Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Programme' when carrying out five agency Airworthiness Directives to detect fuselage skin cracks, reports the Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Furthermore, the FAA claims ATS improperly used shortened "cradles" to support the aircraft at two of three specified points while off their wheels; and that the company failed to install and monitor load measuring cells, to ensure maximum loads did not exceed specified limits for the engines, wings and horizontal stabiliser locations while the aircraft were suspended in the cradle.

"We have the highest standards in place to ensure safety," FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said in a statement. "Maintenance work has to meet those standards wherever it is performed."

The report said ATS has 30 days to issue a response before the FAA finalises its proposed fine.

Company spokesman Jeff Salee was quoted as saying the fine: "Relates to events that ATS disclosed to the FAA in March of 2008. In keeping with our commitment to safety and operational excellence, the issues were resolved shortly after we discovered them. We have been cooperating fully with the FAA and will respond in a timely way."
(Source:www.schednet.com)