FAA Proposes Penalties Against Southwest Airlines
The penalties add up to $328,550 in total.
The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed two civil penalties against Southwest Airlines for allegedly violating Federal Aviation Regulations, the agency announced. In the first case, the FAA alleges Southwest failed to properly inspect an aircraft that experience a cabin depressurization. After a cabin lost pressure during a flight on May 13, 2013, Southwest mechanics failed to complete a mandatory inspection to check whether the change in cabin pressure damaged the aircraft and to ensure used oxygen bottles were replaced.
Secondly, the airline allegedly operated the aircraft on May 14 and 15 flights with two of the four portable oxygen units unserviceable. The airline also operated the aircraft on approximately 120 additional flights with a portable oxygen unit that did not comply with the conditions of the Minimum Equipment List.
In the second case, the FAA has alleged Southwest failed to comply with Federal Aviation Regulations for accurately recording repairs in an aircraft's logbook. The pilot of a Boeing 717 reported seeing ice and water coming from the jetliner's galley vent. The FAA alleges the airline failed to fully comply with its FAA-approved maintenance procedures, which describe in detail how to make repairs and then accurately account for them in the aircraft's logbooks.