July 14, 1998 Hotline

  July 14, 1998

ALPA, Intl

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This afternoon, the FAA announced that it had reached an agreement
with America West management to settle a $5 million civil penalty against the airline for
“alleged violations of aircraft maintenance and operations regulations.” The
terms of the settlement require America West to pay $2.5 million immediately, with the
remaining $2.5 million suspended providing that the airline complies with applicable
regulations and implements improvements to maintenance and operations systems that exceed
regulatory requirements.

The FAA cited several specific concerns in its public
announcement including an overdue structural inspection affecting 17 A320 aircraft. The
company’s public statement acknowledged that America West maintenance did not adopt the
appropriate inspection procedure provided by Airbus in 1994. All of the affected aircraft
have now been subjected to the required inspection.

In a statement released to the media, the MEC is on record
stating that the FAA’s concerns with America West’s maintenance practices and oversight
must be taken seriously, and that any reduction of safety margins is unacceptable. America
West pilots will take every precaution to ensure that operations are conducted safely and
in compliance with federal regulations.

Stay focused, fly safe, and thanks for listening. The next
scheduled hotline update will be Thursday July 16th.