FAA proposes fines against US Airways and United Airlines

The Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) of the United States proposed a fine of 5.4 million US$ against US Airways for operating eight aircraft not in compliance with Airworthiness Directives (AD) or in violation of maintenance procedures on 1647 flights and a fine of 3.8 million US$ against United Airlines for violating maintenance procedures on one Boeing 737.

The FAA alleges, that US Airways:

- operated one of their Embraer ERJ-190s on 19 flights, although the airplane was not in compliance with an AD requiring an inspection to prevent a cargo door to open in flight
- operated one of their Airbus A320s on 26 flights, although the airplane was not in compliance with an AD requiring an inspection of the landing gear for possible cracks
- operated another A320 on 17 flights without inspection required by the same AD
- flew a third Airbus A320 on 855 flights although the airplane did not meet maintenance requirements for engine repair
- flew a Boeing 757 on 505 flights although inspections related to engine work were missed in violation of maintenance policies and procedures manual
- flew another Boeing 757 on 121 flights without proper maintenance
- flew a Boeing 767 on 53 flights without the mandatory weekly inspection
- flew another Boeing 767 on 51 flights without inspections, tests and sampling required by maintenance program

The FAA alleges, that United Airlines flew a Boeing 737 in not an airworthy condition for more than 200 flights with two shop towels in the engine's oil sump area instead of required protective caps until an inflight shut down of the engine became necessary due to loss of oil pressure.