You have to be kidding me….
The Federal Aviation Administration said Thursday that it’s proposing the penalty because the airline missed the deadline to perform inspections and tests on a variety of systems and components.
For example, Independence Air failed to do heavy maintenance and inspections that were required on a regional jet, and then flew the plane for 455 more flights before performing the work.
All the flights cited by the FAA were normal and passengers weren’t affected in any way, the airline said in a statement.
Independence Air also said the problems resulted when it upgraded its record-keeping system and found errors in the way it scheduled its maintenance checks. The airline said it voluntarily disclosed the problems to the FAA, and both the agency and the airline say they’ve been corrected.
"We have been working closely with the FAA since that time and have long ago resolved these issues and their underlying cause," the statement said.
What bothers me is the cavalier attitude shown by the company here. And to check their Web site, the only thing I can find in their press room about anything related to maintainence was their May release about how the FAA had presented them with an award for their maintainence award.
Low-fare airline Independence Air (NASDAQ/NM: FLYi) is proud to announce that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has again honored the company’s maintenance team with the Diamond Award, the highest award in the FAA’s Aviation Technician Training Program. The presentation was made during a ceremony at Independence Air headquarters near Washington Dulles International Airport. Independence Air and its parent company have received the Diamond Award every year since 1997.
Perhaps there really is more to the story here. But without some amount of honesty shown here by the company, it’s hard to buy any of their spin.
See, this is why I never fly discount airlines.
