American Airlines announced this week that it was canceling over 2,000
flights to conduct safety inspections on a number of jets. The cancellations
affected flights taking off on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and more
cancellations may be announced. The airline company also canceled several
hundred flights last month for more inspections.
Inspectors want to make sure that the airline company is in compliance
of a federal order providing instruction on the way that the wires in
the wheels of MD-80 jets should be bundled. Many of the jets have reportedly
passed inspection.
American Airlines is not the first airline in recent weeks to ground its
flights over safety concerns. Alaska Airlines, Southwest Airlines, Delta
Airlines, Midwest Airlines, and United Airlines have also cancelled flights
so that their planes could undergo inspection.
Federal law makers are accusing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)
of getting too close to the airline industry that it isn’t doing
a proper job of protecting passenger safety. Federal Aviation Administration
Administrator Nicholas Sabatini disputes this criticism, saying that the
FAA has achieved 99 percent safety compliance.
Last month, the FAA fined Southwest with a $10.2 million civil penalty
for missing safety inspections. The airline company turned itself in upon
discovering the discrepancy, but continued to use the planes for passenger
flights. Southwest’s failure to check its planes’ fuselages
for cracks is one of the reasons that the FAA is now doing an audit of
all airlines’ maintenance records.
The FAA will use its 10 airworthiness directives when inspecting the other airlines.
Aviation Accidents
Accidents involving airline carriers, private jets, helicopters, charter
planes, and other kinds of planes often lead to catastrophic injuries—if,
that is, there are any survivors. It is important that the airplanes are
properly maintained at all times. A faulty engine that malfunctions from
thousands of feet above the ground can lead to deadly consequences for
the pilot, a plane’s passengers, and people on the ground.
Our product safety lawyers are dedicated to helping the victims of serious
injury accidents that are caused by defective or malfunctioning products
recover compensation from the negligent parties.
If you or someone you love was seriously injured in a plane crash, or
someone you love died in an aviation accident that happened because the
aircraft that they were riding in malfunctioned, contact our defective
products law firm and ask for your free consultation.
American Airlines cancels 900 more flights, CNN.com, April 9, 2008
FAA orders safety checks for all airlines, Bizjournals.com, March 19, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Federal Aviation Administration
Airworthiness Directives, FAA
Contact The Gilbert Law Group, P.C. today to schedule your free consultation with one of our plane crash lawyers.