American Airlines May Face FAA Fines

As if American Airlines hasn’t faced enough turmoil over the last 9 months in their Texas bankruptcy case, the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking to add fines to the list of owed debts. The parent company, AMR Corp., could be facing an additional $162 million in fines if the FAA has its way.

Costly Violations

The FAA has many concerns over American Airlines allegedly violating U.S. safety standard. Having conducted ongoing investigations over the last several years, the FAA is claiming that the American Airlines maintenance program is sub-standard. A $39.3 million fine is proposed for American allegedly failing to fix wiring work on its Boeing 757 aircraft back in 2009. 113 of American’s 757 aircraft failed inspection and were expected to be brought up to code in recent years. Two other multimillion dollar fines are also proposed, all of which would take the title for largest penalty against any airline if upheld.

Although the fines have not been approved as of yet, the FAA has filed the documents with the federal bankruptcy court handling the case.  Meanwhile, AMR spokesman Michael Trevino said, ” Safety is fundamental to the success of American Airlines, and at no time did American operant an aircraft that was unsafe for flight.”  Currently, AMR is working to fix labor and financial problems in hopes of a successful exit from Chapter 11.

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